SYNAGOGUE (Gk. συναγωγή, synagogē, assembly, collection, from συνάγειν, synagein, to bring together, from σύν, syn, together + ἄγειν, agein, to lead; translation of Heb. beth-hak-keneseth, the house of assembly). The name applied to the place of assembly used by Jewish communities primarily for public worship. The origin of this institution is probably to be traced to the period of the Babylonian captivity, when religious needs in the absence of an official cult could only be satisfied by private assemblies for religious communion. The example set during the Babylonian Exile led to the establishment of synagogues in Palestine after the days of Ezra, and with the impetus then given to the study of the law a further factor was introduced which encouraged the institution of assembly-houses for prayer and study. Although express notices of the synagogues are not found in the literature till the last century , all indications point to their existence in the towns and even villages of Palestine at the time of the Maccabees.
Synagogues were erected from the common
funds or free gifts of the community and
supported by taxes and donations. Regarding their
architecture it would appear that in Palestine the
Græco-Roman model of public buildings was
followed, though with some essential modifications. Abundant ornamentation was a feature both of the exterior and interior. The larger synagogues were divided by rows of pillars into several aisles and some had porticoes in front. In later times in Europe the Romanesque style was adopted, and in more modern times Moorish architecture is frequently chosen as a model. Little is known of any special law respecting the construction of these buildings, save that the faces of the worshipers should be directed toward Jerusalem; that, in accordance with the verse in the Psalms, there should be a slight descent of a step or two on entering the edifice; that the building should stand, if feasible, on a slightly elevated ground, or be somehow or other made visible from afar. Within at the extreme eastern end was the holy ark, or chest (tēbāh) containing several copies of the Pentateuch, from which the periodical readings were chanted. In front of this was the stand of the public reader of the prayers, not far from which was suspended the everlasting lamp. On a raised platform in the middle of the synagogue was the place of the reader or preacher. The women, who were not counted as members of the congregation, sat separated from the men.
The affairs of the synagogue were administered
by a board of ‘ancients’ or ‘elders,’ at whose
head stood a chief or principal (Rōsh hakkeneseth, archisynagogos). The ‘chief’ was not a scribe, though taking rank immediately after the scribes. The officiating minister, whose office it was to recite the prayers aloud, was called shĕlīachṣibbūr, messenger of the community. The chazzān had general charge of the sacred place and its books and implements. He had to present the scroll to the reader, received it back after the reading was finished, rolled up the scroll and deposited it in the chest, and it was he who announced the advent of the Sabbath or of a holy day from the roof of the synagogue with a thrice repeated trumpet-blast. During the week-days he had to teach the children of the town or village. He had to be initiated by a solemn
of hands. The name of chazzān, however, at a later period, came to designate the officiating minister, and it has retained that meaning until this day. Almoners or deacons, who collected or distributed the alms, possibly the same as the baṭlanīm or ‘idle men,’ whose office in relation to the synagogue cannot be exactly determined now, but who had always to be ready for the purpose of making up the requisite number of ten worshipers, were further attached to the general body of officials. The third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day were the times appointed for daily worship; the more special days were Monday and Thursday, when the judges sat, and the villagers came to town, and Saturday, on which the forms of some of the prayers were altered according to the occasion.