| The Jewish Synagogue/ The Hindu Temple R McDowell |
| Islamic Review |
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| According to the Mishnah Kelim1 (the Jewish oral law), the layout of the Temple of Jerusalem2 (the most sacred building in Judaism) was organised as a series of concentric domains. The central and most sacred part of the Temple was the holy of holies, the place where God�s presence was believed to be manifest. This was housed within the sanctuary which was located within the court of priests. The Israelites court was positioned beside the court of priests and further back was the women�s court. The temple precincts surrounded all of the above.
The Mishnah Kelim also ascribes a certain level of holiness to each of these domains, the most sacred of which was the holy of Holies. The surrounding domains were considered to be less sacred depending on how far away they were from the central holy of holies. Women during their menstruation period and following childbirth were forbidden to enter the Temple complex. Non-Jews and those who had been in recent contact with a dead body were forbidden entry to the temple precincts. Women would assemble further inside the Temple, in the women�s court and men still further inside, closer to the central holy of holies. Only priests were allowed access to the priest�s court and only those priests who had performed certain purification rituals were permitted to go inside the sanctuary. The holy of holies could only be entered by the High Priest once a year on Yom Kippur, the �Day of Atonement�3. Therefore, the Temple was organised with ascending plateaus of sacredness. Anyone could enter the Temple Mount, but progressively fewer people were given access to the central areas depending on their perceived level of religious authority and gender4. Temple access to certain areas was denied or granted based on the perceived purity of the individual5. This was the underling and most important reason for making certain areas off limits to certain people, including the priests. However, it is also interesting to note that the Temple was organised in a way which segregated the men from the women and at the same time placed the priests in a position removed from the laity. Although much smaller and simpler in design than the original Temple of Jerusalem, the layout of the synagogue is in many ways similarly organised. The main reason for this, as was the case for the Temple layout, is to regulate who has access to sacred space. Or, more specifically, it is to regulate who is allowed greater proximity to the most sacred space within the building. While the most sacred space in the Temple was the holy of holies, the most sacred object in the synagogue is the Torah Scrolls (Sefer Torah) which is housed within the ark, located on the wall that faces Jerusalem, when not in use. Traditional synagogues organise their congregations primarily according to gender6. Men are seated along the north, south and west walls facing the ark. Women are normally separated from the men by some type of partition (mehitzah). This could be simply a curtain or more usually, a balcony set aside for the women to separate the sexes. So, in keeping with Temple practice, men are granted greater proximity to the most sacred space and women are placed further back. However, the raised reading desk (bimah) is placed in the centre of the congregation away from the ark thus allowing the men even greater closeness to the most sacred space than was the case in the Temple. On the other hand, the design of non-traditional synagogues emphasises the distance between the congregation and the rabbi. In keeping with Temple practice, the bimah is placed directly in front of the ark setting apart the rabbi from the congregation and affording him a more elevated position and a greater independent closeness to the Torah Scrolls. However, the main difference between the traditional and non-traditional synagogues is that the latter have introduced the practice of allowing women to sit amongst the men7. Segregation of the sexes and the positioning of the bimah are the two main issues of difference between the two main synagogues. Taken together they have resulted in traditional synagogues offering a greater overall access to sacred space to its (male) members as compared with non-traditional congregations. Both men and women are granted less proximity to the most sacred space in non-traditional synagogues because of the greater role of the rabbi8 9. Kunin states that it is typical in orthodox (traditional) synagogues for male members of the congregation to play key roles in the service, for example they often carry the Torah from the ark across to the bimah around the synagogue twice during which other male worshippers are permitted to touch it with their prayer shawls. Male members of the congregation may even read from the Scrolls. So, they are at times allowed to have direct contact with the most sacred place in the synagogue. This is not the case within the progressive (non-traditional) synagogues where the number of people participating in the service is normally limited to just two or three and the Scrolls would not as a rule pass through the worshippers10. While the Temple is the only sacred place to Jews, and to a certain extent the Torah Scrolls within the synagogue are holy11, sacred space within Hinduism includes not only temples (madira), family shrines and places of pilgrimage but any natural site of outstanding beauty is also recognized as a sacred place, because of the sense of awe and tranquillity which it produces12. Hein states that the main function of the Hindu temple is to provide a transitory earthly abode for the gods who have agreed to reside in them so that their devotees may worship them in their very presence. So, the temple provides an abode for the deity which is symbolically represented by an image. It also provides shelter and a place where the devotees have the opportunity to approach and worship the deity13. It is the responsibility of the priest to summon the presence of the deity each day with music and song and later, to prepare it for worship (puja) which includes the offering of food to the deity. The priest then performs the appropriate rituals to send the deity to sleep in the afternoon and, in the evening; he will invoke its presence again for the saying of prayers14. This being so, it is clear that the Hindu temple is a place which only becomes sacred after the deity has been invoked and to an even greater extent the image of the deity becomes sacred also. The layout of the Hindu temple is based on the strict mathematical measurements worked out by the early Hindu theologians. This information was later written down in the ancient texts. Their aim was to try to design a building which would reflect the universe in a basic way. In essence, the design is normally of a square shape divided into smaller squares with a smaller square in the middle. Located under the temple tower, the central square, called the sanctuary or womb chamber (garbha-grha), is the most sacred and important area of the building. This is where the deity is housed and around this are other squares (chambers) containing lesser deities and shrines. The temple itself is organised in such a way that it forces worshippers to approach the most sacred area gradually by circumambulating (pradaksina) it first usually through purpose built passageways. The final approach to the sanctuary is made along a short walkway which leads to the mandapa (assembly hall, or porch in smaller temples) situated directly outside the sanctuary itself15. Beckerlegge states that the housing of the deity within the small sanctuary has the effect of separating the worshippers from direct contact with the sacred. Only the priests (brahmans) are permitted to approach the image. They are responsible for invoking the deity�s presence in the first place and for serving the deity while it is in residence. They also act as an intermediary by giving the deity offerings on behalf of the worshippers. Beckerlegge also makes the important point that until recent changes in the Indian constitution, low caste members were commonly denied entry into the temple16. In common with the synagogue, one of the main functions of the temple in Hinduism is to provide for the needs of the local community. The synagogue, although probably existing while the Temple of Jerusalem still survived, came into being mainly to replace the temple after it was destroyed and also to meet the needs of the Jewish people in the Diaspora. It is therefore open to all members of the local Jewish community who may attend for services. This offers them the opportunity to come into close proximity to the sacred space of the Torah scrolls. However, there are some important differences in how the two traditions view their religious buildings and differences also as to how the Jewish and Hindu places of worship organise themselves in order to regulate who has access to the sacred. Firstly, it is important to remember that there is no obligation on Hindus to attend the temple, whereas it is important for Jews to attend the synagogue. Secondly, Jews congregate at synagogues for collective worship whereas in orthodox Hinduism devotees gather at temples individually, with the exception of festival days17. Thirdly, pilgrimage is a more important feature of Hinduism than it is in Judaism. Apart from the �Wailing Wall�, there are no pilgrimage sites in Judaism. Hindus, on the other hand, recognise many places as pilgrimage sites, although there is no obligation on them to journey there18. It could be argued that the Hindu temples which have been built in the vicinity of a designated place of pilgrimage (tirtha), for example those along the banks of the Ganges, provide pilgrims with a place to worship the local deity even though this may be secondary in importance to the experience gained from natural location itself. More importantly, these temples and especially those found in more remote locations, for example in the foothills of the Himalayas, or deep within the Bodhgaya forest, offer pilgrims a place of retreat and accommodation and a base from which they can easily access the sacred space of the mountains, rivers, caves or woodlands etc. The fourth important distinction identifies the differing attitudes that the two traditions have towards who should be denied access to the sacred. As stated above, women during their menstrual periods, and following childbirth, and those who have come into contact with a deceased body are not permitted to enter the synagogue for certain lengths of time. Until recent changes made to the constitution of India, the lowest of the castes were completely forbidden to enter Hindu temples. So, both the synagogue and the Hindu temple deny entry to those worshippers who are deemed to be in a state of impurity. The two traditions differ in their definition of what constitutes a state of impurity. It is also interesting to note that both the synagogue and the Hindu temple organise themselves in a way which restricts more and more worshippers to the most sacred place within these buildings. The traditional synagogue allows men greater proximity to the sacred than that of women whereas the non-traditional synagogue maintains a distance between the priests and the laity thus giving the priests greater overall proximity. The Hindu temple offers to the priests a greater proximity to the sacred while devotees are slightly removed from the presence of the deity. Finally, the question of what constitutes a state of impurity is the major issue by which the two traditions accommodate non-believers in their buildings. For the most part, both synagogues and Hindu temples today allow entry to members of other faiths. However, because of their perceived state of purity they are restricted to differing degrees of proximity to the most sacred part of the building according to the reasons stated above although. For Traditional synagogues the restriction on non-believers applies to gender. Notes 1. Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.) (1994). SACRED PLACE, Pinter (London, England) p. 116. 2. The Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in AD70. 3. Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.), op cit, ibid. 4. Ibid p. 116. 5. Ibid p. 134. 6. Ibid p. 135. 7. Goldstein, D. (1987). JUDAISM (UNITS 1-2), The Open University (Milton Keynes, England) p. 43. 8. Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.), op cit, p. 136. 9. Beckerlegge, G (1998). STUDY GUIDES (STUDY GUIDE 1), The Open University (Milton Keynes, England), 1: 4, p. 19. 10. Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.), op cit, pp. 138-9. 11. Strictly speaking the Torah Scrolls are themselves not viewed as a sacred object. It is the message written on them which is hallowed. And there are no other areas or objects within the synagogue which is viewed as being sacred. For this reason the Temple, while it existed, is the only true sacred place within Judaism. The �Wailing Wall� or �Western Wall� is all that remains of the original Temple of Jerusalem. A large plaza stands in front of the wall, divided into two sections, one for men and one for women. However, following a Supreme Court ruling, passed in 2003, only the men are permitted to pray aloud directly in front of the wall (Article in the Guardian: �Jewish women fight holy war� by Chris McGreal, 05/01/04). 12. Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.), op cit, p. 62. 13. Hein, N (1997). AUDIO CASSETTE 1: �THE HINDU TEMPLE�, The Open University (Milton Keynes, England). 14. Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.), op cit, p. 77. 15. Ibid p. 78-80. 16. Beckerlegge, G (1998), op cit, p. 39. 17. Zaehner, R. C. (1959). THE HUTCHINSON ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIVING FAITHS, Helicon Publishing L. T. D. (Oxford, England), p. 239. 18. Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.), op cit, p. 67. Bibliography Beckerlegge, G (ed.) (1998). THE WORLD RELIGIONS READER, Routledge (London, England). Beckerlegge, G (1998). STUDY GUIDES (STUDY GUIDE 1), The Open University (Milton Keynes, England). Beckerlegge, G; Weightman, S; McDermott, R (1987). HINDUISM (UNITS 7-10), The Open University (Milton Keynes, England). Goldstein, D. (1987). JUDAISM (UNITS 1-2), The Open University (Milton Keynes, England). Hein, N (1997). AUDIO CASSETTE 1: �THE HINDU TEMPLE�, The Open University (Milton Keynes, England). Holm, J; Bowker, J (ed.) (1994). SACRED PLACE, Pinter (London, England). Open University (1998). AUDIO-VISUAL BOOKLET, The Open University (Milton Keynes, England). Zaehner, R. C. (1959). THE HUTCHINSON ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIVING FAITHS, Helicon Publishing L. T. D. (Oxford, England). |