Judaism - Worship

1. Jewish worship takes place in a synagogue.

2. Everyone covers their heads except young girls.

3. The services can be led by a rabbi or member of the community and may be conducted in English or ancient Hebrew.

4. Jewish men usually wear a skull cap, or kippah when saying prayers.

5. Adult men also wear a tallit or prayer shawl, it is white with, black or blue stripes and has six hundred and thirteen fringes.

6. The fringes remind the wearer to observe God’s commandments and are kissed during services.

7. A tallit is first worn by boys at their bar mitzvah at the age of thirteen.

8. The recitation of prayers is an important part of Jewish worship.

9. The Jewish prayer book is called the siddur.

10. Jewish worship involves reciting prayers three times a day, and more on the Sabbath and holidays.

11. Certain prayers may only be said in front of a minyan, or a group of at least ten adults (aged thirteen plus).

12. The Torah scrolls are taken out of the Ark and read three times each week

13. Part of the service is conducted standing and bowing is done at certain points.

14. A tefillin is a black, cube-shaped leather box with leather straps.

15. It is sometimes worn by Jewish men on their heads and arms during morning prayers.

16. The tefillin on the arm points to the heart, while that on the forehead points to the mind.

17. The boxes contain four hand-written texts from the Torah in separate compartments.

18. The texts are hand-written by a scribe.

19. The shema is recited every morning and evening.

20. The door posts of Jewish homes usually have a mezuzah, a small, decorative box attached to them.

21. The words of the shema are placed inside this.

22. The most important day for Jews is Shabbat.

23. Shabbat is a holy day that begins one hour before sunset on Friday and ends on Saturday evening.

24. Shabbat is a day of rest, all chores such as shopping, cleaning and cooking must be finished the night before.

25. Jewish families come together, wearing their best clothes.

26. They gather for meals, prayer and relaxation.

27. Special candles are lit and people drink Shabbat wine and eat challah, a soft rich bread.