My Jewish Experience Essay Example for Free

My Jewish exist EssayIn a first glance, Hawaii seems to be a country that strictly holds its heathen values and identity with pride, leaving no room for foreign beliefs and practices to grow. However, my first fantasy has been proven ravish as for the first time, I set foot on the halls of synagogue Emanu-el, a Jewish temple situated in 2550 Pali High bearing, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96817. On a Friday evening, 28 November 2008, half an hour past seven, I was subject to the practices and beliefs of Orthodox Judaism with Rabbi Peter B. Schaktman ..It was a moment of mixed emotions for me since I only knew Judaism through books, television, films, and internet, and that I thought I would have been overwhelmed by the spectacle of one of the worlds major religious systems However, I was initially surprised by the size of the synagogue as it was totally different from how I had imagined it to be the place was relatively small, perhaps because Judaism is not Hawaiis main theology, n evertheless, the size of the place was further different from what I always thought.Judging by the size of the place, I would say that 300350 throng could seat accommodated in the synagogue. The structures ceiling was high, and the interior designs made me recall the facades of the Roman Catholic Church. The synagogue also contains what the pastor called an Ark, the ark is a decorated cabinet wherein the Torah of the synagogue is housed And like other(a) places of faith, I also noticed that Temple Emanu-el also has a pulpit in an elevated platform where the torah and other scriptures argon read.Judaism is a religion that promotes Jewish identity and culture, I seemed to have noticed that there is not much art in the in the Ark of Temple Emanu-el. The most probable reason is that the Jewish regard that part of the synagogue as the holiest area. Apart from the decorative curtain that serves as the cover for the Ark, the only objects to be seen in the synagogue are object of relig ious significance such as the ark and a cd stand.The only non-religious object close enough to be considered art were a couple of flowers in vases positioned earnest the ark. During the worship service proper, the only clergy member present in the synagogue was Rabbi Schaktman. I have no idea as to why he was the only clergyman present during the time, but during the worship services, he was accompanied by a Cantorial Soloist named Ken Aronowitz who sang the songs and hymns. Although religious hymns and songs are not to be apprehended as an artistic effort, I can say that Mr.Aronowitzs voice is captivating enlightening. While I was participating in the worship services, I have observed that the devotees have the book named Gates of Prayer. I realized that people from the sect consider the book as a guide to the service and to ghostly enlightenment. From my experience that night, it appears that in every service, the Rabbi discusses and interprets every chapter of the book with t he devotees. Based on my observation, the book contains the address of matinee idol as well as the hymns of praise to God.Continuing further with the practices and rituals, I noticed that a position differences between Judaism and Christianity, first is on the discussion of the contents of Gates of Prayer. During the service, Rabbi Schaktman read and discussed the note of Jews from non-Jews through summary of the words non-Jews celebrate Jews Observe. The Rabbi interpreted the exact contents of the book, however, he just used a style that everyone could simply understand.There are certain moments where the Rabbi told us a story based on his experiences and related to the story with the topic discussed during that night. And the story the Rabbi used was an article from the newspaper Honolulu Advertiser which revolved somewhat the celebration of thanksgiving. The Rabbi said something about Jewish attitude for boon, and in doing so, he implied that as a Jew, celebrating Thank sgiving is violating the Law of Moses and that conforming to tradition not set by God and his prophets Christmas should be eliminated.Another distinction I have observed in the Jewish worship service was the hymn or the songs of praise. In practicing Christianity, I had to separately bring the bible and a book which contains more than 700 songs. In Temple Emanu-el, the words from God (which is taken from the scriptures) and songs were compiled in the Gates of Prayer, and most of the songs of praise appear to be sung in the Hebrew language. In addition, the songs of praise come in between the Rabbis preaching. After he stainless a paragraph in the book, people sing.Although I couldnt understand the language of the hymn, the songs definitely got through me in such a way that the tunes of the songs remain in my head. If I had recorder, I really wanted to record the songs but, our instructor advised that it is a rude gesture to bring a recording blind and record activities of people we are not familiar with. Another fascinating ritual is the Jewish recollection of the dead. The walls on both sides of the Temple Emanu-el lists names of more than 500 people on wood surround the synagogue and right beside the names were light bulbs with a few turned on..At first I thought it was some sort of decorative art to make the temple attractive, but I asked to Rabbi after(prenominal) the service, and he said that the names with the light bulbs turned on were the dead people who worshipped in the temple and died during that calendar week or that month. The Rabbi also said that it was the Temples way of cherishing the retention of their dead person brothers and sisters. Although the temples ritual of honoring the deceased was relatively new to me, it produced a deep impression on me. This is because I only knew of commemorating rituals in the traditions of Christianity.And I personally thought that the Christian practices of preserving the memory of the dead accorded wi th the other religious systems. Another ritual I saw during my visit at the Temple Emanu-el was the Jewish tradition on marriage. That night, an engaged couple came to the temple with their families, the Rabbi gave them blessing of Lynne Chun and Harvey Reackmil on the occasion of their coming(prenominal) marriage, and after the Rabbi granted the blessing, everyone started to say mazltof I guess that it is their way of saying congratulations to the newly beatified couple.. After the speech of service, Rabbi Schaktman slowly came to our side and tried to make eye contact with each of us. I initially thought that I needed to pay for the collection just like in the Christian church that I used go to. But from the way he looked at us, I matt-up like he is trying to give us a chance to realize our sins for the past week and prompt us not to make the same mistakes again. Following the ending ceremony of the service, I came to a realization that the Jewish religion is not as promising a s it claims itself to be.As far as I respect some of the Jewish beliefs, customs, traditions, and practices, I honestly find Judaisms norms uncomfortable. One is that the doctrines are so individualistic and very prejudiced as the Rabbi discussed the evils of not being Jewish and how the Jewish way turns out as the right path in life. Also the Rabbi gave us an impression that I and the sleep of the class who went there were not welcome in their temple or in their community. Maybe I was just being too sensitive in this matter, but when I tried to talk to the Rabbi, he did not pay any attention to what I was saying or to the questions I were asking.The experience was alienating, although the Rabbi everlastingly told us to comeback anytime, we felt it was just a gesture with no thought to it. As my suspicion and mistrust in God or any divine being, I find myself unmoved by the beliefs and practices of Judaism. Neither did its changed my skepticism of God As such, visiting the temple and participating in Jewish worship services did not affect my beliefs, ideas, and my own perception of the experience as well as the religion itself.However, it does not necessarily mean that I do not respect Judaism and all of its followers, as a matter of fact despite the unwelcome treatment we received from the Rabbi, my utmost respect for Judaism and for its believers remain firm. care other major religions in the world, my visit in Temple Emanu-el has proven that Judaism, as manifested by their doctrines and songs of praise, is a religion rich in tradition, culture, and ways to establish identity. But religion is not about duration of tradition or establishment of identity, but it is more of professing and expressing personal beliefs regardless of what such beliefs hold.