I want to visit the temple the next time I’m in NYC, and not being Jewish, I have some questions! Hopefully zev steinhart or another of our helpful Dopers will come by…
As a gentile, should I only take a public tour of the temple, or is there a service I can attend?
Will I need to cover my hair, shoulders and/or legs when I visit? Can I wear pants or do I need to wear a dress?
Anything else I should know?
If I had a nickel for every time a Doper asked a Judaism question on the sabbath, why, I’d have at least a buck or two.
(Try bumping this on sunday or monday.)
Oh, DUH! Watta friggin’ Methodist…
Actually, it is almost certainly a Reform congregation (as indicated by the word “temple” in the name), so it is quite possible that:
there could be a Reform Jew browsing the SDMB on Saturday
and
our Orthodox and Conservative members may not have exact information on the protocols and courtesies concerning the Temple Emanu-El.
You’re in for a treat. I try to visit Temple Emanu-El every time I visit NYC. The services can be quite beautiful.
I’m a gentile, too, studying for an Orthodox conversion to Judaism. Since Emanu-El is a Reform temple, most of the service is conducted in English, so it’s easy to follow along. There’s plenty of beautiful music, and they even have a choir.
I’m sure you could arrange a tour beforehand if you prefer, but I just showed up and sat down. As long as you behave respectfully, you have nothing to worry about. Many non-Jews visit Emanu-El when visiting NYC because it’s famous as the largest Jewish synagogue in North America, if not the world.
Enjoy your visit! NYC is a beautiful place. I’m planning to move there in a few months to complete my conversion, Gd willing. I’m sure Dopers with more experience, or those who belong to the Temple, will be along soon to give more in-depth answers.
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!
Quick question- if the word “temple” signifies a Reform congregation, what might tip me off to a Conservative or Orthodox place of worship?
Right. Because only the Orthodox can answer these sorts of questions. :rolleyes: Considering that this was a question about a Reform temple, a good answer to it would be less likely to be answered fully by someone who obseves the Sabbath. Furthermore, the question was asked on Saturday night after or very close to sundown.
I do not know that there would be any similar quick tip-off.
The issue, here, is the word temple. In historic Judaism, as carried forth by the Orthodox and Conservative groups, there is only the one Temple in Jerusalem, although it has been destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed, there is still only the single location and (when possible) building.
When the Reform movement arose, one of their beliefs included a resignation to the fact that there had not been a temple in over 1,800 years (far longer than there had ever been a temple) and that they should consider the (spiritual?) temple anywhere they chose to worship. At that point they began using the word “temple” in the names of their synagogues.
A Jewish house of worship that includes the word temple, therefore, has a 99.9999% chance of being Reform and a .0001% chance of being some odd variation of Messianic Judaism or something and a 0% chance of being Orthodox or Conservative.
It is a one-way situation, however. Some Reform congregations continue to use the word “synagogue” so a Jewish house of worship that does not include the word “temple” in the name might be used by a congregation of any tradition.
Here is the temple’s website. The “Emanu-El at a Glance” section states very clearly that it’s Reform. I believe there are multiple Temple Emanu-El’s; I remember hearing of one in San Fransisco, for instance. I believe they’re all reform.
There is no comparable term that indicates when a synagogue is Orthodox. For instance, mine is called “Congregation of Israel,” but I know of others called “People of Kindness” and “Joyous Song of Israel.” (They sound less stilted in Hebrew.)
If you’re interested in a user-friendly Orthodox service, you might look into the beginner services at the Lincoln Square Synagogue. I’ve never attended, but from what I’ve heard, they’re beautiful. They’re held from 9:15 to noon every Saturday, though I’m assuming you don’t have to stay for the whole thing. It’s targeted more at non-observant Jews than at curious gentiles, but the general atmosphere is supposed to be very open and welcoming.
This is a bit off-topic, but Margeuerite– you’re converting to Judaism? Congratulations and welcome to the tribe. How did you decide? Which sect are you converting to?
I’m curious as well Margeuerite, if you’d like to share.
I see that the LSS website has a “restaurant list” but it wouldn’t load. Damn.
To continue the slight hijack of my own thread (and feel free to hijack away, it will be very interesting!), how about a question about shared worship spaces?
When I was growing up, we had a Jewish congregation who shared our church building with us (the rabbi and our minister were best friends). On Sundays it was Christ Church by the Sea, and on Fridays it was Shir Ha-Ma’alot temple. Reform, obviously. Eventually they got their own building, but I was a little disappointed because Bernie King is one hell of a rabbi and it was great to be so close to a different religion to learn and share.
Could an Orthodox congregation share space with a gentile faith? Or must each congregation have it’s own worship space?
Interestingly, my National Geographic came last night, and there is a story about Lubavich Jews (“A Faith Grows in Brooklyn”).
Don’t have a cow, man. I was just making an amusing observation.
I saw the (and laughed!) and I think maybe hajario just missed it.
No sweat.
It isn’t uncommon for a Conservative synagogue’s name to include the word “Temple”. Try a search on “conservative temple”
I could access the restaurant list, so I’ll link to it here on the off chance that it helps. (Caution: It’s a PDF.) I’m not sure why you’re interested in it-- It’s just a listing of kosher restaurants, and it doesn’t seem to be a very good one. It looks to be a lot of take-out places. This seems to be a better list, if you want one.
As for an Orthodox congregation sharing another faith’s worship space (though I am not purporting to know the exact Jewish law on this matter), I will tell you that most Orthodox people I know would find it very dodgy.
First of all, there are specific requirements for a Jewish worship space. It has to be pointed towards Jerusalem. In the front, there is an Aron Kodesh, a holy ark (basically a large, ornate cupboard) that holds the Torah scrolls. In an Orthodox synagogue, there will be a men’s section and a women’s section. The pews will be filled with Jewish prayerbooks and Copies of the five books of Moses, and it’d be really inconvenient to switch them all every day.
I think that many other faiths (with some obvious exceptions, like Islam) would prefer not to have the men and women separate, and the eastern orientation of the building often makes for a somewhat odd construction. Also, there’s a random podium in the middle of the room that’s used for reading the Torah.
Those are fairly minor structural issues in and of themselves, but when it comes to the ark in the front of the room, I think many Orthodox people would be uncomfortable with the idea of a Christian service, for instance, being held in the same room where Torah scrolls are stored.
Many Orthodox people (though I'm not among them) consider it against Jewish law, or at least inadvisable, to even enter a house of worship of another faith. I think if the building were shared, that could become sort of inconvenient. Regardless, my sense is that the community, and particularly the Rabbi leading the congregation, would prefer not to confer any implied legitimacy on the other faith by agreeing to facilitate its worship. Jews are not allowed, by Jewish law, to help gentiles worship another god. Though it's unclear whether Christianity qualifies as the worship of another god, and Islam certainly doesn't, Orthodox Jews probably would not be okay with helping people of other faiths worship in a way not sanctioned by Judaism.
Reading over my post, that sounded a little blunt. I don’t mean to be rude; it’s just that these are the issues likely to come up if you approach an Orthodox congregation asking to share its space.
Also, just another practical concern-- Orthodox synagogues are in use every day, at least three times a day. I’m not sure when the other congregation could even have a time slot.
I’m not having a cow. When I have a cow you’ll know it.
That said, it’s insulting to imply that the Orthodox are “more Jewish” than the rest of us.
Hajario, I really didn’t get that from his/her post. Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding?
I certainly don’t mean to say that it’s deliberate but I’ve seen it here a lot. If a question about Judaism is asked on a Friday night, someone will almost always make a comment like his. The implication is that there won’t be anyone qualified to give the correct answer until Shabat is over. Clearly, this is false.
hmmmm
You are right and I was wrong. I even found a Conservative Temple Emanu-El (although they still identify the building as a synagogue despite using the word temple in the name of the congregation).
My experience had been different. So now my questions would be:
Do any Orthodox include the word temple in the name of the congregation?
Do any Conservatives use the word temple when describing the building (as opposed to the congregation)?
Thank you! I’m looking forward to joining Am Yisrael; although I’m still working on the halachos of Shabbos, and it will probably be close to a year before I’m officially converted.
**EJsGirl, ** I’m glad I have your permission, because I don’t want to hijack your thread. 
Actually my conversion story started out very innocently. I was browsing the internet one day and saw something about Brooklyn’s Satmar Chassidim. I had never heard of them, which in itself piqued my interest. I started learning about them and other Chassidic sects, then Orthodoxy, and finally Judaism as a whole.
I’ve always had an interest in comparative theology (several of my friends are Muslims, and I bother them regularly with questions about the Qur’an and classical Arabic), so I began learning basics about the Torah. I learned to read Hebrew with the help of a sympathetic Chabad rabbi and numerous internet audio files. I attended services at Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform synagogues. I began learning brochos “just to broaden my mind”, as I told myself. As I became more serious, I read more about the faith in general (usually from an Orthodox viewpoint, since that’s what I was used to). After a year or so, I realized I was in love and could not live without Judaism, even though I hadn’t been “looking” and had been perfectly happy as a religious Catholic. I still can’t describe exactly what happened, or why; but I feel like I’ve been given a great gift, and life would be only a pale shadow of beautiful if I could not live as a Jew.
I count myself lucky because the foundations of my study have been from an Orthodox perspective and the people who originally drew me to Judaism (although they probably didn’t intend to) were all either Litvish or Chassidish, leaving me much less to learn when I finally undergo the Orthodox conversion. From the beginning I always just assumed that if I wanted to be Jewish, I had to be Orthodox. I never even knew there was such a thing as a Reform or Conservative conversion until about a year into my studies; since then, I’ve made it my responsibility to learn about these viewpoints as well.
As for sect membership – At first I wanted to be Chassidic, but after visiting several chassidishe families in Brooklyn, I have concerns that this way of life might be too strict for me and that, as an outsider, I would be very isolated socially. I really admired the intelligence and warmth of those people I had the privilege to meet, particularly one Breslover family. In any case, it’s unlikely that I would be completely accepted by any chassidish community, with the possible exception of the Lubavitchers. For this reason I’m leaning more toward a Litvishe or even Modern Orthodox lifestyle, which will probably depend on which community’s rabbi agrees to oversee my conversion.