The Sanctity of the Synagogue
A synagogue is a place that a Jewish community has designated as a place of prayer to God, and correspondingly, God causes His Presence to dwell there. A form of the sanctity of the Temple is revealed in it, and therefore it is called a Mikdash me’at (sanctuary in miniature). Even when Israel was in exile, the Divine Presence dwelled with them in concealment through the synagogues, in which faith in God and in the redemption of Israel was revealed.
As our Sages said: “Come and see how beloved Israel is before the Holy One, blessed be He, for wherever they were exiled-the Divine Presence went with them" (Megillah 29a). As it is stated: “So says the Lord God: Though I have removed them far among the nations and scattered them among the lands, yet I have been for them a sanctuary in miniature in the lands where they have come" (Ezekiel 11:16). “A sanctuary in miniature"-these are synagogues and study halls.
Since the Divine Presence rests in the synagogue, anyone who sits in the synagogue with proper reverence fulfills a mitzvah (Shulchan Aruch 151:1; based on Megillah 28b).
The Preservation of the Nation
All the nations of the world, after being exiled from their lands, within a few generations lost their identity and disappeared. Only Israel, despite its long exile to the four corners of the earth, retained its identity. The synagogue played a major role in this, for it serves as a kind of spiritual extension that continues from the Temple and from the Land of Israel, and every Jew who enters a synagogue anywhere in the world, merits to draw a measure of the sanctity of the Land of Israel.
Thus, despite all the troubles and exiles, we were able to continue to maintain our national identity, whose primary expression is the belief that God is the Lord, and that Israel is destined to return to its Land, rebuild the Temple, and bring blessing to the world (Megillah 29a; see Likutei Halachot, Laws of Synagogue 3). And if this is so outside the Land, all the more so, that synagogues in the Land of Israel receive greater illumination and blessing from the Temple.
The Segulah (Special Quality) of Long Life
It is told in the Talmud that when Rabbi Yochanan heard that there were Jews in Babylonia who lived to very old age, he was greatly surprised and asked: Is it not stated, “so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied upon the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them" (Deuteronomy 11:21)-and not outside the Land? When they told him that those elders would rise early to go to the synagogue in the morning and delay leaving it in the evening, he said: That is what benefited them, that they lived long lives (Berachot 8a). For the sanctity of the synagogue is like the sanctity of the Land of Israel-the Land of life.
Our Sages also told of a certain elderly woman in the Land of Israel who had lived so long that she had grown weary of life. She came before Rabbi Yosei ben Chalafta and said: “My master, I have become too old, and now life is one of degradation-I taste neither food nor drink, and I wish to depart from the world." He asked her: “By what merit have you lived so long?" She answered: “I have the habit that even if I have something dear, I set it aside and go early every day to the synagogue." He said to her: “Refrain from going to the synagogue for three consecutive days." She went and did so, and on the third day, she fell ill and died. Therefore, King Solomon said: “Happy is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my entrance. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord" (Proverbs 8:34-35) (Yalkut Shimoni, Eikev 871).
How a Place Becomes a Synagogue
For a particular building to be considered a synagogue, two conditions must be met: first, that the owners intend to designate it as a synagogue; and second, that they actually begin to pray there. Therefore, when a synagogue is still under construction, the laws of a synagogue do not yet apply, and it is permitted to play there. All the laws of a synagogue apply only from the moment that they begin to pray within it (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 153:8).
A Gymnasium Used for Prayer on Shabbat
If a community has not yet built its own synagogue and, in the meantime, prays on Shabbat in a building intended for another purpose-such as a local school hall-that venue does not have the legal status of a synagogue, since it was not designated as such. Therefore, outside prayer times, it is permitted to play and exercise there. Similarly, in a hall intended for youth movement activities, where the youths pray several prayers on Shabbat- it is permitted to hold activities, performances, and even laugh there, since the hall was not designated as a synagogue (Megillah 26a; Shulchan Aruch 154:1).
However, a partition such as a curtain should be placed between the Ark and the rest of the hall. First, to emphasize that the hall was not designated as a synagogue; second, because it is forbidden to behave frivolously in front of a Torah scroll, and even in front of the Ark that contains it (see Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah 282:1; Mishnah Berurah 150:14).
Reading News in the Synagogue
Q: Is it permissible to browse news websites while in the synagogue?
A: The synagogue is designated for matters of holiness-for prayer and Torah-and anyone who uses it for mundane purposes, or behaves in a mundane way, desecrates its sanctity. Therefore, one does not engage there in frivolity or joking, one does not eat or drink there, and one does not speak about mundane matters, such as business, or politics (Megillah 28a-b; Shulchan Aruch 151:1). Accordingly, it is forbidden to read newspapers or browse news websites in the synagogue, including religious newspapers and websites.
Our Sages said in the Zohar (II, 131b) that someone who desecrates the synagogue causes separation between Israel and God, for the Divine Presence is revealed in the synagogue. If he ignores this, and desecrates it with idle matters; he has no share in the God of Israel, and diminishes the revelation of faith in its appropriate place.
Cleanliness of the Synagogue
Q: A person entered the synagogue with mud on his shoes and dirtied it. Is he obligated to find a rag or wipes and clean the mud? And if he did not, is it a mitzvah for others to do so?
A: It is a mitzvah to honor the synagogue and care for its cleanliness. One who has mud on his shoes must clean them before entering (Shulchan Aruch 151:8-9). Certainly, if someone unknowingly entered with mud, he is obligated to clean what he dirtied, to repair the damage to the synagogue’s honor, and to prevent further discomfort to those present.
If the person who dirtied it neglected to clean up, it is a mitzvah for anyone who can, to honor the synagogue and clean the mud. All the more so: just as in a regular home people are careful not to leave the floor dirty with mud, and if someone sees it dirty and can clean it, he is expected to do so-how much more so in a synagogue, which there is a mitzvah to honor. Likewise, one must not leave tissues used for cleaning dirt or wiping one’s nose on synagogue or study hall tables.
Spitting in a Synagogue
Q: I have seen in some books that one should spit in the synagogue when mentioning the wicked during “Aleinu." Is this permitted?
A: It is forbidden to spit in a synagogue. In earlier times, physicians thought that if a person needed to spit, he must do so immediately to avoid danger, and therefore, it was permitted even in a synagogue (Shulchan Aruch 151:7). Today, however, doctors say there is no such danger, and just as it is shameful to spit in one’s home, all the more so, it is forbidden in a synagogue (based on Berachot 63a). It should also be noted that in the past, spittle did not mar the floor as it does today, since many floors were packed earth, and even stone floors were not as smooth as today.
Kissing Children in the Synagogue
Many authorities have ruled that one should not kiss one’s children in the synagogue or show them excessive affection, in order to establish in one’s heart that there is no love like the love of God (Sefer Chassidim 255; Binyamin Ze’ev 163 in the name of the Agudah; Rema Orach Chaim 98:1).
In addition, one should be careful not to bring small children who do not know how to behave respectfully, as they may desecrate the honor of the synagogue, and disturb those praying (Shelah; Mishnah Berurah 98:3).
Kissing the Hand of a Rabbi or Father
Q: Many from Sephardic and Eastern communities customarily kiss the hand of a rabbi or father in the synagogue. Is this permitted?
A: All agree that it is permitted to kiss the hand of a rabbi, since this is not an expression of affection, but of honor for the Torah, and therefore, does not detract from the honor of Heaven. Likewise, it is permitted to kiss the hand of one’s father after he is called to the Torah, since this too is an act of honor (Ben Ish Chai, Vayikra 11). It is also permitted to kiss the hands of relatives whom one is obligated to honor, such as an older brother, or father-in-law (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Toledano 27:4).
Kissing Friends in the Synagogue
Q: Many Jews from North Africa have the custom of kissing one another on the face in the synagogue as a sign of friendship and affection. Is this permitted?
A: Rabbi Yitzchak Chazan, who served as a judge in Casablanca, Morocco, and later in Haifa, wrote (Yechaveh Da’at 3, Orach Chaim 5) that this custom, which developed in large cities in Morocco, should not be practiced, as it was not the custom originally. Only someone who one is obligated to honor, or a Torah scholar, may be kissed. Rabbi Maman wrote imilarly (Emek Yehoshua 3, Orach Chaim 18; 6, Orach Chaim 21).
On the other hand, Rabbi Shalom Mashash, who served as Chief Rabbi of Morocco and later of Jerusalem, wrote (Shemesh U’Magen 1, Orach Chaim 39) that kissing between friends and relatives is considered a form of greeting and an expression of affection and friendship, and “there is no diminishment of love for God in this, Heaven forbid," and it is done in honor of the Torah. Therefore, although some Moroccan rabbis preferred to abolish this custom, since it was practiced with rabbinic approval, those who wish to continue their custom, may do so.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.
