Will Hayward

Name of Church/Temple/Synagogue you visited: Temple Sinai

Location: 208 Summit Ave, Summit, NJ 07901
Date of Visit: April 25, 2015
The World Stands on Three Pillars: Torah, Prayer and Acts of
Kindness, read the quote that was printed above the entrance. When I
arrived at Temple Sinai early Saturday morning there were only a few
cars in the parking lot, which surprised me. I had gone on to their
website to find a service over the weekend that I could attend and
found the Sharing Shabbat program that takes place every Saturday
morning at 8:30am. Although I had been to various temples and
synagogues to attend bar/bat/bnai-mitzvahs, I did not really know
what to expect. Through the visitation I was given a greater sense of
what the Jewish faith is about, but also how all religion has its
similarities.
From the exterior, the temple appears to be a house or some sort
of nursing home and I was somewhat surprised by the fact that such a
normal looking building could serve as a spiritual center. When I
entered the building I met the director of education that oversees the
religious enrichment of all students at the temple. She showed me the
offices and various multi-purpose rooms that the building had, but
when she brought me to the room that contained the ark, the Torah
and seating for the congregation, I was impressed. The Sharing
Shabbat was not held in the official sanctuary, rather it was held in a
room that had an Ark and Torah and seating, but a much smaller
capacity. Only about 20 people attended the service, which surprised
me, but the director of education informed me that the mass on Friday
nights is much more heavily attended. The service was led by a
member of the congregation and was a very casual environment. As
the service began parents and younger children filed in and a few older
people attended as well. Both the Torah and a prayer book were used
and most of the mass was said in Hebrew, which was very different
from what I am used to as a Catholic. I did my best to follow the
proceedings and at times joined in the singing/chanting of the Hebrew
passages. At Corpus Christi (where I go to church) there is certainly
singing, but the majority of the mass is spoken. The Sharing
Shabbat also involved much more congregational participation than
the mass that Im used to. Congregants were involved in various
prayers, singing, opening of the ark, undressing of the Torah, reading

of the Torah scrolls, and dressing of the Torah whereas at Corpus Christi
congregational participation is limited to 1-2 readings, musical
involvement and Eucharistic ministry. Towards the end of the service
the leader gave something similar to the homily of a Catholic mass.
He talked about how he used different methods to make decisions in
everyday life and how the Torah affected into those decisions. He told
the congregation the story of how he and his wife were eating at
Charlie Browns and had received the check, only to notice that the
waiter had forgotten to charge them for their salads. His wife helped
him rationalize the decision to not inform the waiter of her mistake by
pointing out the poor service, but he said that he had regretted his
decision for many days after. He pointed out various ways that he
could have handled the situation in a way that would follow the
scriptures of the Torah. When he was done speaking some one from
the first row called out and asked him how long ago the incident had
occurred. The leader responded by telling the man that he had gone
about a week ago and the man informed him that Charlie Browns had
been giving out a free salad with every entre. The leader was
annoyed that he had gone back and forth over a decision that he didnt
actually make, but pointed out that he had been tested by God and
failed to do the right thing. He encouraged the congregation to look to
the Torah for guidance in their lives. I thought that the homily offered
an interesting message, one not much different from a homily in the
Catholic faith. Despite the many differences between the faith that I
observed and my own faith, the underlying ideas and themes were
very similar. Leaders of not just Judaism stress the sacred texts, prayer
and acting in the name of religion (often simplified to spreading
kindness), just as the quote over the entrance had.
While the Sharing Shabbat isnt the temples common, formal
service that attracts the largest population, Im sure that people other
than myself have benefited from the relaxed and slightly instructional
environment. The small, plain room where it was held well suited the
service because it had the Ark, Torah, places for the religious leader
and seating for the small congregation, but did not have the grand,
official, rather intimidating feel that many worship places do. I had
curiously passed by Temple Sinai countless times, but never really
found time to check it out until the Sacred Space Visitation was
assigned. Spending just an hour and a half to immerse myself in the
religious rituals of others has helped to widen my perspective about

religion in the 21st century, while adding value to the knowledge

learned about Judaism in class.