At a minimum, a synagogue is a beit tefilah, a house of prayer. It is the place where Jews come together for community prayer services. Paradesi Synagogue By Jay A. Waronker LOCATION The world-renowned Paradesi Syngagogue, first built in 1568 and reconstructed in part and enlarged over the years, can be found in the Mattancherry area of Kochi. The road that it was built on came to be known as Jew Street or Synagogue Lane, and the surrounding neighborhood as Jew Town. The Rajah of Cochin generously allotted the community land in Cochin da Cima, or Upper Cochin, next to his own palace (now a city museum) and an adjacent small ... The synagogue is the center of the Jewish religious community: a place of prayer, study and education, social and charitable work, as well as a social center. What's in a Name? Throughout this site, I have used the word "synagogue," but there are actually several different terms for a Jewish "House of Worship," and you can tell a lot about people by the terms they use. The Hebrew term is beit k'nesset (literally, House of Assembly), although you will rarely hear this term used in ... Synagogues are buildings used for Jewish prayer, study, assembly, and reading of the Torah. The Torah (Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses) is traditionally read in its entirety over a period of a year in weekly portions during services, or in some synagogues on a triennial cycle.
