Synagogue

A synagogue, also spelled synagog (from Greek συναγωγή, transliterated synagogē, meaning "assembly"; Hebrew: בית כנסת‎ Beyth Kenesset, meaning "house of assembly"; בית תפילה Beyth Tefila, meaning "house of prayer"; שול shul; אסנוגה esnoga; קהל kahal), is a Jewish house of prayer.

Synagogues have a large hall for prayer (the main sanctuary), and may also have smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices. Some have a separate room for Torah study, called the Beith Midrash (Sefaradi) "beis midrash (Ashkenazi)—בית מדרש ("House of Study").

Synagogues are consecrated spaces used for the purpose of prayer, Torah reading, study and assembly; however a synagogue is not necessary for worship. Halakha holds that Communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews (a minyan) assemble. Worship can also be carried out alone or with fewer than ten people assembled together. However, Halakha considers certain prayers as communal prayers and therefore they may be recited only by a minyan. The synagogue does not replace the long-since destroyed Temple in Jerusalem.

Novi Sad Synagogue

Novi Sad Synagogue (Serbian: Новосадска синагога or Novosadska sinagoga) is one of many cultural institutions in Novi Sad, Serbia, in the capital of Serbian the province of Vojvodina. Located on Jevrejska (Jewish) Street, in the city center, the synagogue has been recognized as a historic landmark. It served the local Neolog congregation.

The new synagogue, the fifth to be erected at the same location since the 18th century, became a major project for the entire Jewish community of Novi Sad, on which construction began in 1905 and was completed in 1909. Projected by Hungarian architect Baumhorn Lipót, it was part of a bigger complex of buildings that included on both sides of the synagogue two edifices decorated in a similar pattern: One building served as the Jewish school and other as offices of the Jewish community.

More than 4,000 Jews lived in Novi Sad before the Second World War, out of a total population of 80,000. Only about 1,000 of them survived the Holocaust that followed the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 and the annexation of Bačka region by Hungary. Many moved to Israel after the war. There are an estimated 400 Jews living in Novi Sad today. Currently, while the synagogue is not used for religious ceremonies, it is used for many cultural concerts and events.

Ohel Jakob synagogue, Munich

Coordinates: 48°8′4″N 11°34′21″E / 48.13444°N 11.57250°E / 48.13444; 11.57250

Ohel Jakob (from Hebrew: "Jacob's Tent") is a synagogue in Munich, Germany. It was built between 2004 and 2006 as the new main synagogue for the Jewish community in Munich and is located at the Sankt-Jakobs-Platz. The synagogue was inaugurated on 9 November 2006 on the 68th anniversary of the Kristallnacht. The building is part of the new Jewish Center consisting of the synagogue, the Jewish Museum Munich and a community center.

Building

Ohel Jakob was designed by architects Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch who were awarded the contract after an Architectural design competition on 6 July 2001. The architects had previously completed the New Synagogue in Dresden. The topping out ceremony was celebrated on 25 October 2005. The opening ceremony was led by Charlotte Knobloch, president of Central Council of Jews in Germany and head of Munich's Orthodox Jewish community.

The building is a cubic structure of travertine stone topped by a glass cube. The glass roof represents a tent (Ohel), symbolizing Moses' 40-year-journey through the desert. The main portal was manufactured in Budapest and features Hebrew letters depicting the Ten Commandments. The interior walls are paneled with warm cedar decorated with golden psalms.