The synagogue – a meeting place and the home of the Torah

The synagogue is the religious and social centre of the Jewish community – a place of prayer where people come together. It is not the building itself that is holy, but the Torah that it houses. Synagogue architecture does not follow a standard style. The outer appearance of a synagogue is usually determined by the architectural style of the buildings surrounding it, but the structure of synagogue interiors is always characterised by the Torah Ark, which is aligned to face Jerusalem and holds the holy scrolls, and the bema, the lectern at which the Torah is read.