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Florencia Inige
ENGL 110 A001
Professor Bruner
11/02/14
IF #8
The First Time I Went to a Jewish Temple
Last week on October 28th, all of the freshmen from each Core class woke up earlier than
most of us wanted and headed for Temple Beth El. Going to a Jewish temple for the first time, I
wasnt sure what it would be like. Being a Christian, I knew it would be different from going to
church on Sunday mornings. I expected to get there and have an elderly male rabbi presenting
information to us about Judaism from a PowerPoint or something like it. When we arrived there,
I saw that the rabbi was not only not an elderly man with a long beard, but a woman dressed in
normal modern attire.
Rabbi Judith taught us a lot throughout the course of an hour and a half. She taught us
about what Jews believe it means to live a noble life. Throughout her lesson, I thought what most
of others in the room were probably thinking, I wonder if I can come back without being
Jewish? As I thought more and more about what she was telling us, I realized that one doesnt
necessarily need to be Jewish to set goals to help those around them and stand up for the
oppressed. I really liked what she was saying about how the Jews were always told to remember
that they were once slaves. I think that keeping that thought in mind would humble a person and
teach them that theyre not the only ones with struggles.

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Towards the end of her lesson, Rabbi Judith showed us the three different Torah scrolls
they have in their Arch. I thought it was really interesting that, to show respect everyone must
stand until the Arch is closed. It fascinated me how the Torah takes one whole year to write, and
must be handwritten using something like an ink pen. An interesting aspect of the temple
building itself, is that in the sanctuary the wall in front of everyone is made completely of
windows. This is so that the congregation can be facing the outside world when they pray, and
can be reminded of what needs to change in life so that we may all be at peace.
Going to the temple taught me a lot that I didnt know about Judaism, both similarities
and differences between it and Christianity. At the end of the session, a question was raised
asking if one could be a Christian and be Jewish at the same time. Rabbi Judith explained that
Jews are still waiting for their Messiah to come, while Christians have Jesus as theirs. They do
not believe that Jesus was who he says he was, but rather a prophet of some sort. This experience
was very educational, and I would like to go back to the temple, sometime in the future just to
see what their actual service is like.