They are beautifully handwritten and are often covered in velvet and decorated up with embroidery, silver and jewels. The children were amazed to find out that if the scrolls are unrolled totally, each is longer than a football pitch. The Torah scroll is read through yearly. When the cycle is finished (a special day called Simchat Torah see Succot page) then a special ceremony takes place. The Torah is written and read in Hebrew. Hebrew is read right to left, our children think that this is back to front. They find it a little strange.

The synagogue is the religious meeting place for Jewish people. Many attend the synagogue on Saturday morning which is the Jewish sabbath day (see Shabbat). All of the men and boys cover their heads with a little skull cap or a hat. Sometimes they sit downstairs altogether and the ladies and girls sit upstairs in the ladies' gallery. Modern or progressive synagogues allow families to sit together, but this is still fairly new.

During the service the Torah scrolls are fetched out of the ark. The ark is a cupboard with a curtain in front of it. The ark is guarded by a lamp which is never put out, it is a reminder that G*d is always present.

The scroll is rolled out on a table called the bimah, when it is read, the reader uses a pointer to show how important it is. While the Torah is being read the Jewish people consider that that is part of the worship of G*d.

The rabbi, a Jewish teacher, will talk about the reading or give a sermon.Rabbis are responsible for organising worship at the synagogue.

Another leader is the hazzan who does all of the singing. He usually has a beautiful voice and often sings prayers or hymns without any accompaniment.

There are three Hebrew phrases which Jews use to describe their synagogue:
Bet Tefillah or house of prayer
Bet Knesset or the house of meeting,
and, Bet Midrash or the house of study.

Jewish men wear a prayer shawl or tallit at any time they are going to pray, either in the house or in the synagogue. It is a special shawl with fringes on it.

All Jewish men wear a hat or a little skull cap called a kippah when they are going to prayer or at the synagogue. Some Jews wear a kippah all of the time as a mark of respect for G*d.

If a Jewish man is praying at home he will wear two little boxes containing passages from the Torah strapped one to each arm. They are called tefillin. A rabbi often wears robes for the service, though there is no special outfit. Very often a rabbi will wear a prayer shawl over normal clothes.

Jewish homes usually have a tiny ornament fixed to the door frame.