Candle Lighting Shabbat Observation Essay

I attended a Candle Lighting Shabbat at the Temple Israel of Brevard on August 26th. I found and chose this location because my friend has been a member of the temple for years and had invited me to come in the past, but I was never able to go. My expectations were that the people of the temple would be very nice and welcoming. I also felt that I would feel out of place since I had never been to a temple before. I also was convinced that I was bound to do something incorrectly. Additionally, I was very curious what they would do during the Shabbat. I was furthermore wondering why the time for the Candle Lighting was 7:31 since it seemed like an odd time. I was expecting to just sit there quietly and just listen to the rabbi talk about different parts of the Torah. When I arrived at the temple, I was surprised at the amount of people there. I assumed there would be more people but the Shabbat had about 50 people in attendance. When first walking into the temple I immediately saw lots of books. I also was not expecting their lobby to be the size it is since the building looks so huge. After observing what others were doing when they entered the temple, I made my way to the man giving out the books. He handed a book to me with a smile and said “Shalom.” When entering the synagogue’s main room, I was amazed by everything I saw. From the chuppah to the candles to the signs on the wall with lights to remember the deceased. The first smell I smelt was of smoke, from the candles which each family would light two of. While in the synagogue, there was chatting among the congregation. At …show more content…
I was able to learn first-hand what attending a Jewish synagogue is like. This experience made me also want to go out of my comfort zone more often. I think that attending another service at the synagogue or a service in another religion would be very beneficial to