Laws of the Synagogue

Wherever ten Jews live, there is a mitzva for them to set aside a building in which to pray their prayers, and this building is called a synagogue (beit knesset; Rambam, Hilkhot Tefila 11:1). It is a great mitzva to build it, as it is stated: “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Shemot 25:8). Admittedly, it is clear that the main intent of the verse is to instruct us to build the Temple, but a branch that extends from this mitzva is the mitzva to build a synagogue. For the purpose of both is one: to draw Israel close to their Father in Heaven, and thereby to sanctify God’s name in the world. This is what the prophet Yeḥezkel said: “Yet I have been to them as a small sanctuary” (Yeḥezkel 11:16), and R. Yitzḥak explained: “These are the synagogues and study halls” (Megilla 29a). In other words, the holiness that rests in the synagogue is akin to the holiness that rested in the Temple.^¹

Especially after our Temple was destroyed and we were exiled from our land, and even the Shekhina (Divine Presence) went into exile with us, and we cannot go up and appear before the Lord our God – the synagogues and study halls are the places in which we can preserve the memory of that revelation of the Shekhina that existed in the Temple. Likewise, the prayers recited in the synagogue were instituted in place of the sacrifices that were offered in the Temple.

Since the Shekhina rests in the synagogue, even a person who came late for prayer with a minyan should, as a mitzva, come to the synagogue and pray there individually (Berakhot 6a; SA OḤ 90:9).

It emerges, then, that the establishment of a synagogue is meant to serve two purposes: first, to help the prayers be conducted in an orderly fashion; and second, to serve as a small sanctuary (mikdash me’at), which is a kind of remembrance and extension of the holiness of the Temple.

Since the stature of the synagogue is so important, the community can be compelled to build it. If there are Jews who do not wish to participate in the payments for building the synagogue, according to halakha the representatives of the community can compel them to participate in financing the building (SA OḤ 150:1). In general, the division of payments used to be determined according to wealth: the wealthy would pay more and the poor less. Today, there are communities that finance the construction of the synagogue by selling the seats in the synagogue, with the front seats costing more and those in the back less, and each person decides which seat he wishes to buy. And there are communities that set an equal sum for everyone.

Members of a community who are unable to finance the building of a synagogue must rent a place for prayer, and when they become wealthier they should build a permanent synagogue (MB 150:2).