At this time of year, when shuls are the spiritual center of our lives, let’s take a moment to pay tribute to them and let’s recognize the integral role they play in our world.
Our shuls, otherwise known as houses of worship, are where we connect to our Creator in prayer and in supplication. During these awe-inspiring days, when our lives are on the line, it’s in shul that we ask Hashem to grant us a year of good health, safety, prosperity, and happiness.
But it doesn’t end there. Shuls are at the center of our lives in so many ways. It’s where the daf yomi chaburah gathers every morning at the crack of dawn, coffees in hand. It’s where our neighbor davens for the amud on a regular basis, after just losing a beloved parent. Shul is where a brother-in-law is naming his new baby girl, a nephew is leining in honor of his bar mitzvah, and the candy man is distributing lollipops to a bunch of eager little kids. It’s where we stop the rav to ask a shailoh and where we get inspired by a dynamic drasha.
Shul is where the cycle of life happens.
Whether we daven in a tiny shtiebel where the paint is peeling or in a huge synagogue with polished floors and a domed ceiling, it doesn’t really matter. Shul is not just a place to daven. It’s our spiritual home.
