Field Trip: Shabbat Service in Los Angeles - Essay Example

By Jewish tradition, prayers should always occur in the entire community. Amidah, which is the third section of the Shabbat service, forms the central point of Worship among Jews. During this section, the congregation normally engages in prayers and meditations. The word Amidah gives a description of prayers and how the Jews worship. Amidah has a small session for private prayers among its worshippers.

Similar to any church service, the Shabbat also acknowledges rituals and their significance in worship. Consequently, the Torah service forms the next section of the Shabbat service. Torah service provides teachings on peace, justice, and truth in society. In general, this section follows the teachings of Moses as written in his five books. The last session of the Shabbat Service is the concluding prayer where the whole congregation participates in the recitation of Aleinu or Adoration (Abrams & Katherine 18).

Reasons We chose Shabbat service as our field trip experience because of the perception that the Jewish religion has unique philosophies and worship procedures. The majority of people in the society believe that Shabbat is different from other church services because of its restrictions and related philosophies. Consequently, attending the service would enable us to obtain philosophies and facts about the Shabbat Service. 2. Relation of the Field Trip to Philosophy After attending the Shabbat Service, we were able to determine how philosophy influences religion.

According to the Jews, Shabbat Service must have five prayer sessions. All these sessions have different significance to the worshippers. For instance, the Torah service teaches peace and justice in the community. In addition, the religion has a philosophy, which advocates for all members of the congregation to use the five holy books recommended by Moses to govern all rituals. Just like Christian services, the Shabbat service considers prayers as precious gifts from heaven. As a result, the Jewish considers Amidah as a special session of the service where the congregation has an opportunity to pray.

Lastly, Jewish philosophy promotes the use of music and poetry during the Shabbat Service. In Judaism, Shabbat Service also follows the Ten Commandments during worship (Abrams & Katherine 24). 3. Impact of the Visit After attending the Shabbat Service, I learned several spiritually enriching things. I realized that the Shabbat service addresses all aspects of worship. Through five sessions of worship, I discovered that Shabbat Service promotes good behavior among members of the congregation.

For example, the Torah service teaches peace, truth, and justice among its worshippers. However, before one receives the teachings, the mood within the service must be appropriate. Consequently, the service begins with candle lighting and singing so that every member of the congregation is ready for spiritual enrichment. Besides setting the mood, all services must have philosophies or rituals that control religious practices or activities. In Shabbat's service, the five holy books according to Moses govern all rituals within the religion. It was a blessing and inspiring to attend the Shabbat Service during the field trip (Abrams & Katherine 29).