The writer and satirist Harry Golden once asked his atheist father why he went to shul so religiously. The reply: Garfinkel goes to talk to God. I go to talk to Garfinkel. This anecdote reveals an ancient truth: Jews come to the synagogue for many reasons, not all of which have to do with faith, though they are all legitimate and welcome reasons. Maybe this is why we call the synagogue a Beit K’neset, the House of Gathering, rather than the House of Prayer or the House of God. Schol-

ars of ancient Judaism describe the early institution as closer to a modern-day Jewish Community Center than to a House of Prayer in the modern sense. But on a more profound level, a Beit K’neset is indeed a house of prayers. The synagogue houses the prayers of all Israel — much the way the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is more than a gathering place for the country’s politicians and lawmakers: it is meant to be the locus of Israelis’ deepest concerns and aspirations.