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65-525: The JPS Bible translation is used in Jewish and Christian seminaries, on hundreds of college campuses, in informal adult study settings, in synagogues , and in Jewish day schools and supplementary programs. It has been licensed in a wide variety of books as well as in electronic media. As a nonprofit publisher, JPS develops projects that for-profit publishers will not invest in, significant projects that may take years to complete. Other core JPS projects include

130-474: A third or fourth century inscription uses a similar term, εὑκτήριον euktērion . The oldest Samaritan synagogue discovered so far is from Delos in the Aegean Islands , with an inscription dated between 250 and 175 BCE, while most Samaritan synagogues excavated in the wider Land of Israel and ancient Samaria in particular, were built in the fourth to seventh centuries at the very end of

195-807: A Diaspora holiday—which are one day longer than those in Israel—extends into Shabbat. While the Parshyot divisions are fairly standardized, there are various communities with differing parsha divisions. For example, many Yemenites combine Korach with the first half of Chukat and the second half of Chukat ( "Vayis'u mi-kadesh" ) with Balak instead of combining Matot and Masei , and some Syrian communities combine Korach and Chukat instead of Matot and Masei . In Provence and Tunisia , Mishpatim and Im Kesef Talveh were occasionally divided so that Matot and Masei would always be read together. The division of parashiot found in

260-641: A choir to accompany the hazzan, and vestments for the synagogue rabbi to wear. In following decades, the central reader's table, the Bimah , was moved to the front of the Reform sanctuary—previously unheard-of in Orthodox synagogues. Gender separation was also removed. Synagogues often take on a broader role in modern Jewish communities and may include additional facilities such as a catering hall, kosher kitchen, religious school , library , day care center and

325-587: A continually lit lamp or lantern, usually electric in contemporary synagogues, called the ner tamid ( נר תמיד ‎), the "Eternal Light", used as a way to honor the Divine Presence. A synagogue may be decorated with artwork, but in the Rabbinic and Orthodox tradition, three-dimensional sculptures and depictions of the human body are not allowed as these are considered akin to idolatry. Originally, synagogues were made devoid of much furniture,

390-578: A dozen Second Temple period synagogues in use by Jews and Samaritans have been identified by archaeologists in Israel and other countries of the Hellenistic world . Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai , who is often credited with reformulating Judaism for the post-Temple era, advocated for the establishment of individual houses of worship since

455-718: A fire destroyed the building and the entire JPS stock. A second, founded in New York in 1873, ended in 1875. In response to the growing need for English-language Jewish texts, rabbis and lay leaders of the American Jewish community met on June 3, 1888 at a national convention in Philadelphia and founded the Jewish Publication Society. As JPS moved into the 20th century, membership grew rapidly. After years of meetings, deliberations and revisions,

520-707: A large number of synagogues across the Roman - Byzantine and Sasanian Empires . Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of synagogues in at least thirteen places across the diaspora, spanning from Dura-Europos in Syria to Elche in Hispania (modern-day Spain ). An especially sizable and monumental synagogue dating from this period is the Sardis Synagogue . Additionally, many inscriptions pertaining to synagogues and their officials have been discovered. In

585-651: A new-found focus on the State of Israel . Works such as The JPS Commentary Series , The Jewish Catalog and The K'Tonton Series were tremendously successful. From 1975 to 1978 A. Leo Levin was its President. In 1985, the newly translated three parts of the Bible (the Torah , Prophets , and Psalms/Writings) were finally compiled into what is now known as the JPS Tanakh (or NJPS, New JPS translation, to distinguish it from

650-671: A place for communal prayer and reading and studying the Torah . Alexandrian Jews also made a Koine Greek translation of the Torah, the Septuagint . The earliest archaeological evidence for the existence of synagogues is stone dedication inscriptions from the third century BCE prove that proseukhái existed by that date. Philo and Josephus mention lavishly-adorned synagogues in Alexandria and in Antioch , respectively. More than

715-516: A place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as weddings , bar and bat mitzvahs , choir performances, and children's plays. They also have rooms for study , social halls, administrative and charitable offices, classrooms for religious and Hebrew studies , and many places to sit and congregate. They often display commemorative, historic, or modern artwork alongside items of Jewish historical significance or history about

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780-673: A smaller chapel for daily services. Since many Orthodox and some non-Orthodox Jews prefer to collect a minyan (a quorum of ten) rather than pray alone, they commonly assemble at pre-arranged times in offices, living rooms, or other spaces when these are more convenient than formal synagogue buildings. A room or building that is used this way can become a dedicated small synagogue or prayer room. Among Ashkenazi Jews they are traditionally called shtiebel ( שטיבל , pl. shtiebelekh or shtiebels , Yiddish for "little house"), and are found in Orthodox communities worldwide. Another type of communal prayer group, favored by some contemporary Jews,

845-604: A special chair placed on the wall facing Jerusalem and next to the Torah Shrine was reserved for the prominent members of the congregation and for important guests. Such a stone-carved and inscribed seat was discovered at archaeological excavations in the synagogue at Chorazin in Galilee and dates from the 4th–6th century; another one was discovered at the Delos Synagogue , complete with a footstool. In Yemen ,

910-518: Is chanted publicly. In most communities, it is read by a designated reader ( ba'al koreh ) in Jewish prayer services, starting with a partial reading on the afternoon of Shabbat , the Jewish Sabbath, i.e. Saturday afternoon, again during the Monday and Thursday morning services, and ending with a full reading during the following Shabbat morning services (Saturday morning). The weekly reading

975-408: Is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, Parashat HaShavua ( Hebrew : פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ ), is popularly abbreviated to parashah (also parshah / p ɑː r ʃ ə / or parsha ), and is also known as a Sidra or Sedra / s ɛ d r ə / . The parashah

1040-460: Is a section of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) used in Jewish liturgy during a particular week. There are 54 parshas, or parashiyot in Hebrew , and the full cycle is read over the course of one Biblical year. Each Torah portion consists of two to six chapters to be read during the week. There are 54 weekly portions or parashot . Torah reading mostly follows an annual cycle beginning and ending on

1105-531: Is available for purchase or by subscription from many audio book vendors. The audio version of the Weekly Torah portion , also known as parsha , was available on the JPS website and will be again soon. 2000: 2001: 2003: 2006: 2007: 2009: 2011: 2014: 2008: 2009: Synagogues A synagogue , also called a shul or a temple , is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans . It has

1170-498: Is celebrated on the day following Shemini Atzeret. If Shemini Atzeret falls on a Sabbath, in the Diaspora a special 'out of cycle' Torah reading is inserted for that day. The final parashah , V'Zot HaBerachah , is always read on Simchat Torah. Apart from this "immovable" final portion, there can be up to 53 weeks available for the other 53 portions. In years with fewer than 53 available weeks, some readings are combined to fit into

1235-788: Is commonly used in English , with its earliest mention in the 1st century Theodotos inscription in Jerusalem. Ashkenazi Jews have traditionally used the Yiddish term shul (from the Greek schola , which is also the source of the English "school") in everyday speech, and many continue to do so in English. Sephardi Jews and Romaniote Jews generally use the term kal (from the Hebrew qahal "community"). Spanish and Portuguese Jews call

1300-645: Is governed by a Board of Trustees, headed by Board President Gittel Hilibrand. Past editors-in-chief include Henrietta Szold (1893–1916), Solomon Grayzel (1939–1966), and Chaim Potok (1966–1974). Potok was involved in JPS's publication activities for 35 years, serving as editor for 8 years, secretary of the Bible translation committee for the Writings (Ketuvim) for 16 years, chair of the JPS Editorial Committee for 18 years, and literary editor to its Bible program for 18 years. Dr. Ellen Frankel

1365-668: Is no longer practiced in Israel, the United Kingdom, or the United States, and which custom, as in former times, was dependent upon whether or not the wearer considered it a thing of contempt to stand before God while wearing shoes. In Christian countries, where it was thought not offensive to stand before a king while wearing shoes, it was likewise permitted to do so in a house of prayer. However, in Karaite Judaism,

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1430-576: Is pre-empted by a special reading on major religious holidays . Each Saturday morning and holiday reading is followed by an often similarly themed reading ( Haftarah ) from the Book of Prophets ( Nevi'im ). The custom of dividing the Torah readings dates to the time of the Babylonian captivity (6th century BCE). The origin of the first public Torah readings is found in the Book of Nehemiah , where Ezra

1495-505: Is the chavurah ( חבורה , pl. chavurot , חבורות ), or prayer fellowship. These groups meet at a regular place and time, either in a private home or in a synagogue or other institutional space. In antiquity , the Pharisees lived near each other in chavurot and dined together to ensure that none of the food was unfit for consumption. Some synagogues bear the title " Great Synagogue ". Ukraine Weekly Torah portion It

1560-601: The Gospel of John ( John 9:22; 18:20 ) and the Book of Revelation ( Rev. 2:9; 3:9 ). It is used in the sense of 'assembly' in the Epistle of James ( James 2:2 ). Alternatively, the epistle of James (in Greek, clearly Ἰάκωβος or יעקב, anglicized to Jacob) refers to a place of assembly that was indeed Jewish, with Jacob ben Joseph perhaps an elder there. The specific word in James (Jacob) 2:2 could easily be rendered "synagogue", from

1625-706: The Heliopolite Nome . The first synagogues emerged in the Jewish diaspora , several centuries before their introduction to the Land of Israel . Evidence points to their existence as early as the Hellenistic period , notably in Alexandria , Ptolemaic Egypt , the world's foremost Greek-speaking city at the time. There, the first proseukhái ( Koinē Greek : προσευχαί , lit.   'places of prayer'; singular προσευχή proseukhē ) were built to provide

1690-485: The Mishnah – the "Oral Torah") states that communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever a minyan , a group of at least 10 Jewish adults, is assembled, often (but not necessarily) led by a rabbi . Worship can also happen alone or with fewer than ten people, but certain prayers are considered by halakha as solely communal; these can be recited only by a minyan. In terms of its specific ritual and liturgical functions,

1755-536: The Sephardic , Yemenite , Romaniote or Persian Jews of a town), style of religious observance (e.g., Reform or Orthodox synagogue), or by the followers of a particular rabbi , such as the shtiebelekh ( Yiddish : שטיבעלעך , romanized :  shtibelekh , singular שטיבל shtibl ) of Hasidic Judaism . The Hebrew term is bet knesset (בית כנסת) or "house of assembly". The Koine Greek -derived word synagogue (συναγωγή) also means "assembly" and

1820-531: The destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, including in Magdala, Gamla, Masada, Herodium, Modi‘in (Kh. Umm el-‘Umdan), Qiryat Sepher (Kh. Bad ‘Issa), and Kh. Diab. Aviam concluded that he thought almost every Jewish settlement at the time, whether it was a polis or a village, had a synagogue. During Late antiquity (third to seventh century CE), literary sources attest to the existence of

1885-617: The heikhal — היכל ‎ or 'temple' by Sephardic Jews , is a cabinet in which the Torah scrolls are kept. The ark in a synagogue is almost always positioned in such a way such that those who face it are facing towards Jerusalem . Thus, sanctuary seating plans in the Western world generally face east , while those east of Israel face west. Sanctuaries in Israel face towards Jerusalem. Occasionally synagogues face other directions for structural reasons; in such cases, some individuals might turn to face Jerusalem when standing for prayers, but

1950-459: The 19th century and early 20th century heyday of historicist architecture, however, most historicist synagogues, even the most magnificent ones, did not attempt a pure style, or even any particular style, and are best described as eclectic. In the post-war era, synagogue architecture abandoned historicist styles for modernism. All synagogues contain a Bimah , a large, raised, reader's platform (called teḇah (reading dais) by Sephardim), where

2015-524: The 19th century, in an Ashkenazi synagogue, all seats most often faced the Torah Ark. In a Sephardic synagogue, seats were usually arranged around the perimeter of the sanctuary, but when the worshipers stood up to pray, everyone faced the Ark. Many current synagogues have an elaborate chair named for the prophet Elijah , which is only sat upon during the ceremony of Brit milah . In ancient synagogues,

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2080-567: The Greek συναγωγὴν. During the first Christian centuries, Jewish Christians are hypothesized to have used houses of worship known in academic literature as synagogue-churches. Scholars have claimed to have identified such houses of worship of the Jews who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah in Jerusalem and Nazareth . There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. In fact,

2145-520: The Jewish congregants in Spain , the Maghreb (North Africa), Babylonia , the Land of Israel and Yemen having a custom to sit upon the floor, which had been strewn with mats and cushions, rather than upon chairs or benches. In other European towns and cities, however, Jewish congregants would sit upon chairs and benches. Today, the custom has spread in all places to sit upon chairs and benches. Until

2210-553: The Jewish custom was to remove one's shoes immediately prior to entering the synagogue, a custom that had been observed by Jews in other places in earlier times. The same practice of removing one's shoes before entering the synagogue was also largely observed among Jews in Morocco in the early 20th century. On the island of Djerba in Tunisia , Jews still remove their shoes when entering a synagogue. The custom of removing one's shoes

2275-420: The Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah , with the divisions corresponding to the lunisolar Hebrew calendar , which contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between leap years and regular years. There are some deviations to the cyclic regularity noted above, all related to the week of Passover and the week of Sukkot . For both holidays, the first day of the holiday may fall on a Sabbath, in which case

2340-509: The Jews became staples of Jewish literacy and helped to preserve the legacy of European Jewry . JPS also assisted the war effort by supporting refugee employment and resettlement, and by printing pamphlets that were dropped behind enemy lines, at the request of the American government. During the latter half of the 20th century, JPS published a revised translation of the Bible, books detailing both war atrocities and triumphs, and books with

2405-495: The Land of Israel, late antiquity witnessed a significant increase in synagogue construction, in Galilee and Golan in the north and the southern hills of Judea , in the south. Each synagogue was constructed according to the means and religious customs of the local community. Notable examples include Capernaum , Bar'am , Beth Alpha , Maoz Haim , Meroth and Nabratein in the north, and Eshtemoa , Susya , Anim , and Maon in

2470-519: The OJPS, or Old JPS translation of 1917). In September 2011, JPS entered into a new collaborative publishing arrangement with the University of Nebraska Press , under which Nebraska purchased all of JPS's outstanding book inventory, and is responsible for the production, distribution, and marketing of all JPS publications, effective January 1, 2012, while JPS headquarters remained in Philadelphia. JPS

2535-716: The Roman Empire and throughout the Byzantine period. The elements which distinguish Samaritan synagogues from contemporary Jewish ones are: Ancient Samaritan synagogues are mentioned by literary sources or have been found by archaeologists in the Diaspora, in the wider Holy Land, and specifically in Samaria. In the New Testament , the word appears 56 times, mostly in the Synoptic Gospels , but also in

2600-603: The Second Temple in 70 CE had prepared the Jews for life in the diaspora, where prayer would serve as the focus of Jewish worship. Despite the certain existence of synagogue-like spaces prior to the First Jewish–Roman War, the synagogue emerged as a focal point for Jewish worship upon the destruction of the Temple. For Jews living in the wake of the Revolt, the synagogue functioned as a "portable system of worship". Within

2665-529: The Temple was no longer accessible. It has been theorized that the synagogue became a place of worship in the region upon the destruction of the Second Temple during the First Jewish–Roman War ; however, others speculate that there had been places of prayer, apart from the Temple, during the Hellenistic period. The popularization of prayer over sacrifice during the years prior to the destruction of

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2730-410: The Torah (reading dais) was commonly placed at the opposite side of the room from the Torah Ark, leaving the center of the floor empty for the use of a ceremonial procession carrying the Torah between the Ark and the reading table. Most contemporary synagogues feature a lectern for the rabbi. The Torah Ark , called in Hebrew ארון קודש ‎ Aron Kodesh or 'holy chest' , and alternatively called

2795-546: The Torah reading consists of a special portion relevant to the holiday rather than a portion in the normal cyclical sequence. When either holiday does not begin on a Sabbath, yet a different 'out of cycle' portion is read on the Sabbath within the holiday week. Immediately following Sukkot is the holiday of Shemini Atzeret . In Israel, this holiday coincides with Simchat Torah; in the Jewish Diaspora , Simchat Torah

2860-407: The Torah scroll is placed to be read. In Sephardi synagogues and traditional Ashkenazi synagogues it is also used as the prayer leader's reading desk. In Ashkenazi synagogues, the Torah was read on a reader's table located in the center of the room, while the leader of the prayer service, the hazzan , stood at his own lectern or table, facing the Ark. In Sephardic synagogues, the table for reading

2925-619: The congregation as a whole does not. The Ark is reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant , which held the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments . This is the holiest spot in a synagogue, equivalent to the Holy of Holies . The Ark is often closed with an ornate curtain, the parochet פרוכת ‎, which hangs outside or inside the ark doors. Other traditional features include

2990-404: The custom of removing one's shoes prior to entering a synagogue is still observed worldwide. In Orthodox synagogues, men and women do not sit together. The synagogue features a partition ( mechitza ) dividing the men's and women's seating areas, or a separate women's section located on a balcony. The German–Jewish Reform movement, which arose in the early 19th century, made many changes to

3055-526: The entire translation of the Bible was finally completed in 1917. This crowning achievement was put to use at the start of World War I , when young Jewish men were given prayer books and Bible readings as they marched off to war. As Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power during the 1930s, Jews in America resisted anti-Semitism through the power of words. Works such as The Decay of Czarism and Legends of

3120-486: The influence from other local religious buildings can often be seen in synagogue arches, domes and towers. Historically, synagogues were built in the prevailing architectural style of their time and place. Thus, the synagogue in Kaifeng, China , looked very like Chinese temples of that region and era, with its outer wall and open garden in which several buildings were arranged. The styles of the earliest synagogues resembled

3185-611: The modern-day Torah scrolls of all Ashkenazic , Sephardic , and Yemenite communities is based upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah , Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls , Chapter 8 . Maimonides based his division of the parashot for the Torah on the Masoretic text of the Aleppo Codex . In the table, a portion that may be combined with the following portion to compensate for

3250-441: The needed number of weekly readings. The annual completion of the Torah readings on Simchat Torah, translating to "Rejoicing of the Torah", is marked by Jewish communities around the world. Each weekly Torah portion takes its name from the first distinctive word or two in the Hebrew text of the portion in question, often from the first verse. "[God] said to Abram , 'Go forth from your native land...'" The appropriate parashah

3315-479: The ongoing JPS Bible commentary series; books on Jewish tradition, holidays and customs, history, theology, ethics and philosophy; midrash and Rabbinics; and its many Bible editions and Bible study resources. Since 2012, JPS publications have been distributed by the University of Nebraska Press . The first Jewish Publication Society was founded in 1845 in Philadelphia , but was dissolved six years later after

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3380-622: The right to build synagogues without needing special permissions—synagogue architecture blossomed. Large Jewish communities wished to show not only their wealth but also their newly acquired status as citizens by constructing magnificent synagogues. These were built across Western Europe and in the United States in all of the historicist or revival styles then in fashion. Thus there were Neoclassical , Renaissance Revival architecture , Neo-Byzantine , Romanesque Revival , Moorish Revival , Gothic Revival , and Greek Revival . There are Egyptian Revival synagogues and even one Mayan Revival synagogue. In

3445-475: The scribe writes about wanting to find a way to ensure the Israelites would not go astray again. This led to the creation of a weekly system to read the portions of the Torah at synagogues . In ancient times some Jewish communities practiced a triennial cycle of readings. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many congregations in the Reform and Conservative Jewish movements implemented an alternative triennial cycle in which only one-third of each weekly parashah

3510-419: The south. Rabbi and philosopher Maimonides (1138–1204) described the various customs in his day with respect to local synagogues: Synagogues and houses of study must be treated with respect. They are swept and sprinkled [with water] to lay the dust. In Spain and the Maghreb , in Babylonia and in the Holy Land , it is customary to kindle lamps in the synagogues and to spread mats on the floor upon which

3575-428: The synagogue an esnoga and Portuguese Jews may call it a sinagoga . Persian Jews and some Karaite Jews also use the term kenesa , which is derived from Aramaic , and some Mizrahi Jews use kenis or qnis . In the earliest period, Jewish communal worship primarily revolved around the Temple in Jerusalem , serving as a central focal point and significant symbol for the entire Jewish nation. As such, it

3640-491: The synagogue does not replace the symbol of the long-destroyed Temple in Jerusalem . Any Jew or group of Jews can build a synagogue. Synagogues have been constructed by ancient Jewish leaders, by wealthy patrons, as part of a wide range of human institutions including secular educational institutions, governments, and hotels, by the entire Jewish community of living in a particular village or region, or by sub-groups of Jewish people arrayed according to occupation, ethnicity (e.g.,

3705-553: The synagogue itself. Synagogues are consecrated spaces used for Jewish prayer , study, assembly, and reading of the Torah (read in its entirety once a year, or in some synagogues on a triennial cycle, in weekly Torah portions during religious services). However, a synagogue is not always necessary for Jewish worship, due to adaptations during times of Jewish persecution in countries and regions that banned Judaism, frequently destroying and/or reappropriating synagogues into churches or even government buildings. Halakha (Jewish law from

3770-616: The synagogue, Jews worshipped by way of prayer rather than sacrifices, which had previously served as the main form of worship within the Second Temple. In 1995, Howard Clark Kee argued that synagogues were not a developed feature of Jewish life prior to the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE). Kee interpreted his findings as evidence that the mentions of synagogues in the New Testament , including Jesus's visitations of synagogues in various Jewish settlements in Israel, were anachronistic. However, by 2018, Mordechai Aviam reported that there were now at least nine synagogues excavated known to pre-date

3835-430: The temples of other cults of the Eastern Roman Empire . The surviving synagogues of medieval Spain are embellished with mudéjar plasterwork. The surviving medieval synagogues in Budapest and Prague are typical Gothic structures. With the emancipation of Jews in Western European countries in the 19th century—which not only enabled Jews to enter fields of enterprise from which they were formerly barred, but gave them

3900-418: The traditional look of the synagogue, keeping with its desire to simultaneously stay Jewish yet be accepted by the surrounding culture. The first Reform synagogue , which opened in Hamburg in 1811, introduced changes that made the synagogue look more like a church. These included: the installation of an organ to accompany the prayers (even on Shabbat , when musical instruments are proscribed by halakha ),

3965-432: The worshippers sit. In the lands of Edom ( Christendom ), they sit in synagogues upon chairs [or benches]. The Samaritan house of worship is also called a synagogue. During the third and second centuries BCE, the Hellenistic period , the Greek word used in the Diaspora by Samaritans and Jews was the same, proseukhē Koinē Greek : προσευχή , lit.   'place of prayer', plural προσευχαί prosukhái );

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4030-430: Was editor-in-chief (and later also CEO) from 1991 until October 2009. She is now Editor Emerita of the Society. Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz became the CEO in 2010, when he came to JPS from Congregation M'Kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, New Jersey , where he had served as senior rabbi for 11 years. Rabbi Schwartz served on the board of several nonprofit organizations, and is especially active in environmental work. Carol Hupping

4095-498: Was managing editor (and for some years publishing director) from 1991 until her retirement in March, 2016. Joy Weinberg succeeded her as managing editor in April 2016. The JPS TANAKH: The Jewish Bible, audio version is a recorded version of the JPS TANAKH, the most widely read English translation of the Hebrew (the Jewish) Bible. Produced and recorded for JPS by The Jewish Braille Institute (JBI), this complete, unabridged audio version features over 60 hours of readings by 13 narrators. It

4160-419: Was read in a given year; and this pattern continues. The parashot read are still consistent with the annual cycle, but the entire Torah is completed over three years. Orthodox Judaism does not follow this practice. Due to different lengths of holidays in Israel and the Diaspora , the portion that is read on a particular week will sometimes not be the same inside and outside Israel. This only occurs when

4225-422: Was the destination for Jews making pilgrimages during the three major annual festivals commanded by the Torah : Passover , Shavuot and Sukkot . There are several known cases of Jewish communities in Egypt with their own temples, such as the Temple at Elephantine established by refugees from the Kingdom of Judah during the Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt , and a few centuries later, the Temple of Onias in

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