The Beit Knesset (synagogue) is the focal point of Jewish communal life. It is the home of God, a place of prayer and study where we can connect to Him. It is described as a Miniature Temple, a Mikdash Me’at. When the Jews received the Torah at Har Sinai, God revealed Himself to them in all His glory. Subsequently, God commanded the Jews to build a Tabernacle, a place where they could recapture the connection with Him that they had experienced at the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. In the Land of Israel, the Temple replaced the Tabernacle as the meeting place between God and His people, the conduit through which His goodness filtered down into the world. Once the Temple was destroyed, however, that connection with God is manifest in each and every synagogue throughout the world. Thus, the Beit Knesset is actually a continuation of the experience at Har Sinai. As the spiritual center of the Jewish community, the Beit Knesset unites us through daily prayer and study, proclaiming and publicizing our relationship with God.