ABSTRACT
In this and the following chapters a theme in each religion will be examined, beginning in each case with the Semitic (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and then the Indian (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism).
The Jews have no temple because the first, built by Solomon in about 950 BCE, was destroyed in 586 BCE, and the second, built in 516 BCE and replanned by Herod in 19 BCE, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The Jews pray constantly at the Wailing Wall of the old Temple in Jerusalem for its restoration and the return of former glory. But the destruction meant that the synagogue, which probably dated back to the time of Ezra, became the focus of worship. The home too is a place of prayer with the family table replacing the temple altar and the father imitating the duty of the High Priest during the Passover ritual.
