For good reason, synagogues and their variants go by various names. Shuls, temples, congregations, shtiblach, kehillot, havurot,  and minyanim (independent or otherwise) are just some of the contemporary North American names for this diverse collection of institutions.

Synagogues--however they are denoted--perform numerous important functions. A synagogue is a place for community (hence, the term, Beit Knesset--house of gathering); it is a place for prayer (Beit Tefillah); and it is a place for sacred learning (Beit Midrash).

About 40% of US Jewish households belong to synagogues; such households are home to most American Jews. Synagogue-affiliated Jews are, as a group, far more active in almost all forms of Jewish life than non-members. At the same time, many Jews who take being Jewish seriously--secular and otherwise--have little if no connection with synagogues.

With all the complexity associated with them, synagogues are indeed a vital institution in Jewish life in contemporary America, one which bears watching and studying.

This month, at the beginning of the 100th year since Solomon Schechter founded the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, our Reader's Guide offers a portal into the world of the synagogue, providing a selection of representative readings on synagogues drawn from BJPA's collection of more than 15,000 articles and documents dating back to 1900.