When you're in Hawaii, do you pray facing east or west? And why do synagogues in Moscow face east, not south? This week’s Torah portion, of which we will read the very end, (Exodus 40:34-38) tells of the Israelites finishing setting up the Wilderness Sanctuary, so the Haftarah begins the story of Solomon’s dedication of his Temple. We’ll look at the part of the haftarah which mirrors the end of Exodus, and go on to a part of Solomon’s dedication speech which is the origin of facing the Temple when praying. But as the Temple is not always east of where we might be at any moment, where might we face, and why might we do it? In the very beginning of the introductory pages of every Etz siddur, there is a page which deals with this very issue, and we’ll introduce you to that page and its “directions".

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