It puts trust in God's Torah and the human ability to help bring about a better world, because God would not have given the commandments if they could not be fulfilled. In Judaism the Messiah is not the redeemer of the individual, but a heraldic figure who initiates the redemption of the whole world. Religious communal live is centred in the synagogue. It is not the same as a church. Rabbis are teachers and judges.
Many congregations have no rabbi.
It is the place of religious learning. A learned and wise Jew deserves more respect than a financially successful one. Through learning a Jewish person honours God by gaining insight into God's plan of creation. The Jewish calendar is luni-solar, the year is determined by the sun and the months by the cycles of the moon. Of special importance is the Sabbath, observed on Saturday of each week.