It's interesting to me that Catholic priests were moved as you describe. In Jewish synagogues, the cantor faces the Ark. The cantor, who sings the service, is the "shaliach tzibbur" - the messenger of the people - and thus faces the same way the congregation does. The Spirit of God - the Shechinah - resides in the Ark.
In traditional (i.e. Orthodox) Jewish congregations, women also keep their heads covered. One explanation is for the maintenance of modesty. Another, however, is more societal. In Eastern Europe, only married women covered their heads - so the town matchmaker could easily pick out who was married and who wasn't!
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-04-30 10:35 pm (UTC)In traditional (i.e. Orthodox) Jewish congregations, women also keep their heads covered. One explanation is for the maintenance of modesty. Another, however, is more societal. In Eastern Europe, only married women covered their heads - so the town matchmaker could easily pick out who was married and who wasn't!