The reason why the entrance to the Sanctuary and to the Synagogues was from the east, and the worshippers consequently stood during prayer with their face toward the west, may, according to the Mishnah (Succah v. 4), be explained thus: The principal prayer of the day being that in the morning, the Jews, as a protest against the sun-worship of the idolaters, who at that hour were accustomed to greet the sun with their prayer, turned away from the east and offered up their prayer to the Almighty in the opposite direction. When sun-worship had ceased, probably after the destruction of the second Temple, the national grief and hope found expression in the custom of praying toward the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. Hence the Jews who live west of Jerusalem stand during prayer with the face toward the east, while those east of Jerusalem turn westward. This custom is, besides, supported by the following passage from the prayer of King Solomon: “And they pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name” (1 Kings viii. 48). [147] In most Synagogues there is a continual lamp (‏נר תמיד‎) burning. It is a Biblical institution, but only designed for the Sanctuary; its presence in the Synagogue is of comparatively modern date. The ner tamid of the Sanctuary, however, is explained to be a lamp burning “from evening to morning” (Exod. xxvii. 21). A golden candlestick standing in the Sanctuary against the south side, with its seven branches arranged from east to west, served this purpose. According to Tradition it was the second branch, counting from east to west, which really burnt continually; but this was not considered as implied in the term ner tamid, which only meant “a continual lamp” in the sense of a lamp that burns regularly every night. The ner tamid in the Synagogue, which burns continually day and night, is not mentioned by any of the earlier Rabbinical authors. It has been introduced as a symbol representing our conviction that from the Synagogue shall continually come forth the light of instruction, the light of comfort and blessing, and the light of love and peace. In the Synagogue women are separated from men. There was also in the Temple an ‏עזרת נשים‎ “court of the women,” distinguished from the ‏עזרת אנשים‎ “court of the men,” to which women had no access. During the Feast of Tabernacles, when the great rejoicings in the Temple attracted a large assembly, special care was taken (‏תקון גדול היה שם‎) that the separation of the sexes should be maintained (Mishnah, Succah v. 2; and Talm. B., Succah 51b). This precedent has been followed in the Synagogue, and has been accepted as law up to this day. Reservedness and modesty (‏צניעות‎) have always been the pride and ornament of Jewish women, both in their homes and in the Synagogue; hence also their taking a silent part in the public devotion is an honour to them, and by no means derogatory.