ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Oldest synagogues in the world

Okay kiddo, so you know that synagogues are like churches for Jewish people. And just like there are many different kinds of churches, there are also many different kinds of synagogues.

Now, some synagogues are very old. Like really, really old. In fact, some of the oldest synagogues in the world date back thousands of years!

One of the oldest synagogues is called the "Dura-Europos Synagogue." That's a big and fancy name, but it just means that it was a synagogue in a place called Dura-Europos a looooong time ago. We're talking about over 2,000 years ago!

Another really old synagogue is called the "Sardis Synagogue." This one was built around 400 BC, which is even older than your great-great-great-grandpa!

There are many other old synagogues in different parts of the world, each with their own special story and history. Some of them have been restored so that people can still visit and pray there, while others are in ruins and are just a reminder of the past.

So there you have it, little one. The oldest synagogues in the world are like time machines that take us back thousands of years to see what life was like for Jewish people a long, long time ago.