At Poale Zedeck, an active Orthodox synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill, janitor Michael Hommel showed me around just before sundown, Friday.

He's not Jewish, but has been attending services regularly since
July. It's a good place to pray and lends structure to his life, he
says.

"I love my job here. I'm taking care of one of God's houses."

He's thought of converting, but then someone else would have to turn out the lights and operate the elevator on Saturday.

Poale Zedeck means "workers of righteousness." The synagogue was built during the Great Depression by an Austro-Hungarian
Jewish congregation that formed in 1881. Today its stained glass windows
are assessed at $450,000.

Women sit in the balcony or in a section on the side
of the main sanctuary that is separated from the men by a window. I'd probably choose the
balcony so I could be as close as possible to the dome.