הלכה על מגילה 57:19

It is important to note that a synagogue is not just a place that facilitates prayer with a minyan; rather, it has independent value as a place designated for devarim she-bikdusha, a place where the Shekhina dwells. It is a great mitzva to build a synagogue, as the Torah states: “They shall make Me a sanctuary and I will live among them” (Shemot 25:8). Although this verse primarily comes to teach us about the building of the Temple, an offshoot of that mitzva is the mitzva to build a synagogue (see Peninei Halakha: Collected Essays I, ch. 1 n. 1). This is what the prophet Yeḥezkel meant by “I have been for them a small sanctuary” (Yeḥezkel 11:16), as R. Yitzḥak interpreted, “These are the synagogues and batei midrash (study halls)” (Megilla 29a).

When the minyan prays in a synagogue its advantages are twofold, for the prayer is conducted in a place specifically designated for devarim she-bikdusha (Berakhot 6a; 8a). A synagogue is called a “small sanctuary” (“mikdash me’at,” from Yeḥezkel 11:16, which R. Yitzḥak interpreted to refer to “synagogues and study halls” [Megilla 29a]), for its holiness is a reflection of the Temple’s sanctity.