Shabbat

Shabbat Services

We welcome all to attend our Shabbat worship services.  Shabbat is a time of rest, a time to refocus ourselves spiritually, to distance ourselves from the stresses of the work week.  We hope you find peace in our prayer and joy in our music. 

Our Shabbat Services are at 6:00 pm except for during the school year when our Family Shabbat Services are at 7:00 pm the second Shabbat of each month.

Our Shabbat evening services begin promptly at 6:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary with songs and prayers which help set the mood for our worship.  On special occasions, i.e. our Scholar-In-Residence Weekend, the service begins at 7:30 p.m.  We are a “singing congregation”.  All are invited to sing or hum along with the melodies.  We use the Union for Reform Judaism’s Mishkan T’filah prayer book.  Copies for use during the service are available in the Sanctuary.  Our custom is for all the readings to be done in unison – feel free to read along out loud or to follow silently – whichever makes you more comfortable.  All of the prayers are printed in Hebrew and English transliteration with an accompanying translation.  Words to the songs are found in the prayer book as well.

After the service, we all join in blessings over wine and challah (braided egg bread) and on special occasions cookies, pastries and/or fruit and beverages are served to make an Oneg Shabbat, a joyous reception. 

Each Shabbat morning at 9:00 a.m. in the Library, approximately twenty to thirty individuals gather to discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Lawson.  The text is read in English and various ancient and modern commentaries are added to the discussion.  Light refreshments and coffee/tea are served.

Our Shabbat morning service begins promptly at 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary with songs and prayers which help set the mood for our worship.  We are a “singing congregation”.  All are invited to sing or hum along with the melodies.  We use the Union for Reform Judaism’s Mishkan T’filah prayer book.   Copies for use during the service are available in the Sanctuary.  Our custom is for all the readings to be done in unison – feel free to read along out loud or to follow silently – whichever makes you more comfortable.  All of the prayers are printed in Hebrew and English transliteration with an accompanying translation.  Words to the songs are found in the prayer book as well. Bar/Bat Mitzvah students in attendance at these services may be asked to lead certain prayers to help them prepare for their special day.

The Torah is read during this service so it is appropriate for adults to wear a tallit (prayer shawl) and kippah (head covering) if they choose to do so. During the Torah reading, adult Jews are given the honor of being called up for an aliyah, that is, “going up” to the Torah lectern to chant the blessings before and after the reading of a number of Torah verses.

After the service, we all join in blessings over wine and challah (braided egg bread).  These acts give thanks to God for our many blessings and are a symbol of our strong sense of community.
 

Need a ride to Shabbat morning services? 
Click here to find out about On the Go, a service of Jewish Family Service that provides rides to Shabbat services and other locations and events.

This Week's Torah Portion

Shabbat Resources