Worship Rituals
Our Worship Services
We hold Kabbalat Shabbat services every Friday evening at 7:30pm and, we celebrate Shabbat every Saturday morning at 9:30am. On those days when our rabbinic intern is not in attendance, we are led by lay members of the Sha'are Shalom community. In addition we have services for the High Holy Days in the fall, for the three festival holidays throughout the year (Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot), and we also celebrate Purim and Hanukkah in creative and most enjoyable ways.
As a fully egalitarian community, women can perform any of the roles traditionally restricted to men. Men and boys, whether Jewish or not, must wear a head covering, usually a kippah (skull cap), whenever they are in the synagogue. Women and girls may choose to wear a kippah or other head covering, but all are requested to wear a head covering when they are on the bimah (the "stage" in front of the ark) during a worship service.
Friday and Holiday Evening
For our Friday evening service, we use the blue Likrat Shabbat siddur (prayer book). Our service, conducted in English and Hebrew, is a musical, spiritual celebration to welcome the Sabbath. Transliteration is provided in all our prayer texts as well.
The Erev Shabbat (Friday evening) service begins with a musical Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming Shabbat), which moves into the formal worship with the Barchu prayer which acts as the "call" to prayer. A series of prayers leads up to the Sh'ma Yisrael, one of the most important Jewish liturgical declarations, which is why you will see some congregants cover their eyes to better focus on the prayer. Another set of prayers leads up to the Amidah (literally, the standing prayer), one of the oldest and most solemn of prayers, which is recited silently while standing. This is a time when members of the congregation have a chance to directly connect with God in prayer either in the words of the prayer book or in words of their hearts. After a few more prayers, echoing the Amidah, there is often a very brief drash (explanation of some part of the Torah), followed by the concluding prayers, the Mourner's Kaddish (a prayer that sanctifies the name of God and is used to separate major potions of the service), and a final hymn.
Saturday and Holiday Morning
Our Saturday and holiday services use the blue Sim Shalom siddur. Our Saturday and holiday morning service begins at 9:30 am and usually lasts about two and a half hours. During the morning service, Jewish men age 13 and older are asked to wear a tallit, the traditional prayer shawl. Wearing a tallit is optional for Jewish women.
The Shacharit (morning) service begins with a series of prayers and psalms known as the preliminary prayers and the Psukei D'zimra (Verses of Song) which together act as a kind of spiritual warm-up for the main service, which again, begins with the Barchu. The structure is much like the evening service, but there are a few additional prayers before the Amidah. The congregation stands for the Amidah prayer, but the first part of it is prayed aloud, led by the prayer leader, with the remainder prayed silently. During the festival holidays many other prayers are added at this point.
This is followed by the heart of the morning service, the Torah readings. If there is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebration, this is usually when the young adult begins to participate. The Torah service involves reading from a portion of the Sefer Torah, the scroll containing the Five Books of Moses. (We follow along by reading in the large red volume, Etz Hayim-the title is translated as Tree of Life-which contains the entire Torah as well as supplementary readings.) Each week's reading is fixed by tradition, with a number of Jewish adults, at least seven for Shabbat, five for the festivals, called to recite a blessing before and after the actual reading from the scroll. It is considered an honor to be asked to recite this blessing. Following the Torah readings is a longer reading from one of the books of the Prophets, called the haftarah. Before and after the readings, the Torah is carried around the synagogue so that all can see it and honor it personally.
There is usually a longer drash or a study session following the Torah service. What is done is determined by the person called to lead it, and it is nearly always related to the text that was read during the Torah service. Some provide a sermon, some lead a discussion, but the goal is to stimulate the congregation to think about what was read during the service.
The service concludes with Musaf, an additional set of prayers and blessings, which is essentially a repetition of the earlier Amidah with some distinct differences in the central portion. The Musaf is followed by a very ancient prayer called the Aleynu. Next comes an opportunity for those who are remembering the death of a loved one, such as a parent, spouse, or child, to say Kaddish (a prayer glorifying God) in their memory. After a congregational officer, generally the President or a Vice President, welcomes all present and informs the community of the activities of the coming week, there is a final hymn, and then we leave the sanctuary, enter the "oneg room" and enjoy a light lunch which is preceded by a Kiddush (blessing over wine or grape juice), a prayer for washing hands, and a blessing of the bread we then proceed to enjoy in the company of our community.
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Special Shabbat- A Musical Shabbat every fourth Friday featuring light instruments and lots of singing.
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