Description
The service I attended was a Shabbat (Sabbath) on the morning of Saturday, June 2 at the Beth Shalom temple. I arrived at 9:50 for the 10AM start. The congregants were dressed with varying degrees of formality, and most arrived in family groups. In a modern building, the area of worship was a small chapel with capacity for about two hundred people. On this day, the room was about half full. Arranged like a small auditorium, the chapel had a sort of stage rather than an altar. On the stage was a dais, and behind that was simple piece of furniture covered with a cloth; I later learned this was the arc.
The rabbi and the cantor (singer) were both female. The service opened with songs, which the congregation sang along with as the cantor sang and played from an acoustic guitar. After the initial songs, the rabbi read from the prayer book that was available at each seat, indicating which pages to turn to and when. Many of the prayers involved call and response, whereby the rabbi read a passage, and the congregation would respond by reading the appropriate text in the book. The book was not the Bible but a special prayer book designed especially for this purpose.
Following the readings, the rabbi delivered a sermon about commitment, and referred to the fact that later this day there was a bat mitzvah ceremony. As a precursor to the actual bat mitzvah ceremony, the rabbi asked the bat mitzvah girl and her parents to step onto the stage. The congregation clapped....
References
“History and Development of Shabbat,” (n.d.). My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/history-and-development-of-shabbat/
“History of the Reform Movement,” (n.d.). My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/reform-judaism/
Molloy, M. (2013). Experiencing the World’s Religions. [Kindle Edition].
Rich, T.R. (2011). The nature of Shabbat. http://www.jewfaq.org/shabbat.htm
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