Friday night, January 25. I arrive home from work exhausted and just want to curl up in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and a book. But wait...I have already paid for the Shabbat Slam dinner, so I go. As soon as I arrive, Shelley Sadowsky and Amy Jaslow greet me with warm smiles of welcome. I see other people I know and love, begin schmoozing and feel my spirits lift. The food is great, dinner relaxed and the amount of ritual just right for me.
We enter the sanctuary, and Rachel’s angelic voice filters through the noise in my head, transporting me to another space, another time, another place. I move to the music of Michael Gottlieb Berney, Peter Gillon, and Mark Haag, and find myself dancing with a friend in the back of the sanctuary, releasing the tension of the week. Rachel and company continue their welcoming music, moving from the secular to the liturgical, drawing us into the service that soon follows.
Rabbi Sid leads us in a wonderfully creative service, giving us all an opportunity to search inside ourselves and grow in our understanding of ritual and prayer. Placing a siddur on a stool in the center of the sanctuary, he asks us to position ourselves at a distance from it that reflects our connection to prayer. Individuals then explain why they placed themselves where they did. Our understanding of the complexities of our relationship to prayer is further strengthened when we read and discuss commentaries written by a variety of distinguised rabbis. Rabbi Sid gets most of the congregation up and moving when we reenact Miriam’s crossing of the Red Sea. Pairs of men hold tallitot, moving them as waves while the women dance among them The men then put away the talliltot as we all dance together in triumph. Laughing and dancing together, barriers break down and we are united in a joyful shared experience.
It is with this spirit of sharing that the service ends and we move into the social hall for dessert and dancing. There is excitement in the air as people enter the dance circle, finding that Moshe Shem Tov gets even the inexperienced among us to follow his lead and join in. Those not dancing are having spirited conversations over the plentiful desserts. Adat Shalom is ringing with the joy of Shabbat.
Shabbat Slams are usually the last Friday of the month. You can reserve ahead for the dinner or simply arrive at 8:00 for the Kabbalat Shabbat service. Will you be joining us before Passover, on March 22?
Carol Lite