Home

Shabbat Morning Service

Following is a guide to the Shabbat morning service as it is conducted at Adat Shalom. The page references are to the Kol Haneshema, the siddur developed by the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation and used at Adat Shalom.

For some additional commentary on our Shabbat services, see Rabbi Fred's Scroll comments on "Shake, Rattle, and be on a Roll" and "Shabbat Morning Services and the Torah School."

Birchot haShachar (pps. 141-175)

From the gathering of Mah Tovu to the blessings over Torah study, our opening prayers offer gratitude for our bodies, souls, minds, and community. To enable more time for discussion, we move quickly through these prayer.

P'sukei deZimra (pps. 177-231)

Drawn from the Book of Psalms, where we encounter God through Creation. Every aspect of nature testifies to a grand cosmic unity. Our excerpts of praise culminate with "Halleluyah," Psalm 150 (p. 231). From the Bar'chu are additional passages of praise: Nishmat, Shokhen Ad, etc.

Sh'ma and its Blessings (pps. 247-291)

After being called to communal worship by Bar'chu, the Sh'ma is framed by three themes: Creation, Revelation, and Redemption. The Yotzer prayer, of which we usually sing El Adon (p. 253), thanks God for the universal gifts of light, nature, and the world. Next comes the particularistic prayer Ahavah Rabbah/V'ha'eor Eineinu, offering thanks for the specific spiritual paths represented within Judaism. The opening lines of the Sh'ma (p. 377) affirm Divine and universal Oneness; the following paragaphs, which we read silently, deal with mitzvot, ecology, and tzitzit. Finally Mi Chamochai Geulah, our Redemption song, praises the God of Freedom.

The Amidah (pps. 295-323)

Central in every Jewish worship service, the Shabbat Amidah invokes seven key themes. In unison, we bless God for our ancestors (Avot v'Imahot), for Divine might (G'vurot), and for holiness (Kedushah). Continuing silently, we thank God for Shabbat, Divine service, our good world, and peace. Herre we also add our private thoughts and meditations. Still standing, our silent prayer concludes by linking arms and singing Oseh Shalom.

Torah Service (pps. 383-441) -- and the Torah Discussion.

We remove the Torah scroll from the ark and symbolically walk around the congregation with it. It is customary to kiss one's tallit or siddur and touch it to the Torah as it passes. The Torah -- the Five Books of Moses -- is our foundational document. Thus it is an honor to be called up to say a blessing before and after each reading of the Torah. This is called an aliyah; there are six aliyot in a typical service at Adat Shalom, each consisting of a few verses from the weekly Torah portion (parshah).

Before the reading of the Torah, the Rabbi or another member leads an extensive discussion on a theme or verse from the parasha An Adat Shalom hallmark, all are welcome and encouraged to join in the conversation. Public reading of the Torah is ancient, dating back to Ezra the Scribe's time, nearly 2500 years ago. In our community, as we both read and interpret the Torah, our love for it is refracted through our modern sensibilities. As Reconstructionist founder Mordecai Kaplan wrote, "The sacred need not be inerrant -- it is enough for it to be inexhaustible."

In the midst of the Torah reading, we pause to offer a form of the traditional prayer for healing. All who would send physical, spiritual, or emotional healing to themselves or others are invited to the front of the sanctuary. We then say the names of our loved ones, and sing a modern Mi Sheberakh.

The final aliyah is called maftir. After the Torah is lifted and wrapped, the person with the maftir aliyah reads the Haftarah, a selection from the biblical Prophets. On the day of their special ceremony, maftir and Haftarah are read by the bar/bat mitzvah student. After the blessing which tollows the Haftarah, we return the Torah to the ark with a final procession.

D'var Chinuch

Occasionally, a member of the congregation will be invited to the bimah (podium) at some point to offer brief "words of teaching." These divrei chinuch can be on any Jewish or spiritual topic of import. Even as it broadens our horizons, this institution exemplifies the Keconstructionist belief that every member of the community has "their Torah" to teach.

Musaf/Meditative Liturgy

Though fairly traditional, our Reconstructionist service has taken out musaf (additional service), traditionally found after the Torah service. One reason is that we no longer share musaf's call to rebuild the Temple and restore animal sacrifices as offerings to God. Likewise, much of our liturgy reflects small changes from traditional language -- most prominently, deleting what might be dangerously chauvinistic references to Jews as "chosen people."

While quite concerned with the liturgy itself, we also recognize that there are places that words alone cannot reach. Music is one universal language, which we emphasize greatly during the service. Often we also include simple passages which are chanted, repetitively and harmoniously, followed by an introspective period of silence. These "meditative musaf moments" are among Adat Shalom's many "alternative" approaches to prayer.

Welcoming/Announcements

Following the tradition of hakhnasat orkhim, the welcomning of guests, we take a moment before the close of services to ask all those who are visiting Adat Shalom to stand at their places, and introduce themselves. Though this may require a hit of courage, it Is our community's way of reaching out to those who have joined us in worship. We'd like to greet you at the oneg! Then, since much of our communal life takes place in programs and committees, we also treat announcements as sacred. Members should make every effort to get their announcements to the President before services. This is also a time to share news of special occasions, simchas, in our lives.

Concluding Prayers (pps. 443-465)

Aleinu and the Mourner's Kaddish form the concluding liturgy; when time permits, we also sing fill Ein Keloheinu before, and Adon Olam after. Children from Torah School often join us during these final minutes, and are welcome to join us on the bimah for the kiddush and motzi prayers over wine and bread. We then link arms and voices once more for a concluding song, usually Mah Yafeh Hayom, Shabbatt Shalom -- how beautiful is today, a Sabbath of peace. We hope that you will stay with us for our oneg, and join in our greeting and eating. We would most enjoy getting to know you ... come back again soon! Shabbat shalom.