Shabbat Services

Each week we strive to create warm, welcoming, participatory worship services that help us to connect with Judaism, deepen our learning and experience the spiritual renewal, peace, joy and sense of celebration that Shabbat can bring.

• Members and visitors are warmly greeted before services:
  • On Friday nights there is pre-service Oneg Shabbat at 5:30 p.m., leading into the 6 p.m. service.
  • On Saturday mornings, there is a bagel breakfast between the 8:00 a.m. service and 9:30 a.m. Torah Study.
  • Bet Mitzvah services begin at 11:00 a.m.
• People of all ages and family configurations are made to feel welcome, and congregants of all ages value the presence of children and young people.
• The newest Reform siddur (prayer book), Mishkan T’filah, engages those schooled in Hebrew as well as those who prefer to utilize transliteration when praying in Hebrew. English readings add a measure of reflection and connection.
• Music is central to the worship experience.
• Services offer intellectual stimulation – a chance to gain new insights into Torah, Jewish tradition or contemporary Jewish issues.
• Lay people frequently help to lead parts of a service, read Torah and Haftara, give d’rashot and lead minyanim.
• Festival and High Holy Day services are as participatory and engaging as Shabbat services.

Our Typical Shabbat Calendar Includes:

Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday Evening)

• Pre-Oneg – We gather around 5:30 p.m. for something to drink and a little nosh. We greet one another, kibbitz, meet new people and welcome all as we prepare for Shabbat.
• Kabbalat Shabbat – 6:00 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat means “welcoming Shabbat.” At B’nai Israel, we light the candles in the sanctuary to begin our service. Sometimes, our rabbis and cantor are joined by our congregational band, junior choir or other musicians. Always, we make a holy space in our week to try and reconnect with ourselves, one another, our people and with God. You also can join the service via Zoom.

Shabbat Morning:

• 8:00 a.m. Services – Our early Shabbat Service is engaging, participatory and lasts about an hour. Come rain, sleet or snow, the chapel is filled with worshipers enjoying an intimate worship experience complete with morning prayers, Torah service and commentary.
• 9:00 a.m. Bagel Breakfast – Sponsored by the B’nai Israel Brotherhood.
• 9:30 a.m Torah Study – We learn Torah together every Shabbat morning. Some attend 8:00 a.m. services, while others arrive just in time for the study group. Some participate every week, and others drop in when they can. Everyone is welcome!
• 11:00 a.m. Services – As part of our services most every week, we celebrate the delights of one or two of our congregational family’s celebrating Jewish learning, commitment and identity as a teenage boy or girl is called to the Torah as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. From time to time, we expand the congregational simchas with a baby naming, marriage blessing or other joyful opportunity.