Kabbalat
Shabbat
Come welcome the Sabbath with us with worship, dinner, celebration and learning!
Every Erev Shabbat at B'nai Israel begins with Kabbalat Shabbat - welcoming the Sabbath Bride on Friday evening. Once each month, we invite our congregation to stay for dinner and an opportunity to learn together. This year, our monthly Shabbat dinners will become part of our new Synaplex™ program, an innovative approach to Shabbat celebration. Click here to learn more about our Shabbat Programs.
| 5:30
p.m. |
Oneg Shabbat (wine, cheese, snacks for the kids) | } Every Shabbat |
| 6:00 p.m. |
Shabbat Worship |
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| 7:00
p.m. |
Dinner | } Click Here |
| 8:00
p.m. |
Program | |
Becoming Shabbat Service Regulars
After a long week of work, school, and other responsibilities, it was always easy to avoid attending Friday evening Shabbat services. Although the list of explanations was long, the most successful excuse was that Dad usually fell asleep around 8:00 and services would not start until soon thereafter. However, when the synagogue decided to begin services earlier and to shorten its length, our excuse list disappeared and we now make a deliberate effort, not always successful, to attend Friday night Shabbat services.
Our plan of Shabbat services and dinner has become one of our many family rituals. It is a chance for us to feel connected to G-d, to family, and to a community of Jewish people, helping to reinforce the idea that we have responsibilities beyond our own individual wants and desires. We listen to the Rabbi’s sermon and then all too often criticize it on the drive to dinner. The children practice their prayers and begin to understand that Judaism is not just about prayers but also about actions that they need to do everyday. In our busy lives, we try most weeks to find one hour on Friday evenings to pray and give thanks to G-d.
Patti, Samuel, Rachel, Hannah & Sarah Rosenberg
Mishpacha Shabbat
In our house, Shabbat dinner is the most special dinner of the week. However, one Shabbat dinner every month is extra “special” – the monthly Mishpacha Shabbat (literally, “family Shabbat”) dinner service at B’nai Israel. It is always a fun-filled evening of songs, stories, food and friends (both old and new) that even hard-to-please kids and grown-ups enjoy.
The evening begins with everyone greeting one another – the perfect opportunity to catch up on events since the last gathering. Next, we join together for the customary Shabbat blessings. This is quickly followed by food, food and then more food. Because each family brings either dessert or a side dish of their choosing to complement the delicious chicken that is provided, everyone gets to enjoy many different home-cooked foods and, as our kids never fail to remind us, many different desserts.
Following dinner, our hostess Elaine Chetrit leads us in songs such as “Put the Chicken in the Pot”, a riotous song in which children offer additional ingredients they would like in the collective Shabbat chicken soup. Although the soup rarely sounds appetizing after suggestions such as “bubble gum” and “old sneakers”, everyone partakes in the silliness and the laughs.
Another regular feature is a rousing rendition of “Yom Huledet Sameach” (a.k.a. “Happy Birthday”) sung in honor of everyone celebrating a birthday during the current month, complete with a birthday cake and a collective blowing out of the candles.
After dinner, the evening moves from the social hall to the chapel where Rabbi Greene and his guitar (with a flock of young children on the floor surrounding him), lead us through an abridged and song-filled Shabbat celebration. The service also features Elaine recounting an entertaining and allegorical story from which young and old alike can learn.
It is only fitting that the evening concludes with everyone joining hands to form a large circle for the singing of “Shechechiyanu”. It is at this point that you cannot help but realize that Mishpacha Shabbat is much more than simply a family-oriented take on conventional Shabbat services. Yes, it is a celebration of Shabbat, but what makes it so extraordinary is that it is equally a celebration of the mishpacha that is our congregation.
-- Andrea & Jim Hagani
MISHPACHA
SHABBAT Join in our monthly family (mishpacha) Shabbat experience which includes Shabbat dinner and service ideal for families with preschool and elementary school-aged children. We provide the chicken, challah, candles and grape juice. You bring a side dish or dessert. The cost is $4.00/adult, $2.00/child. For further details and to RSVP, contact Elaine Chetrit at the Temple (336-1858) by by the previous Monday . |
