Our Family Shabbat service and dairy pot luck dinner takes place on the first Friday night of most months during the school year. Our celebration begins with a short, family friendly service at 5:30 p.m. that includes lots of singing, a story and an opportunity for younger children to attend services with their families and just be themselves. This service has been especially popular with families that have children who are in pre-school or primary grades.
Services are followed by a dairy Shabbat pot-luck dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the social hall and often, an opportunity for singing, a simple craft project and time to relax and chat. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend this intergenerational, community-wide dinner. We hope that this pot-luck dinner will be a time for members of the congregation of all ages and stages to connect, get to know one another and enjoy each others company!
After this dinner, at 7:00 p.m., we hold our regular Shabbat service for adults (and students in grades 8 and higher) in the main sanctuary.
Youth Kehillah (‘kehillah’=congregation) is a monthly Shabbat service also held on the first Friday of the month at 7:00 p.m. and led by Hebrew School students (grades 3-7) under the creative, caring guidance of our Associate Rabbi Sandi Intraub. This lively and engaging service not only allows students the opportunity to practice the Hebrew prayers they’re learning, it also offers them a chance to develop their leadership skills and build an even stronger community of Jewish friends. Youth Kehillah is a great way for our children to begin preparing for the responsibility of leading services when they become Bar or Bat Mitzvah.
Our monthly "Shake It Up Shabbat" service takes place on a Saturday morning beginning at 9:00 a.m., downstairs in our large, pre-school room. Shake It Up Shabbat is a lively, fun, movement-oriented 20-minute service, with musical instruments, stories, and lots of shaking it up! This service is primarily geared toward preschool children and under. Older siblings are welcome! Everyone is welcome to this program, members and non-members, Jewish and non-Jewish partners and spouses alike.
These specially designed services, led by Rabbi Kraus, provide a joyful and musical Shabbat morning prayer experience for the children (no experience necessary!). After the short service, there will be fun, Jewish-themed learning activities lead by Liane Weber, including interactive movement, manipulative play, crafts, art, and food projects, so dress for the mess! There will be opportunities for young families to get to know one another and build community as we move through the year. We aim to provide a space where families with young children can become comfortable experiencing a meaningful Shabbat experience together and begin developing and enriching their own home practice.
