Dear Sha’are Shalom Congregants:
In addition to our monthly Saturday morning Shabbat service – to be led this coming year by Rabbi Arnold Saltzman – we hope to continue to provide two Friday evening Shabbat services each month. These services are led by various congregation members, and we hope you will take one or more turns in the coming year.
To lead the service, you don’t have to have had formal training, or even know Hebrew. You just have to be familiar with one or more of the services in our siddur, Gates of Prayer; to spend a little time choosing which passages and songs you’d like to include; and to prepare a brief d’var Torah, a comment on that week’s Torah portion and how it might relate to our lives today. Many of you attended our meeting last year in which we went over basic guidelines and tips; if you weren’t there, I or another congregant can show you what to do. (We also have some handouts.) If you would rather not sing, someone else can help out with the music.
You do have to be Jewish and older than bar/bat mitzvah age. We especially encourage our recent b’nai mitzvot to take a turn – either singly, or jointly with a parent – in this first year after their ceremonies.
Below are the dates of the 20 Friday night services, all on the first and fourth Fridays of the month:
2011 September 23 October 7 (Yom Kippur) Randy Schoch with Sharon Mills, Valerie Holt
October 28
November 4
November 25
December 2
December 23
2012
January 6
January 27
February 3
February 24
March 2
March 23
April 6
April 27
May 4
May 25
June 1 (possible)
June 22
July 27
August 24
If you have any questions or would like training on about how to conduct a service, please contact me at [email protected].
Thank you for taking on this vital role in the mission of Sha’are Shalom to provide regular services to its members and to the Reform Jewish community of Southern Maryland.
Pat Myers
Shabbat Service Coordinator