Friday Night Erev Shabbat Services

וְקָרָאתָ לַשַּׁבָּת עֹנֶג
And you shall call the sabbath a delight” - Isaiah 58:13

When Shabbat begins, we gather together for community and connection. All Friday night services are held in person and streamed through the LiveControl platform and Facebook Live. Services begin at 6:30 p.m. with an oneg Shabbat reception following.

Our Friday night services include a mix of congregational and cantorial selections. We encourage full participation in the service and love to hear the community sing with us. 

The second Friday of each month is our Family/Birthday Service. 

In this service we use a family siddur (prayerbook) and melodies more accessible to children. Every month we will call upon children (and willing adults) to be acknowledged and blessed by the clergy for their birthday and the children receive a small gift. A story will be told in place of a sermon. This service takes place in our Gittlin Chapel for a more intimate setting. Dates subject to change based on school vacation weeks. 

The third Friday of each month at 5:45 p.m. is our Tot Shabbat service.

Prayers, songs, stories, and lots of fun! This service for young children is 30 minutes long and incorporates a variety of engaging songs, stories, and interactive singing. A pizza dinner follows for all families who wish to stay. The clergy move from the tot service to the main service, which begins at 6:30pm. Tot services in 2022-2023 will be in the months of September, October, December, January, March, and May.

There are a variety of other special shabbat services throughout the year. In the spring there are grade-level-led services from our Jewish Learning Program, summer folk shabbats with guitarist Bob Mellman, a choral Shabbat, and much more. Friday night services over the summer, weather permitting, are led from the patio. Please check the website for more information.

Children and people of all ages are welcome at all of our services.

Saturday Morning Services

Saturday morning services at Temple B’nai Abraham begin at 10:00am in the Ross Sanctuary. Most Saturday mornings during the year we celebrate b’nai mitzvah and honor one or two of our kids who are formally moving into Jewish adulthood. For services in which there are b’nai mitzvah or holidays, we feature a four-part choir led by our organist and music director, Dr. Sandor Szabo. All are welcome to join in these celebrations, and all are invited to a bagel kiddush lunch following services.

On weekends where there is no b’nai mitzvah, Saturday morning services are typically held in the Gittlin Chapel for a more intimate setting. We encourage all to come, especially on these Saturdays, in order to help us make a minyan for those in our community saying Kaddish. 

Children and people of all ages are welcome at all of our services.

Family Minyan

Eight Saturdays over the year, Rabbi Edwards and Songleader Eric Waldman lead a family minyan in the Brody Youth Lounge at 10:30 am. These services are for children to attend with parents and are a lively mix of traditional melodies and innovative approaches to prayer through meditation and movement. A bagel kiddush lunch follows each service. Attendance at four of the eight services is required for JLP students.

Current Covid Guidelines

FAQs:

What siddur (prayerbook) do you use?
In our main service, we use Siddur Ḥadash, an alternative conservative siddur with full liturgical text, transliteration, and additional readings. For family services, we use Mishkan Tefilah for Youth, and on High Holy Days, we use Maḥzor Ḥadash. 

What if I don’t read Hebrew?
Our siddurim include transliterated prayers, and our melodies are sung so that, with time, they will become familiar. If you are interested in learning Hebrew, please reach out to our clergy or Director of Education, Melissa Weiner. 

How should I dress?
We honor the practice of treating Shabbat as holy and separate by dressing in attire that brings one a sense of dignity. Our community typically worships in business casual attire. 

Are kids welcome at services?
Yes! We love hearing the voices of children in all of our services. Children are the foundation of our community and are always welcome in prayer. If time away from the sanctuary will make them feel more comfortable, parents and caregivers are welcome to bring their kids into a quieter part of the building. 

How can I learn the prayers?
For melodies, please click here for our TBA audio library to access recordings by Cantor Epstein. Our Friday night siddur is available in PDF form here and Saturday morning here. If you would like more intentional learning around the siddur, please reach out to one of our clergy. 

Do I need to wear a kippah or tallit?
It is the custom at TBA for all who identify as men to wear kippot, and all others are welcome to do so. At morning services (and all of Yom Kippur), all above the age of B’nai Mitzvah are encouraged to wear a tallit, and those who identify as men are required to wear a tallit when coming up to the Torah.