ICJudaism: A Teacher’s Guide to Judaism

      Hosted by ICTeachers                                                                Formerly: Mike’s Rough Guide to Judaism

Disclaimer:

The contents of these pages represent the author’s personal views, experience and understanding.
There are bound to be some things here that some Jews would disagree with.

 

Shabbat 3

On Friday evening there will be a short service in the synagogue. The main synagogue service for Shabbat is on Saturday morning.

Shabbat morning service typically lasts from 1½ - 2½ hours. The length of the service could vary for a number of reasons (eg. services in orthodox synagogues are typically longer than in progressive synagogues and a bar / bat mitzvah service may be longer than usual).

The central event of the Shabbat morning service is the Torah reading. Each week has its set portion of the Torah to be read. Members of the congregation are called up to read a part of the week’s portion from the Torah scroll (they are said to be given aliyah (meaning going up). However, reading from the scroll requires considerable expertise - the text is unpointed (ie it has no marks to represent either vowels or tunes and neither does it have punctuation) so the person called to read usually watches while someone else (more competent) reads it, and simply recites the appropriate blessings before and after the reading. Nevertheless, being called up to the scroll is considered an honour.

The Shabbat morning service is very formalised and, with occasional minor variations, usually consists of the same prayers, in the same order each week. (eg. There is no selection of different hymns each week). The Hebrew prayer book used for most religious occasions is called a siddur (meaning order or sequence). Prayers are traditionally said in Hebrew, although in progressive communities there may be a mix of Hebrew and English. Some of the Hebrew prayers are traditionally sung, wholly or in part. More important prayers are said standing.

The Torah reading is usually followed by a talk from the rabbi or another learned member of the community on a theme suggested by the week’s portion. This equivalent of a sermon is called a D’var Torah (meaning words of Torah).

At the end of the service the congregation will usually gather for kiddush (often pronounced kiddish), a ceremonial sharing of wine and bread. If there is something extra to celebrate (such as a bar or bat mitzvah, a baby blessing or someone’s significant birthday or anniversary, the kiddush may be expanded (eg. with nibbles or cake or even a much more extensive spread).

Back...                                                                          More...