Description of Services

Please check the online calendar or call the synagogue office for the latest information on dates and times for specific holiday celebrations.

Erev Shabbat services (Friday night)

Our Erev Shabbat services reflect a variety of expressions shared by our community. To that need, our Sabbath evening worship includes prayer formats of healing, reflection and meditation, interactive contemporary, and special musical nights (Friday Night Live !). Periodically, the Adult Education Committee will organize a lecture in conjunction with Erev Shabbat services, accompanied by a dinner or a dessert Oneg.  It has become a tradition for each Torah School class to lead at least one Erev Shabbat service during the school year, preceded by a meal in our social hall.

Shabbat morning services

Shabbat services begin at 9:30 am and reflect an atmosphere of participation. We accomplish this by doing a great deal of congregational singing. In addition, we extend to our worshippers the opportunity to assist us on leadership levels. This includes Torah reading, Haftarah chant, or presenting a talk or explanation of the portion of the week. In addition, all facets of the service are available for our congregants to lead. Please contact the Hazzan for details.

Shabbat Child Care is offered during special Saturday morning services such as the High Holy Days, B’nai Mitzvah, and various lifecycle celebrations.  Qualified babysitters watch toddlers and preschool children.  Please contact the office to pre-register your child or children so that appropriate staffing can be arranged.  A modest fee may be charged to cover costs.

Family, Youth, and Tot services

Family Services

Shabbat B’yachad (Shabbat together) is held on the first Friday of each month.  Beginning at 6:15 PM, this service mixes song, spirit, and stories with special surprises for children.  Enjoy spirited Shabbat melodies while you and your families celebrate Shabbat with friends and friends-to-be.  Connect through traditional prayers and contemporary reflections.  All are welcome at these services—with or without children!  Shabbat B’yachad family service is often followed by a dinner at 6:45pm.  Please call the office for more information.

Youth Services

We encourage our youth to participate in our regular Friday evening and Saturday morning services.  We believe that this helps children to feel welcome and part of the larger synagogue community.

Tot Services

We celebrate Shabbat as a community every Friday afternoon from 12:45pm-1:00pm.  Developed and led by Rabbi Jennifer Flam and Hazzan Dinkin, we welcome you and your children or grandchildren between birth and 6 years of age to join this wonderful opportunity to sing and celebrate Shabbat together.

Weekday Minyan

Morning Minyan is held Mondays and Thursdays at 7:00 am.  When Torah School is in session, Minyan is also held Sundays at 9:00 am. Other Minyan times include a monthly evening (ma’ariv) service, usually held the third Tuesday of the month.  If you call our office or clergy, we would be pleased to help you make arrangements for additional services, including Yahrzeit (Kaddish Minyan), at the home or in the Synagogue.

Contemporary services

Over the years, our contemporary services have presented an important complement to our traditional Shabbat and holiday gatherings. These services offer more of the prayers in English, plentiful responsive readings, spirited singing, and uplifting energy. 

Contemporary services are held periodically throughout the year and always during the High Holy Days.  A special prayer book is used and songbooks usually supplement the machzorim (High Holy Days prayer books) and siddurim (daily prayer books).  These services meet at the same time as our traditional services, either in our Social Hall or in a neighboring facility.

We also host the Lev Eisha  services twice a year. Lev Eisha is a creative Jewish service for women by women. Lev Eisha means “a woman’s heart”, and the pathways to our hearts are lovingly opened through the spiritual leadership of Rabbi Toba August, who specializes in contemporary, meaningful interpretations of Judaism, in collaboration with Cantorial Soloist, Cindy Paley, an accomplished children’s recording artist.  What sets this service apart from most services?  It is a spiritual happening, created by lots of song, dance and prayer.  Women are dancing in the aisles; those watching the dancing are singing along , playing musical instruments.  We pray and share personal stories, with a heavy heart and joy. Men are welcome to attend and have thoroughly enjoyed the service.

We welcome women of all ages to come together in song, prayer, study, dance, meditation, and spiritual growth.

High Holy Days services

Main Sanctuary Traditional Services

The services in our sanctuary feature our Rabbi, Hazzan, volunteer choir and high school youth who serve as our Torah readers. We also call upon our congregants to assist with the preliminary prayers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. A most popular addition to our worship is our new mahzor (high holiday prayer book), Lev Shalem. The Conservative Movement publication provides explanation and commentary, aiding greatly in the understanding of the holiest days of the year.

Contemporary Services

We recognize that the Traditional Services may not be for all; therefore B’nai Shalom extends to our community its Contemporary Service on the High Holy Days.

Festival (Holiday) services

We hold regularly scheduled services for all the Jewish holidays in our main sanctuary. This includes Sukkot, Pesach (Passover), Shavuot and Purim.

On Sukkot, in addition to the morning services, we enjoy an outdoor meal in our community sukkah, built by congregants. We celebrate Simchat Torah in a joyous evening service, including an unfurling of one of our Torah scrolls. Pesach brings us together for services on the first and last days of the holiday. We also host a community seder in our Social Hall for the second night of Passover. On Shavuot we conduct a special “tikun layl Shavuot” Torah study program as well as services on the first and last days of the holiday. Purim is a time of merriment and costumes enjoyed by children and adults alike with the reading of Megilat Esther and the sound of noisemakers (“groggers”).

Other worship options

In our lives, prayer and study occur in both casual and formal settings. With this in mind, B’nai Shalom offers congregants several opportunities to expand their prayer vision both within and beyond the synagogue walls. These are intended to feed and grow the healthy atmosphere of choice that B’nai Shalom provides. We encourage your thoughts and suggestions of topics that might enrich this process. Our goal is to make B’nai Shalom the synagogue where you can find your Jewish voice.