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. 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 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for details.
Shabbat Child Care is offered during special Saturday morning services such as the High Holy Days and various lifecycle celebrations. Qualified babysitters watch toddlers and preschool children. Please contact the .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) 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 Kulanu is generally held monthly. There is a children’s service led by one of our preschool or religious school classes, snacks or a meal, followed by a wonderful musical service for all. These services mix 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! Please email the .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.
Tot Services
Our preschoolers celebrate Shabbat as a community every Friday morning at 9:30am in the sanctuary. Led by our clergy, this is a brief, joyous service. 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 usually held on Mondays and Thursdays at 7:30 am. We also conduct an evening (Ma’ariv) service at 7:00pm prior to Religious Committee meetings, which are held monthly throughout the year on Thursday evenings. Please refer to our calendar for updates. If you call our office or clergy at 925-934-9446, we would be pleased to help you make arrangements for additional services, including Shiva Minyan, to recite Kaddish at the home or in the Synagogue.
High Holy Days services
Please see specific information on this year’s High Holy Days Services here
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 Holy Days prayer book), Lev Shalem. This 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 an alternative Contemporary Service on the High Holy Days. This service takes place in our Social Hall. It is briefer than our traditional services and more interactive. Community members are welcome to purchase tickets to this service, which takes place on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur.
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.