Friday Night Shabbat Service
Rosemary Cunningham Spiritual explorer Rosemary Cunningham first learned about shabbat (the sabbath) by observing it with the children at the Jewish preschool where she was the only staff member who was not Jewish. Then her friend Rochelle invited her to the Friday services at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, which often fill a nearby Methodist church as well.
Since that night three years ago, says Rosemary, Friday night services have become “a vital part of the patchwork quilt of practices, Christian and Jewish, which connect me with God.” After a recent service, she filed this report.
The security guard at the door inspects my handbag, then smiles and wishes me shabbat shalom (a peaceful Sabbath). I walk through the narrow lobby to the sanctuary, where I exchange ”shabbat shalom” with an usher as he hands me a flyer. I take a seat in one of the comfortable blue metal chairs that fill the ground floor in a semicircle broken by several aisles. I save a seat for Rochelle, because every time I have been here the 800 or so seats have been filled. People greet one another with smiles and hugs and talk excitedly.
At six o’clock the sanctuary is almost full. The siddur (prayer book) in my hand has Hebrew text on its right-hand pages, English on the left. At the front of the siddur (actually the end of the Hebrew text) is a transliteration of most of the service. Although virtually the entire service is sung by the rabbis and the congregation, there is not one note of music in the siddur. The melodies are rich and easy to grasp. Lately I’ve begun to sing in attempted Hebrew and no longer flip back to the English. Some of the sounds are difficult. I trust that God understands.
The synagogue quiets as the rabbis, a man and a woman, enter, both wearing kippot (yarmulkes or skullcaps) and tallit (fringed prayer shawls of white with a black pattern woven through). Rabbi Rolando Matalon gives a page number and begins to sing a poem, “I Sing of Your Creation.” The English text in the siddur begins, “Soul mate, loving God, compassion’s gentle source.” The congregation sings along with spirit. By the end of the song we are clapping and swaying. Next we sing three psalms. I’m used to hearing psalms read, so the singing — they are songs, after all — is something I particularly like.
Rabbi Matalon speaks about Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9), this week’s parashah, the portion of the Torah to be read here in tomorrow morning’s shabbat service. Toldot is about Jacob and Esau and the struggle between two siblings. The rabbi tells us it is time for more than one to be blessed, for more than one to have the birthright. He talks of an end to struggle. He talks of Jews, Muslims, and Christians working together for peace. He never says the word but I am sure he is talking about Israel. He talks about how shabbat is what is needed, and that “L’kha Dodi,” which we are about to sing, contains all the words necessary to make peace possible.
I open the siddur to “L’kha Dodi” and see “Holy city, majestic, banish your fears. Arise, emerge from your desolate years. Too long have you dwelled in the valley of tears. He will restore you with mercy and grace.” Yes, of course, the answer lies with the Holy One.
Rabbi Matalon tells us we’ll sing “L’Kha Dodi” to a Turkish tune and asks us to remember all those who died in the recent bombings there. The music begins slowly, deliberately, almost mournfully. Gradually it builds until hands are clapping and my friend and I rise, take hands, and join in the dancing. Lines of women, men, and children snake through the sanctuary as we sing, “L’kha dodi likrat kallah, pn’eni shabbat n’kab’lah.” (“Come, my friend, to greet the [sabbath] bride; we will receive the [face of] shabbat.”) We move steadily left, raising and lowering our clasped hands to the rhythm as we welcome the shabbat.
I feel the past week melt away as I lay down my burdens and surrender to the idea that the Sabbath begins now and that my hope, our hope, rests in God. I’ll spend the next 24 hours watching the sky, listening to the birds and the thousand sounds of the city, sharing meals and conversations with friends, walking by the river, reading a book, or napping. I will allow myself to rest.
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Information about B’nai Jeshurun can be found at BJ.org.
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