NEW YORK CITY — I was delighted when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 122, NKJV)
And so I was. Last week I was in New York City enjoying a mini-reunion with a couple of people who had attended Rice University the same time as I. My hostess, a Jewish woman, and hearing that I was visiting varied worship services, said, “Do you want to go to shul with me tonight?”
I immediately accepted. So at a few minutes before 6 p.m. that night, I found myself hearing “Shabbat shalom (peaceful Sabbath)” multiple times at the Rodelph Sholom Temple, ( http://rodephsholom.org ), a Reform congregation on the upper west side of Manhattan.
After a quick check of my bag by security guards, I introduced myself to a greeter and indicated I would be writing about the service. Her face lit up and she told me how much she liked being a part of this congregation, finding people warm, friendly and welcoming.
I noted a large sign indicating that tickets could be picked up. These are necessary only for the two very large services that take place this time of the year.
The first is Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the Jewish New Year (Sept. 24-26 of this year). The second is Yom Kippur (Oct. 3-4 this year), 10 days later, also known as the Day of Atonement. On those high-attendance nights, only members of the temple could be admitted, and only if they had pre-purchased tickets.
Temple membership does include a yearly fee per family, but those fees are subsidized if necessary.
We were attending the first Sabbath service of this Jewish New Year, after the initial celebration two days before. The main theme of this time revolves around the return to God.
All of us tend to wander and all need to return to the center in the heart of God.
Because of that, the message for the night would be delivered by two members of the congregation and their own stories of return.
But before the message came a wonderful mixture of music, Scripture and prayer. This time is led entirely by the cantors, in this case, two women with superb voices.
We had been handed a hard-bound prayer book/hymnal as we entered, and my friend reminded me that the book would be read as one does Hebrew, right to left. So, what is the back page to most is the first page here.
Because I had studied Hebrew extensively a number of years ago, all of this made sense. As we worked through the service, the rabbi called out for us the page numbers so we could follow the cantors and sing along.
The service began with the lighting of the candles, after which this blessing is sung.
“Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to kindle the light of Shabbat.”
I participated, also reading the translations of prayers and songs full of gratefulness to God and for the privilege of the Sabbath. The joyful music filled the sanctuary, with seating capacity for about 800, with perhaps 250 in worship that night.
Four rabbis comprise the clergy staff, two women and two men. An associate rabbi introduced the first speaker who told us the moving story of her conversion to Judaism.
She had been raised Roman Catholic, married a Jewish man and reared her children in Judaism. Now, 15 years later and after much study, prayer and soul-wrestling, she heard God calling her to return on this New Year’s celebration.
The senior rabbi introduced the next speaker who held us entranced as he movingly recounted his entrance just over a year ago into the world of the very ill with an aggressive form of leukemia, and his return to health by the power of faith, excellent medicine and a loving and supportive family.
These speakers and their families gathered on the bimeh (raised platform similar to a chancel) to celebrate and for the moment when the Ark is opened and the Torah scrolls revealed. All stand in honor of God’s holy word.
The final portion of the service is the Mourner’s Kaddish, before which a long list of names is read of those who were a part of this congregation and have now died. That prayer reads in part:
“Exalted and hallowed be God’s great name
in the world which God created, according to plan ...,
Blessed, praised, honored, exalted, extolled, glorified, adored,
and lauded be the name of the Holy Blessed One,
beyond all earthly words and songs of blessing, praise, and comfort...
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and all Israel.”
A final “Shabbat Shalom.” The congregation, full of joy and celebration, were dismissed to the “nosh” or small snack to fuel the Sabbath evening conversation.
