I Attend Shabbat

As my wife and I came in the door we were given a cheerful greeting, "Shabbat shalom!" "Shabbat shalom!" I replied. Lisa handed us a prayer/song book and invited me to put on a yarmulke. I picked out a gray one and stuck it on my head as best I could. Yesterday my wife and I went to a Jewish sabbath service for the first time. I found it moving in many ways.

First it might be helpful to tell why we were there. Several years ago when the local Jewish congregation was just getting started the Episcopal Church allowed them to hold their services at their church, St. Paul's. My wife Joan has been attending Episcopal services and participating in their music for nearly a year now. Due to a split in the local Episcopal diocese they are currently without the use of their church building, and the Jews are returning the favor. The Episcopals have been holding their services in the synagogue for several months now. And this week they invited the Episcopals to their sabbath service. I wanted to come along too, to see what it was like.

At this particular service there were probably about 40 Jews and 25 gentiles. A student rabbi, a woman in her mid thirties, had been assigned to conduct the service in this Reformed congregation as part of her training. She had a very nice voice, which helped, because practically the entire service is sung.

You start with the prayer book and you move through it a lot. We started on page 81 and finished past page 300. You don't cover every page, but you're moving quickly through it. "Now we're going to page 92." Then, "We're next moving to page 122." The book is interesting; you open it at the right and the pages proceed from right to left. The text is in Hebrew, but there is also an English translation. The prayers and songs are transliterated. By that I mean they also appear with the Hebrew words phonetically written out in our Roman letters. That makes it possible to sing along with the prayers. It's still not an easy assignment for those uninitiated in the pronunciations, but it was fun to participate and to see how familiar the regulars were with the material.

It's all very ancient. There are echoes of Middle Eastern patterns in the music of the chant, but not to the extent that it sounds extremely alien. Much of the text is about praising God, thanking Him for his many blessings and asking for continued guidance.

At one point, the student rabbi asked if there were those who wanted to remember the deceased in the prayers. She made eye contact in turn with everyone in the congregation, and when she did you could call out any names you wished to be remembered. Several people did. Another time she asked if there were prayer requests for people who were currently ill. This time I mentioned the name of a man who was recently in the hospital for a prostate operation.

The student rabbi, about halfway through, gave her sermon. It was on the theme, "What would you ask or say to God if you were 'face to face' with Him? I think the phrase was "parim el parim." That topic is fertile with many things to consider. She introduced many possibilities. Would it be to ask a question about life? About theology? To seek guidance? To ask pardon for sins or the strength to overcome shortcomings? And what does your choice say about you and your relationship and concept of God? It was a lot to think about, and very much personalized questions of faith. She concluded by saying that the night's reading would show Moses used such face time with God to plead for his mercy for the Jewish people, who had recently dishonored their new covenant by idol worship.

A bit later came the high point of the service, the Torah reading. Two large wooden doors in the wall behind the altar were opened. A large scroll mounted on two rolling pins and covered in an embroidered wrap was taken out. Two people came up to assist the rabbi. She explained what would happen next. Then the Torah (still in its wrap) was paraded around through the congregation. Everyone showed it respect by touching it with their prayer book or kissing it. The student rabbi had said it was only appropriate for Jews to kiss it. I touched it with my prayer book when it came by me.

Then she took it to the altar and read the evening's section. It was all in Hebrew, without vowels, and so the reading was rather halting at times. We listened for and heard the key phrase, "parim el parim" in the reading. Afterward the Torah was returned to its place. Concluding prayers and chants were sung and the service concluded with thanks. The service lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. Traditional foods of shabbat bread, fruit and cakes were served. Tiny cups of sweet wine were available. Everyone began conversing and socializing. I saw the value in the prayers for the sick when a woman came up to me and asked about the fellow I had mentioned. She also knew him and had not known he was ill.

It was moving to see the veneration shown the Torah. The liturgy was so varied and rather complex, and required such participation it was easy to make the connection between it and the Jewish concentration on education and literacy. There was a strong connection with an ancient past, but interestingly combined with elements of the present, such as a woman rabbi and the invitation of gentiles to share in the service. I am glad we went to this service. There is much beauty in the Jewish shabbat ritual and the joy of the people in observing it.