WHAT ARE THE SERVICES LIKE?

Our congregation includes and welcomes men and women from a variety of backgrounds. Some of us grew up Reform. Others grew up Conservative. Others grew up Orthodox. Still others grew up Secular, or with little or no religious involvement with Judaism. Yet we are one people.

So you will find that our services each Shabbat and at High Holydays are welcoming and accessible to those who know the prayers and blessings from memory and those who are entering into Jewish prayer and meditation for the very first time.

After several years of trying out various prayer books, we decided a few years ago to create our own interactive Shabbat Siddur called “Tefilot Shel Ha-Lev, Prayers of the Heart.” A large number of congregants wrote side-bars and offered footnotes to explain what each prayer, psalm, and blessing meant to them on a deep soulful level.

When you arrive at our services, you will notice that in this congregation everyone feels included and warmly welcomed. It doesn’t matter whether you are new or experienced, scholarly or skeptical, liberal or traditional, reverent or a bit rebellious. There is a lot of room for diversity and differing viewpoints in this holy space we are creating together.

As you listen to the singing, chanting, and silent meditations, feel free to engage in your own unique way. You might utilize the prayer book’s easy-to-follow English transliterations of the Hebrew words to sing along passionately. Or you might read the side-bars and footnotes to explore the deeper meanings and kavanah/intentions of the various traditional prayers of gratitude and joy. Or you might silently connect with the longings of your soul and the important words of your heart for a while before returning to the prayers and melodies that others around you are saying. Or you might choose just a word or two in the prayer book that catches your eye and causes you to wrestle for your own personal interpretation or application of these holy words.

You will also notice at our services that we have many teachers. We have a beloved teacher, Rabbi Miriam Hamrell, who not only guides our lively discussions but also inspires many in the congregation to volunteer and offer their own teachings and interpretations. You will also notice that many congregants at Ahavat Torah are given the opportunity to be a part of the service and to get close to the Torah. Rena Jaffe and Rabbi Miriam are constantly helping congregants take the leap into chanting from the Torah for the first time (or for the first time with deeper kavanah/intention). Quite often we also have guest speakers come to give their interpretations of the weekly Torah portion. This congregation truly lives up to its motto of “One Torah, One People, Many Teachers.”

At our services, you will not be judged or critiqued. Instead you will be greeted warmly and invited to the delicious pot-luck dairy lunch that immediately follows the service. Most of all, you will experience a sense of aliveness and connection to a beautiful and sacred path. If you have ever felt “left out” or isolated in the past, we hope you will find that Ahavat Torah is a welcoming place where you can question, learn, grow and be a blessing.