Erev Shabbat Service, Bet Tikvah
Hinei ma tov -- p. 2 -- unison
Welcome -- Door of our Synagogue, p. 2 congregant. Then leaders
alternate (or leader and congregant from bimah):
Let us fill this space with our silence and our songs, our
longings and our satisfactions, our fellowship and our solitude.
We welcome the sacred to this space by noticing the rhythms
of passing time, spinning seasons, the bloom of summer.
We welcome rest to this place by attending to the blessings
and struggles that color and strengthen our lives.
We welcome pride to this place by acknowledging our history
and our community.
We welcome the difference shabbat makes by marking this time
as one of solace and celebration, spirit and contemplation.
We welcome the pause that reminds us to breathe, the breath
that reminds us to sing, the song that reminds us to carry on in
our collective dance down this path of Jewish renewal.
[Together]: Shabbat shalom!
Bim bam -- unison
Ma tovu -- p. 2 -- unison
Speak to us -- leaders alternate
O God, on this shabbat eve we have come to Your
sanctuary to seek Your presence and to hear your call. Speak
to us, we pray, with the still, small voice of Your spirit.
When our lives become shallow, deepen them;
When our principles become shabby, repair them.
When our ideals become tarnished, restore them;
When our hopes become faded, revive them.
When our loyalties grow dim, brighten them;
When our values become confused, clarity them.
When our purposes grow blurred, sharpen them;
When our horizons become narrow, widen them.
Make us worthy instruments of Your will, O God,
And help us, in the week ahead, to live the words we pray.
Candle lighting -- Congregant reads at top of p. 7, then leader
chant in Hebrew and recite:
Blessed be, Hashem, Creator of space and time, Who has
sanctified us with awareness of each and every moment, and
who in that spirit commands us to kindle the lights of
Shabbat.
May the brightness -- bottom of p. 7 -- congregant
Shalom Alechem -- p. 6 -- unison (leader conclude in English
with: "Bless me with peace ...")
Within my heart there lives a garden -- p. 8, responsively
And then all -- p. 13 -- circularly
from Psalm 92 -- p. 12 -- unison
V'ta-heyr li-bey-nu l'av'decha be-emet -- unison at the
conclusion of the following, which may be read (alternating)
by the leaders or by the leader with a congregant who comes
to the bimah:
O God of truth and justice, the evasions and deceits we practice
upon other and upon ourselves are many.
We long only to speak and to hear the truth, yet time and
again, from fear of loss or hope of gain, from dull habit or
from cruel deliberation, we speak half-truths, we twist
facts, we are silent when others lie, and we lie to
ourselves.
As gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people, we
often feel forced to pretend to be that which we are not, to
present ourselves in ways which are not truthful, and sometimes
with outright lies.
But as we stand before You, our words and our thoughts speed
to One who knows them before we utter them. We do not have
to tell untruths to you as we are often forced to do in the
straight world. We know we cannot lie in Your presence.
May our worship help us to practice truth in speech and in
thought before You, to ourselves, and before one another; and may
be finally complete our liberation so that we no longer feel the
need to practice evasions and deceits.
Eternal God, purify our hearts to serve You in truth.
Bar'chu -- p. 15 rise and face the ark
Leader: Bar'chu et Adonai ha-mavorach!
Congregation and Leader: Baruch Adonai ha-mavorach l'olam
va-ed!
Leader repeats last verse, then asks congregation to be
seated.
To live content with small means -- leader
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather
than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be
worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to
stars and birds, babes and sages with an open heart; to
study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently,
await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the
spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the
common -- this is my symphony. (William Henry Channing)
Sh'ma -- p. 16 -- rise, cover your eyes if that is part of your
tradition -- leader repeats in English. Opportunity for
Meditation: Chant by sustaining each syllable as long as
possible. Or: alternate silent inhales with an exhaled
"shhhh" or "mmmmm."
Viahavta -- p. 16 -- leader leads the congregation in unison, and
concludes by reading the first sentence in English.
Congregation is seated. Or: have a congregant comfortable
reading Hebrew join leaders on the bimah and read Shapiro,
"And You Shall Love."
Mi chamocha -- OR Kos Miriam -- leader recites:
I, Miriam, stand at the sea and turn to face the desert
stretching endless and still. My eyes are dazzled the sky
brilliant blue, sun burnt sands unyielding white. My hands turn
to dovewings, my arms reach for the sky and I want to sing the
song rising inside me -- my mouth opens -- I stop -- where are
the words? In a moment of panic my eyes go blind -- can I take a
step without knowing a destination? Will I falter? Will I fall?
Will the ground sink away from under me? The song still unformed
how can I sing? To take the first step, to sing a new song, is
to close one's eyes and dive into unknown waters. For a moment
knowing nothing, risking all, but then to discover the waters are
friendly, the ground is firm and the song -- the song rises again
out of my mouth. Come words, lifting the wind -- and I hear for
the first time the song that has been in my heart, silent,
unknown even to me.
Hashkiveynu -- p. 18 -- responsively, with the congregation split
in half. Meditation or discussion opportunity about shelter,
peace.
please rise
Vishamru -- p. 18 -- unison
please be seated
Preparation for the Amidah: Leader explains that this is the
heart of the service, the standing silent prayer, with
traditional form on pp. 21-24 and alternative
interpretations on 25-27. We will have a preparatory
reading, stand, recite the Hatzi Kaddish, and daven the
Amidah. Discussion/learning: Kaplan on the first
paragraph, especially the four ways of characterizing God
(king, helper, rescuer, shield).
To be related to something bigger -- p. 1 -- congregant
Hatzi Kaddish -- p. 19, please rise and remain standing
throughout the Amidah, and be seated when you are done.
Take your time; it is said that it took the angels an hour
to recite the Amidah, which comes out to one word every
seven seconds. Options: If the words on the page do not
move you, you might take this opportunity to ask yourself:
What am I grateful for? What parts of my life need healing?
What noisy places need quiet listening? What shadows need a
shift in the light? How can I treat myself to peace this
shabbat?
Amidah -- Leader: Eternal God, open my lips that my mouth may
declare your Glory . . .
Conclude with: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of
my heart be acceptable in thy sight O God my rock and my
redeemer -- leader
Oseh shalom -- bottom of p. 24 -- unison
Drash/devar torah
Prayer for healing -- middle of p. 29 -- leader
Sing Debbie Friedman version:
Mi she-beyrach avoteinu
M'kor ha-b'racha l'imoteinu,
May the Source of Strength
Who blessed the ones before us,
Help us find the courage
To make our lives a blessing,
And let us say: Amen.
Mi she-Beyrach imoteinu
M'kor ha-b'racha l'avoteinu,
Bless those in need of healing
With r'fua sh'leima,
The renewal of body,
The renewal of spirit,
And let us say: Amen.
or chant: one of the shortest prayers in all the Torah, the
prayer of Moses when his sister Miriam was struck with leprosy --
"God, heal her!"
El na rafa na la
El na rafa na lo
Rise and open the Ark
Aleinu -- p. 34 in unison -- then leaders:
It is for us to praise the Essence of all things
To honor the Hand of creation
Who gave us a Torah of truth
Planting among us eternal life
So we bend and bow,
Acknowledge and give thanks
Before our Teacher, Source of Life
Joy of our hearts, the Holy One of Blessing
Who extended the heavens and established the earth
Who spreads wings over us, nourishing us with lovingkindness.
-- Aliza Arzt and the Siddur Project of Havurat Shalom
Please be seated
Meditation from Ecclesiastes top of p. 37 or other similar
reading from around there -- congregant, followed by the
Mourners' Kaddish, p. 38 -- Leader: In recalling our dead, of
blessed memory, we confront our loss with faith by rising to
praise God's name in public assembly, praying that all will
soon recognize God's sovereignty over all the world. For
when God's sovereignty is felt in the world, blessing and
song fill the world, as well as great consolation.
Mourners please rise (recite) be seated.
The peace of wild things -- leader
When despair in the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Life cycle events and announcements
Adon Olam -- p. 46 -- unison, other hymn to conclude
Kiddush/motzi -- p. 47