Keddem Congregation Religious Observance
We observe Shabbat, High Holy Days, Festivals, and other special days
as a community. Our observances and celebrations are open to all, both
members and non-members.
Note that locations or times may change; check the online
calendar
or our monthly newsletter
for more specific information.
Shabbat
We celebrate Shabbat together in many different ways during each month!
All Shabbat events are held at
Kehillah
Jewish High School,
unless otherwise noted.
- First Friday of each month:
Thank God It's
Shabbat!
The celebration of Shabbat begins with a potluck dinner at
6:00 PM, followed by
Kabbalat Shabbat & Ma'ariv
at 7:00 PM. A dessert oneg follows the
service, a little before 8 PM.
Please bring a dish to share—
vegetarian, dairy, or fish with scales.
- Second Saturday of each month:
Learners' Minyan
Service begins at 10:00 AM. All who wish to broadent their
understanding of Jiewish liturgy and liturgical practice are welcome at
every Learners' Minyan service. We currently have two "flavors" of Leaners'
Minyan:- In even-numbered months,
a service focussed on our pre-bar/bat mitzvah
chevre, particularly designed to help them learn about our services
in preparation for leading some or all of the service at their bar/bat
mitzvah.
This service is led by Rabbi Elisheva Salamo.
- In odd-numbered months, a service focussed
more on adult learners. The service may focus on some
particular component of the service, or something about how Jewish
services in general are put together
- Third Saturday of each month:
Shabbat Morning Services with Torah Reading
The service begins at 10:00 AM, and includes a Torah reading (triennial cycle)
and brief d'var Torah
delivered by one of our members.
Service concludes with Kiddush and a pot-luck lunch. Please bring a dish to share—
vegetarian, dairy, or fish with scales. Anyone is more than
welcome to come just for lunch!
- Fourth Saturday of each month:
Torah study
Study begins at 10:00 AM.
Group study of the Parashat haShavua
(portion of the week.) Bagels, juice, and coffee at 9:45.
A schedule of Torah
readings is available on-line.
Need help celebrating Shabbat at home? To download
blessings and prayers for Shabbat evening, click
here.
High Holy Days
- Rosh Hashanah: Evening and
morning services and tashlich
walk and service on the first day; morning services on the
second day.
- Yom Kippur:
Kol Nidrei, morning services,
study groups, Minchah,
Yizkor,
and Ne'ilah.
For information about High Holy Days services, please
see our High Holy Days information page, which comes up just after
Tisha B'Av each year.
Festivals
We mark all Festivals with services, study, and celebration.
For example, we celebrate:
- Sukkot, with either
Ma'ariv or
Shacharit on the first day,
and our "Dinner under the Stars" potluck in the sukkah during
chol ha-moed.
- Simchat Torah, with
services, music, and dancing with our
Sifrei Torah.
- Passover, with a
congregational seder during the holiday
- Shavuot , with a late
night study session, together with other local congregations.
If there is a demand for them, we also hold
Yizkor services in the afternoon on the 7th day of Passover
and on Shavuot. These are generally held about 5:30 PM.
Special Days
We also mark numerous other special days, including:
- Chanukah, with a party, generally
held on the Sunday during the holiday.
- Purim, with a
very brief service (appropriate
to the spirit of the holiday!), triangular food, and
Megillah reading or
Purimspiel in English.
- Yom Hashoah, by
participating in the annual community observance.
.
