SHABBAT SERVICES

Temple Beth Am holds Shabbat Services every Friday evening and Saturday morning throughout the year.  To meet the needs of our diverse membership, which is comprised of people of all ages and backgrounds, we offer a number of different kinds of services at varying times.

In general, our Shabbat Evening Service takes place at 8:00pm in the sanctuary.  We use the Gates of Prayer or the gender-sensitive Gates of Prayer for Shabbat, and the rabbi and cantor, along with the volunteer choir, lead the congregation in the traditional Shabbat prayers.  Once a month, we also read the Torah at our Shabbat Evening Service.

Once a month, we have our popular Shabbat Unplugged service, which is an all-musical, participatory service with a band of musicians, instruments in the congregation, singing and dancing.  These services alternate each month between 6:00pm and 8:00pm to accommodate those families who need the early time for their young children and those families who commute home from Boston.

The students in our religious school and our Junior Choir lead a Family Service once a month at 7:00pm.  This well-attended service highlights the progress that our children have made in their ability to read Hebrew and to lead the congregation in prayer.  Our 70-member Junior Choir (the largest in the northeast) is always a crowd pleaser with their enthusiastic renditions of the Shabbat prayers.  Each family service is preceded by a Family Shabbat Dinner at 6:00pm in the social hall.

Shabbat Haverim is a service at 8:00pm geared to our long-time members.  This service is more classical Reform in style and includes our organ and volunteer choir.  Worshippers can count on seeing old friends and familiar faces in the congregation, and a sit-down Oneg Shabbat follows each Shabbat Haverim service.

Another new offering is our Shabbat in the Roundservice which is offered at 8:00pm in the Social Hall.  Worshippers are seated in a large semi-circle, and instead of a formal sermon, there is a lively discussion about a timely issue.

Young children (ages 4-8) enjoy our Tot Shabbat services which are offered a few times a year both Friday evening and Saturday morning.  Large print, age-appropriate prayerbooks with beautiful illustrations are used and the children sing Shabbat melodies and hear wonderful Jewish stories.

Every Saturday morning, our Shabbat Morning Minyan takes place in the Levine Library at 9:00am.  Our committed group of regulars is always happy to welcome first-timers and guests who are coming to say Kaddish or are looking for a spiritual lift to their week.

Our Shabbat Morning Service takes place in the sanctuary at 10:45am on mornings when there is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  The entire congregation is invited to worship at this service.