Rabbi Knopf's Blog

Dear friends,

I invite you to participate in a unique project: help us develop a new Friday evening worship experience.

Background
Tom Driver, Emeritus Professor of Theology and Culture at Union Theological Seminary, taught that rituals are performances designed for transformation.  Participants engage in practices that, when they work, discernibly move them  from one emotional, spiritual, and/or moral state to another. It is fair to say that, for many of us, the typical Friday evening service is less than transformational. 

We can solve this problem through:

1) Understanding your emotional, spiritual, and moral needs
2) Imagination of the ritual experiences that truly matter to participants

How will it work?
In the next four weeks, Hazzan Marian and I will be experimenting with different styles and set-ups of worship. We are still working on the exact line-up of services, but as of right now, here’s our plan:

(All services start at 6pm)
January 26 - Traditional Kabbalat Shabbat/Ma’ariv, Main Sanctuary
February 2 - Meditation style service, Kiddush Room
February 9 - Temple Beth-El’s “typical” Friday service, Main Sanctuary
February 16 - Jazz service with musical accompaniment, location TBD

What we need from you
We are looking for congregants who are willing and able to attend 3 or 4 of these services and fill out a short evaluation/reflection about each week’s service. Can we count on you?

Your feedback will help us develop a new Erev Shabbat service. The new service will not replace our "regular" service. The service we create, depending on what form it takes and how it is received once rolled out, might be something we end up doing only once, several times, or on a routine basis as part of a diverse repertoire of worship. If it proves successful, meets the Ritual Committee's approval, and its form makes sense to adopt as our "regular" service, then we will hold open that possibility as a potential outcome.  If our work is successful, we may begin a similar process for the Saturday morning service.

So, can you commit to attending Friday evening services for at least 3 of those 4 weeks? Are you willing to offer your honest and thoughtful evaluations of the services you attended? If so, please "reply"  to this email and we will email  you a reminder each week with a follow-up form to fill out online. (We will also have paper forms to take home if you prefer using paper and pen.)

I am very grateful in advance for your participation! 

Sincerely,

Rabbi Michael Knopf