Ritual
Our ritual life at RTBI is rich and engaging. We hold Friday night services at 8:00PM (unless otherwise noted) and Saturday morning services at 10:00AM. We try to offer a variety of service styles so that we might sometimes have a torah discussion about the week’s portion rather than do a full torah service. Once a month we host our popular Shir Hadash (“new song”) on a Friday night which is an all-musical service. As a Reconstructionist synagogue, our services are highly participatory and often reflect the uniqueness of our service leaders.
Throughout the year our students at our Children’s Learning Center (our Hebrew school) will lead the community in prayer at a Friday or Saturday service or share a teaching or long-term project with service attendees.
All are Welcome!
FRIDAYS at 8:00 pm
Kabballat Shabbat Services (Welcoming the Sabbath)
SATURDAYS at 10:00 am
Shabbat Services, including Torah service or study
Please see Online Calendar for this week’s service details. The schedule does change, so check carefully!
HIGH HOLIDAY schedule
What are our services like?
FRIDAY NIGHT services include a lot of singing. We do many traditional prayers and blessings, as well as some with unique Reconstructionist additions, and a fair amount of the service is in Hebrew. Our prayerbook, Kol Ha’Neshemah, has full transliterations. The service lasts about an hour and 15 minutes, and afterwards an Oneg Shabbat (Joy in Shabbat) with refreshments gives us all a chance to relax and socialize.
SHIR HADASH (New Song), our very popular Musical Kabbalat Shabbat, is held one Friday night each month, led by our Congregational Cantor Lois Kittner. This service brings together traditional and modern melodies in a joyful setting. We sing, we play tambourines along with the drum and guitar, and some people even get up and dance in the aisle!
SATURDAY SERVICES come in three flavors and are followed by kiddush (the blessing over wine) and often lunch; services last about two hours:
REGULAR SHABBAT SERVICES are led by Rabbi Jarah Greenfield or Congregational Cantor Lois Kittner. The service includes prayers, blessings and songs in Hebrew, as well as Torah and Haftarah chanting. We have a lively discussion of the weekly Torah reading.
LEARNERS’ SERVICES are held once a month. Rabbi Jarah leads this service to develop service skills; we split the congregation so that a regular service runs concurrently. Both groups come together for the Torah service.
M’KOR HATEFILLAH — “The Source of Prayer” — is a Beit Midrash service conducted by Congregational Cantor Lois Kittner with lay leader assistance. This creative service includes a Torah study instead of Torah service, as well as in-depth looks at the history and traditions of our rituals.
OPEN HOUSE SERVICES give new-comers opportunities to learn about Reconstructionist Judaism, and are held throughout the year.
FAMILY SERVICES include Tot Shabbats, Youth services for Hebrew School ages, and other services specially geared to include children.
SHABBAT DINNERS are sometimes held instead of a formal service. We hold ‘Shabbat seders’ at RTBI and some months encourage congregants to hold a Shabbat seder in their own homes on Friday night.
HAVDALLAH is a short, beautiful service which comes at the close of Shabbat on Saturday night. Throughout the year we hold Beit Midrash (Adult Ed) programs in conjunction with Havdallah.
Please check the Online Calendar for the schedule or contact us for more information.
