By David Basior, JTNews Correspondent
The Shul Test
Drive: a primer
Beginning with
this issue, JTNews will run monthly reviews of
synagogue Shabbat services all around the region. These
articles are researched and written by individuals in their
20s to early 30s, personal accounts that will, over the
course of the series, explore the many challenges and joys
finding a spiritual community.
The reviewers
will attempt to remain anonymous during their visit, and
they will write about their experiences: their level of
comfort in the service, the way people welcomed them,
whatever touches them. Though these reviews may at times
make us uneasy, and may not resonate with your own
experiences at that synagogue, they will faithfully describe
the experience of a person seeking a spiritual home.
JTNews
will be
working with several reviewers, all of whom have attended
services throughout their lives and have been trying to find
a place to attend as they establish themselves as adults.
They are interested in sharing their experiences as they
seek answers for themselves. Comments about the Shul Test
Drive may be sent to editor@jtnews.net.
In the JTNews
debut of its new Shul Test Drive Project, the editor
asked me to attend a Shabbat service at Herzl-Ner Tamid,
Mercer Islands Conservative synagogue. Luckily, my
girlfriends family lives on what we lovingly call The
Rock, and I would be getting some good home cooking as a
result of the assignment.
I dont really
mind going to shul alone, either. Prayer can be a
very individual experience and Shabbat services are a good
time to meet and enjoy the company of strangers. As I parked
in the Herzl parking lot on the evening of October 29th, I
was greeted by a few smiles and hellos. It was nice to see
some welcoming faces before I had even gone inside. Upon
entering the synagogue, two door greeters along with the
senior rabbi met me with warm smiles and handshakes.
I picked up my
Herzl Whats Going On flyer and found a seat in the
ornamental, stadium-style sanctuary. Suddenly, I no longer
felt welcomed, sitting in the sanctuary by myself. Nearly 80
people sat scattered throughout the great hall, most in
groups of three to five people. No one had approached me
since those door-greeters.
I wished for a
smaller, warmer space or for a more facilitated seating
process where the congregants would be guided to the same
few rows. I enjoy praying in an energetic, open community,
but it seemed that this would not be the evening for that.
The cantor began
singing an introductory song to signal the conversations to
stop. He stood a bit into the stadium-style sanctuary as he
sang, which seemed to me a n attempt to fight the dispersed
way in which the community had seated itself.
We began a very
forced Kabbalat Shabbat with minimal congregational
participation. Noticing the lack of participation, the
cantor abruptly lowered his voice during LCha Dodi,
hoping congregants would pick up the slack. Nothing. There
was a lot of empty space to fill, and not a whole lot of
energy in this service.
The highlight of
the service was a mystical tune to Ma Gadlu (the
middle portion of Psalm 92) it brought back memories of my
Bnai Jeshurun days in New York City. For me, it was the
only instance of spiritual elevation during the evening, and
it didnt last long enough. I would have loved to see it
extended and even accompanied by a harmonious voice on the
other microphone.
The cantor led
nearly the entire service as we breezed by the Shma.
Many moments, when trying to mark where we were in the text,
he spoke directly into the microphone for a bit too long for
my taste. Maybe he was testing my ability to concentrate,
but either way it didnt sit well. I found myself distracted
in the middle of my praying.
The service was a
good, well-paced mix of thorough and fast. Rabbi Rosenbaum
remained a well-seated spectator for the majority of the
service, not making his presence truly known until he
approached the bima after the silent Amidah.
Great. Sermon
time. I dont know about you, but I like to pray and eat on
a Friday night. Lets talk Torah at the dinner table, but
until I have some food in my system, most of your words are
lost anyway.
Rabbi Rosenbaum
had a wonderful approachability that made me want to listen,
despite my hunger pangs. He came across like any other
congregant, and he spoke to points that most congregants
seemed ready to relate to. At least this evening, I was not
the typical Herzl congregant he spoke to an older
generation, but they seemed enthralled. I often heard noises
of agreement from the congregation as he would make his
connections.
Everything ended
as the communitys youth members led us in a kiddush
followed by Yigdal. Unfortunately, announcements made
by the Congregations president didnt include anything
about a welcome to visitors or offer suggestions about how a
newcomer might continue the evening within the auspices of
Herzl-Ner Tamid. Despite the fact that my girlfriends
mothers would have delicious Persian kebab waiting for me
at her dinner table, a Shabbat dinner invitation would have
felt very welcoming (though I was not about to miss the
kebab).
As I made my way
out of shul, the cantor worked the door and asked me
my name and where I was from. When he heard that I live in
Seattle, he seemed surprised.
Finally, I would
like to point out that Herzl has a new rabbi Rabbi Rachel
Nussbaum. She seems to be adding something nice and new to
Herzl with a regular class to be taught on the Microsoft
campus and a new Shabbat morning minyan and study. In
what little I have seen, she will be a breath of fresh air
for the young adult community in Seattle. She was
unfortunately not a part of the service I attended, but I
hope to see her in action soon.
About our shul
tester:
I normally attend
services on Mercer Island at Shevet Achim with Rabbi
Kornfeld or at Hillel with Rabbi Will Berkovitz and Rabbi
Dan Bridge. These are very different services, and I like
each for different reasons, but my favorite service is Bnai
Jeshurun in New Yorks Upper West Side.
This popular
congregation offers moments of layered communal
participation during Kabbalat Shabbat, barchu, and shma,
but then allows for the individual space to pray in the
amidah. I guess you could say the service itself is
important to me, but I can be a little picky when it comes
to the details. When it comes to the congregation, I just
look for one that has a welcoming environment spoken through
either warm words by the service leader or by sincere hellos
by the other congregants. The more participation, the better
both in welcoming and in praying.
Dave Basior