Shabbat Shalom!

Eager to experience different forms of vital worship, I was glad to hear from Hank that there was a lot of good stuff happening at the Synagogue at Sixth & I.  I headed there tonight for their "Sixth in the City Shabbat" designed for those in their 20s and 30s.  (You don't need to remind me that I am no longer in this target group.)  The evening began at 6:30 p.m. with socializing, drinks, and appetizers.  The Shabbat service began at 7:15 p.m. and was followed with dinner at 8:15 p.m.  As we entered, everyone who greeted us with, "Shabbat Shalom!"

The service was led by Rabbi Shira Stutman and musician Sheldon Low.  Sheldon is a wonderful musician who played the guitar and led the congregation in song, mostly in Hebrew.  Rabbi Stutman is a vibrant person who quickly drew me in with her warm smile, easy manner, and obvious delight in being with the group who had gathered tonight.  I loved how she talked about the value of Shabbat and taking time apart from the typical rhythm of our days. The service drew heavily from the prayer book and included a teaching moment, some words about infusing the mundane tasks of life with the holy, prayers of healing, as well as the ritual of breaking bread at the end of the service.  Rabbi Stutman called forward a couple who had recently been married to hold the bread for the blessing; tonight she added honey rather than salt to the challah as a blessing of sweetness for their first year of marriage  After a prayer, she passed the bread throughout the congregation.   The loaves were passed through the several hundred people who were gathered there tonight quickly - some pieces were even tossed to the back!  I loved the eagerness I saw!  Everyone can understand, "take, eat, this is for you" as an act of love. 

After breaking bread in the sanctuary we went downstairs for dinner - chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans, ratatouille, brownies and cookies.  All of the tables with seats were taken so we stood at a bistro table with Andrea and Evan, new friends who talked with us about their faith and lives, as we broke bread together.


Breaking bread, authenticity, vibrancy in sharing, music that stirs my soul, a sense of community (even amongst people I do not know) - these are some of the things that make worship meaningful for me.  What makes worship meaningful for you?


"Shabbat Shalom!" A peaceful Sabbath.