Shabbat Shalom!

In the Jewish tradition, Shabbat is the focus of the week, a day of peace and sanctity. At TBZ everyone is encouraged to celebrate Shabbat in their own way, to create for themselves a soul-restoring oasis of serenity and joy. In the sanctuary, Shabbat is our time of coming together in prayer, learning, and celebration.

Friday Evening

The experience begins on Friday evening with the intimate Kabbalat Shabbat. This is a deeply musical service, both joyous and touching.  We sit together, sing together, contemplate together, and sometimes even dance together. The spiritual highlight comes at the end of the Lekha Dodi hymn when we open the doors of the sanctuary, heading outside to welcome Shabbat in person.

Once a month, the whole Kabbalat Shabbat experience is magnified manyfold in our amazing Shabbat Nariya – Shabbat Sing-Out service.

Under the leadership of our Artist-in-Residence, Yoni Battat, we’re bringing our voices to Shabbat Zimrah, featuring the the mystical sounds of Arab Jewry in the TBZ sanctuary. 2023-2024 dates include November 10, December 8, February 9, March 8, and April 19. Services start at 6pm. Want to warm up your voice before Shabbat? Join Yoni for Hazmanah L’Zimrah (Invitation to Sing) to learn the tunes at 7:30pm on November 9, December 7, February 8, March 7, and April 17.

Shabbat Morning

Shabbat is the focus of Jewish learning: Jews traditionally have a weekly program of study preparing them for the upcoming Torah reading.  Here, we begin each Shabbat morning at 9:00am with an hour’s Torah study.

Prayers start in the sanctuary at 10:00am. We open shacharit (the morning service) with the blessing, “Love your Neighbor as Yourself,” getting up and physically greeting those around us with hugs and handshakes. This is a great moment both to meet old friends and to welcome newcomers and guests.

Torah Service

At the heart of the Shabbat prayers is the Torah service. Community members read from the Torah – we regularly hold special workshops for those who want to learn to chant the trope. The readings follow the triennial system, covering a third of the week’s parasha and completing the Torah every three years.

This is also when we honor community members, pray for the sick, recite a memorial prayer and – what we love most – celebrate important life events and milestones. If you let Rav Claudia know ahead of time, you will find the whole community forming a circle around you at the bimah, singing and clapping, adding their blessings to your special day.

We conclude our prayers with musaf (the additional service), some reciting the traditional text, others using the time for silent meditation.

Oneg & Kiddush

After the prayers, we all meet downstairs in the community room for kiddush, hamotzi, and a communal Oneg (joyful meal) – an hour or so of good food and friendly chat in the kind of open, relaxed and welcoming atmosphere so characteristic of TBZ.

Join Us!

Our services are open to everyone. You don’t have to be a member. Just turn up – there will always be someone at the door ready to make you welcome.

If you can’t join us in person, don’t worry! You can also join us on Zoom, so you can be with us in spirit wherever you are. Please contact the office for the Zoom link.

The times of all the services can be found on our website. Take a look and come along. We would love to see you!