me to Kol Tzedek: An ve Jewish Community

Transcription

1 Welcome to Kol Tzedek! me to Kol Tzedek: An ve Jewish Community S. 48 th Street, Philadelphia Kol Tzedek was founded in 2004 as a new J community that is truly inclusive and access ourselves on our diversity, commitment to s strong sense of community. We are so glad For those who may be less familiar-whether we have put together this packet so you can more about our traditions and feel comforta service.

2 he central gathering place of the Jewish people. celebrate Jewish life in the home, but the e where Jews can come together to pray, learn, through life s transitions, and build meaningful ties re. Kol Tzedek Synagogue meets in the same groups, including Mennonite and Methodist s. It is very meaningful to build relationships d share sacred space. called tzitzit. The tzitzit, which are commanded to torah, are said to represent the four corners of the tzitzit are tied with intricate knots and windings. All the four fringes add up to 613, which is the number (commandments) in the Torah. Ark The Torah, which is the most sacred Jewish object ark ( aron in Hebrew). In the Torah, the Israelites create a portable ark that will carry the tablets of th throughout our journey. Kol Tzedek s ark was crea members and features art by Philip Zuchman and Z members of the community. nctuary, you will see kippot, or skullcaps. It is to cover their heads as a sign of being under and while eating and learning torah. At Kol nd women are invited to wear kippot. If you are a The Torah The Torah, the holiest object for Jewish people, is stories, traditions, dreams and visions of the Jewis

3 s. Those reading the torah know special trope nd prepare ahead of time to read the text. rvice th, is a special time-- a time for community, for and for prayer. Shabbat morning is especially t is the most people gather to hear the torah read. orning service, has many components. alled Pezukei D zimra (Verses of Praise); in this n awakening to a new day. We give thanks for our s and for the created world in which we live. ps us cultivate gratitude for being alive. In this lodies that help us awaken our spirits and our hema and her blessings, is when we give praise, on praising God for Creation, the giving of torah e possibility of redemption. The Shema prayer euteronomy, which says, Hear O Israel, the Lord One is considered a central tenent of Judaism. Amidah, a prayer which we typically begin ontinue in silent devotion. Our ancestors imagined torah service with aliyot, which means going up, near to the torah and offer blessings. After torah reading, returning the torah to the ark, a (interpretation of the torah), we move to the Conclu The most important of these is the Mourner s Kadd memory of those who have died in this season in y Mourner s Kaddish is really an affirmation of life an that those who are gone continue living through us Kaddish is traditionally only said in a minyan (quoru Jews. During Shabbat morning services, we have the opp celebrate milestones and life cycle moments of ind families in the context of community. Some of the together: Baby Namings & Welcoming When Jewish children are born, it is traditional to h welcoming them into the Jewish people and into th part of this ritual, babies are given their Hebrew na they will called to the torah with and used for life cy These names are typically chosen as a remembran who have passed away and to honor those memor speak about the chosen names and the legacy of t

4 ah: Coming to Jewish adulthood tzvah translates to child of the commandments of r literally means son and bat is daughter. A ebrating this passage is now considered a sh adult, with expectations for fuller participation in abide by Jewish ethics and values. The bar or bat be formally part of the Jewish community, as he/she he torah for blessings and be counted in a minyan (a ws that is needed for a formal prayer service to be rson becomes a bar or bat mitzvah when they turn age; the ritual is a marker and celebration of that and hope that this is just a beginning of their feeling p about being Jewish and part of a Jewish community. Celebration of Commitment Couples who are celebrating love and commitment a an aliyah and are given a special blessing to celebrat commitment. An auf-ruf is a blessing that is traditio before a wedding. There is also a tradition of blessin after their ceremony in the tradition of kabbalat panim faces of a couple after a wedding. This is an opportu couple to celebrate with the entire community and for to wish blessings of success and support to them in t Healing and Recovery from Illness While the torah is out, we pray for healing for family, colleagues and neighbors who are ill. We invite peop names of those they are thinking of for healing. We o words: Ana El Na R fa Na La, taken from the torah, asked God to heal his sister Miriam. We use these w out to ask for a complete healing, a healing of body a spirit. Sometimes, a person who has escaped an illness or the Gomel prayer. The person who offers the the G thanks to the Source of Life from being delivered from

5 Liturgical Changes udaism was born out of the Conversative 40s and 1950s and maintains much of the format ditional Saturday morning service. However, there ctions. One is we favor communal singing and er covering the whole prayerbook. Instead of he psalms silently, we will choose a few psalms to on and ones which might spark us spiritually or ome key changes to the liturgy itself. udaism rejects the idea of a literal chosenness, that were chosen among other nations to be in a unique od. We believe that all people of faith are in a relationship with their understanding of the Divine. ef, a few key prayers are changed to reflect this ding. For example, the torah blessings thank God nto Divine service instead of thanking God for g the nations. s group aliyot. Typically per service we will have for people to come to the torah based on a theme. me join us if the spirit moves and whatever words are familiar with or wish to say are very welcome. Kol Tzedek s Shabbat Policies Shabbat is a day unlike others and we strive to ma like a sacred and special moment in time. In order sanctity of the service, we ask that you: Refrain from taking pictures during the servi welcome to take pictures downstairs after se Silence or put your cell phone on vibrate. Refrain from using electrical devices (i.e. ipa sanctuary. If you feel this is needed to keep are more than welcome to use these device Children in Services Children are welcome at Kol Tzedek s services. W that our services can be long. It is perfectly fine for parents to come in and out of services as needed. comfortable with some quiet noise, however we do quiet during the Amidah and d var torah. We love our service and want nursing moms to know that K space for feeding children. We typically have programming for children downs with our Shabbat service. We have a pre-school p parent is welcome to stay with their child. And a pr