How I Will Review Shabbat Services

When it comes to Jewish prayer environments, Jerusalem kinda kicks every other city's butt. Walk down the street and you're at the holiest site for Jewish prayer. And it's observed in a traditional Jewish fashion: no musical instruments (save voices, of course), men and women are separated, no leader, with everyone praying by themselves yet part of the larger community. Walk down the street, and you'll find yourself in a tiny room with men and women praying together with a guitar playing cantor and a female rabbi. Isn't Judaism wonderful?

Over the next year, I will be attending many many services in a myriad places and environments. I hope to review each location to help myself process what I have experienced. Of course, no two services are alike. And services are so incredibly personal to their communities, that it is my absolute intent to observe and comment strictly from my own perspective. My words are not meant in any way to represent any communities I have previously, currently, or will in the future be a part of, nor do they represent anything other than my own opinion. These are my own thoughts. Sometimes, they will even differ from Sarah's opinion.

Each review will include four elements:

1) An general description of the services with some commentary.

2) Something that stood out and made that particular service or experience unique and meaningful. This could be a part of the service, a piece of text or commentary that stood out to me, or something about the experience as a whole that was especially significant.

3) A simplified, one sentence thought about the services with a "take-home" value. In other words, how I would describe the service in one sentence.

4) Would I go here again?

You may not agree with my thoughts, and that's okay. My style of Judaism and Jewish practice works for me, and I would never dare assume that my preferred style works for everyone. I welcome challenges, yet hope that these descriptions will help you think more about what types of services work for you. Maybe you want to incorporate an aspect of one community's t'filah (prayer) experience into your own.

T'filah is personal. And this is my journey.