Shabbat Review: Shira Chadasha

Shul: Shira Chadasha
Location: 12 Emek Rafaim Street, Jerusalem
Date: April 22, 2011 (Shabbat Pesach Chol Hamoed)

Description: I should preface my description by pointing out that it was Shabbat Pesach Chol Hamoed, or the Shabbat in the middle of Pesach. This means that the service was slightly different than normal. For example, on Chol Hamoed, 90% of Kabbalat Shabbat (think L'chu N'ran'na, Rom'mu, L'cha Dodi) is not said.

Shira Chadasha is an incredibly special shul. It is a modern, egalitarian Orthodox environment, meaning that while there is a mechitza (divider between men and women), it is placed directly down the middle of the room so that both men and women have an equal view of the aron kodesh, or ark (cabinet with the Torah scroll). Shira Chadasha also allows women to chant parts of the service and read from the Torah, something unusual to Orthodox communities. At our service, a man led mincha (afternoon service), followed by a woman leading half of the erev Shabbat service and a man leading the other half.

Yet, it was an Orthodox service, meaning that when I say "leading the service," it means that person was standing at a podium speaking louder than everyone else. There were no page numbers and very little direction. If you didn't know what was going on, you were screwed. While I have been leading Reform services for a while, I am still getting my bearings on the traditional service elements, style, and nusach (liturgical melodies). I was often lost. If I found my place, the community was chanting along so quickly that I couldn't follow along. In some ways it was a humbling experience, as I was like the slow kid in class. In others, I felt like I was in a religious center for a completely other religion. Sure, the concepts were the same, but it was so out of my comfort zone that all I could do was observe.

In my mind, a good service (and yes, that phrase is INCREDIBLY subjective) provides a balance between keva (the written words) and kavanah (the emotional connection, or what you bring to the service). From what I had heard, Shira Chadasha provided rich kavanah in an Orthodox setting. And while it may have been because we were there on chol hamoed, there did not seem to be much kavanah. We were there, we did the prayers, we left. After the service, I turned to Sarah and said, "Notwithstanding a few melodies and the room setup, we could have been in any Orthodox shul." I was a little disappointed, but I want to give it another shot when it is not chol hamoed.

Something Special: In the G'vurot (God's Might) blessing of the Amidah, we say "mashiv ha'ruach u'morid hagashem (you cause the wind to shift and the rain to fall)" from Simchat Torah until Pesach and "morid ha'tal (you rain dew upon us)" from Pesach until Simchat Torah. Whenever I was having a rough day during services at CBI, I would smile during while saying the mashiv haruach phrase because I knew that when it changed to morid ha'tal, I would be in Israel beginning this journey. Although I was still sad about leaving San Diego and CBI, I smiled during that Amidah as I said morid ha'tal. I had made it to Israel.

Take-home Value: Get in, do the prayers, try to keep up, throw in a smidgen of kavanah, Shabbat Shalom.

Would I Go Again: Yes. I want to go again. From everything I've heard, Shira Chadasha is a wonderful place to daven and what I experienced goes against what everyone had said. I think I will go during a normal Shabbat, though.