Streaming Shabbat #6: Liturgy
September 4, 2009 · Filed Under Streaming Shabbat
On September 4, our streaming Shabbat service included a discussion of liturgy. Join us next week for conversation and an abbreviated Shabbat service including candles, challah, and wine.
You can tweet in to participate.






September 4th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Greetings from LA. As a traditionally religious non-Jew who found this site, it is very interesting. I have never had any real experience with a humanistic congregation. The service just started (at least for me). What is the purpose of the liturgy.
September 5th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Thank you again for the Shabbat service! I view it every week….havent had the chance to see it live yet, but I look forward to it later in the evening.
Shabbat Shalom to everyone.
Dennis and Donna Kline
Candler NC
September 5th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Greetings from Tehachapi, California. Wow! I continue to be impressed by the Shabbat services. I’m a non-Jew currently going through the conversion process with a progressive rabbi understanding and accepting of my humanistic and nontheistic leanings (I’m also a member of SHJ), but it is also good to have connected with others online of like-mind as there is no humanistic Jewish community near me.
Liturgy for me is a way to connect with the larger Jewish community and culture to which I have identified as well as a way to mark of certain time as “sacred” (metaphorically speaking, of course).
Since I have children, I’m looking forward to discussions and materials for families and kids. Also, I will be ordering the OJC liturgies for use at home. Will you be publishing a Haggadah for Passover or do you recommend a particular one?
September 5th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Dave, I am so glad you are enjoying the services. We have our own Haggadah which is the first item available at http://www.ourjewishcommunity.org/store/liturgy/
Also, you mentioned materials for children and families. Each of our holiday pages has activities for families. Check them out, let us know what you think, and feel free to offer more feedback.
Thanks everyone for your comments!
September 6th, 2009 at 11:09 am
And of course the Haggadah was in the store. I just started taking blood pressure mediction and have been foggy for the past couple of days. I’ll take a look at the holiday pages. Eventually I’ll get a Chavurah up and tunning.
September 6th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I looked at the holiday activities which are great for younger kids. My children are 9 and 11 and would benefit from some more challenging craft projects with meaning to go along with the discussions. Any of those would be great.
I’m also going to check out the book “God-Optional Judaism” by Judith Seid for some ideas.
L’shalom!
September 7th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I like what you are trying to do, but maybe it would be better to separate the service from the lecture rather than combine them. You can’t really feel the spiritual side of shabbes with all that lecturing.
Secondly, I would like to see more Jewish content. Not religious Jewish but secular humanistic Jewish content, like poems, songs, readings etc. from Yiddish or Hebrew or English on shabbes related themes.
Any maybe more visuals would help. You are two good looking Jews, but give us something else to look at too!
Bennett
September 8th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Bennett – If you have any secular humanistic readings that are original, we would be happy to review them and possibly post them for others to enjoy.