Temple Beth El

Erev Shabbat
At Temple Beth El, we recognize that our congregants have differing needs.  Therefore, we have several types of Friday night worship services.

Regular Friday Night Service
The Shabbat Service on Friday night is the primary worshiping experience at Temple Beth El. Music that is both accessible and participatory enhances this service. We use both Hebrew and English in our liturgy and much of the Hebrew is transliterated for our non-Hebrew readers. At most of these services we read or chant from the Torah and Rabbi Briskin or a guest speaker offers a topical sermon or an interpretation from the Torah portion. Following the service, an Oneg Shabbat with scrumptious homemade pastries enables people to meet and mingle. This service begins at 7:30 pm. Please check the home page for any seasonal changes.

First Friday Family Shabbat
The First Friday is "Family Shabbat." Most months we begin with a child-friendly kosher style Shabbat dinner at 6:00 pm. Our fun and lively worship experience, beginning at 6:45 p.m., features much congregational singing, a child-friendly liturgy, and lasts no longer than one hour. In addition, we offer birthday blessings to children under the age of 13, and sometimes either a brief skit or a few songs from our talented youth choir. All children twelve and under are always invited to the bimah to lead the congregation in Kiddush, the blessing over the wine.

Third Friday Musical Shabbat Plugged-In
The Third Friday is our Musical Shabbat Service Plugged-In with our house band, The Moody Jews.  Our fun and lively worship experience featuring congregational singing, toe-tapping and hand-clapping melodies, and lively accompaniment, led by Beth El's own in-house rock band, The Moody Jews.  You won't want to miss this uplifting spiritual experience.
 
"Fifth Friday" Musical Shabbat Un-Plugged
On the occasional fifth Friday of a given month or on certain holiday weekends, we provide an early evening one-hour service that is festive, participatory and filled with lively music. We begin at 6:00 pm and conclude by 7:00 pm so that you can enjoy a leisurely Shabbat meal with friends and family afterwards. This service is most definitely "family friendly."
 
Children's Program
Temple Beth El is now offering a Children's Program one Friday a month (usually the 2nd Friday), during services.  It is coordinated and overseen by Karen Briskin, an elementary school teacher, and staffed by selected Temple Beth El high school students.  Read more...

Guest Speakers
Periodically throughout the year, Rabbi Briskin invites local scholars, community leaders and members of Temple Beth El to speak during the Friday night service. Check the calendar to see when our next guest will be speaking.