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Program Suggestions 5763
Synagogue Resource Services
Rabbi Moshe Edelman, Director
edelman@uscj.org
Getting H.E.L.P.
(Home
Education Library Program Booklets)
H.E.L.P.
booklets began as a project of Rabbi Paul Drazen, Executive Director of
Mid-Continent Region USCJ, when he was the rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in Omaha,
Nebraska. The project was created to inform and empower members with easy
access to information on Jewish customs. This page provides a listing of
booklets available in Adobe's PDF format, ready for printing on your computer.
The books were written by Rabbi Drazen with assistance from Cantor Emil
Berkovits and, in some cases, members of Beth El in Omaha.
AND
Synagogue Management Forms
Sample
forms for office operations and congregational hand-outs.
Life Cycle Series
Pre-marital exercise: Lists areas for engaged couples
to discuss as they prepare to marry. Includes an exercise which can be done in
an evening or while flying “back home.” Formatted to fit on one sheet, back to
back.
Planning a Wedding: Information on planning a wedding,
including setting a date and brief description of parts of the wedding.
Formatted to fit on one sheet, back to back.
Naming a Baby: Information on choosing a name and
planning a baby. Formatted to fit on one sheet, back to back.
Blessing
Children on Shabbat or Holidays: text with instructions.
You’re Invited to a Bar/Bat Mitzvah:
Information for young teens invited to a friend’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Formatted
to fit on one sheet, back to back.
Visiting
the Sick: Information on the mitzvah of bikkur holim, visiting
the sick. Formatted to print on one sheet of paper, back-to-back printing.
Death and
Mourning Customs booklet: Basic information on customs and laws of
mourning. Because so many procedures and customs have to do with local custom,
this is the booklet as written for Beth El in Omaha. Feel free to use it as a
source for your own congregation.
Meal of
Consolation: Information on how to do a se’udat havra’ah, meal of
consolation, which follows the funeral. Includes sample menu and suggested
amounts of food. Formatted to print on one sheet of paper, back-to-back
printing.
Synagogue Life
Vocabulary of Jewish Life:
A booklet used in Adult Education classes reviewing basic vocabulary terms.
How to Take an Aliyah / Hagba’ah-Geli-lah: Step by step
instructions for taking an aliyah in one column, how to fulfill the honors of
lifting and wrapping the Torah Scroll (Hagba’ah and Geli-lah) in
one column.
How to Give a D’var Torah:
One page focusing on helping people give a D’var Torah.
Booklets describing a traditional Shabbat morning
service, page numbers reference to Siddur Sim Shalom. Formatted as
booklet for back to back printing on letter size paper.
Description of Shabbat
Morning Services (for Sim Shalom)
Description of Shabbat
Morning Services (for Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Holidays):
Transliterations of Friday night and Shabbat morning
services:
Siddur Sim Shalom (Classic) Formatted to
print on letter size paper.
Siddur Sim Shalom (Classic) - booklet
Formatted to print as booklet, back to back, letter size paper.
Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Holidays (“Slim Shalom”) Formatted to print on letter size paper.
Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Holidays (“Slim Shalom”) Formatted to print as booklet, back to back, on letter-size paper.
Hanukkah Home Service:
how to light Hanukkah candles. One page.
Synagogue Management Forms
Wedding Application Form:
Aids collecting information needed when planning a wedding.
Death in Congregation:
Aids tracking information when a member dies.
Daily Service Program:
Helping newcomers or visitors to daily services to follow along. Lists prayers
said, page numbers (for Siddur Sim Shalom), when to stand up and which
service parts require a minyan. Because each congregation has different
customs, this form from Beth El in Omaha, is a sample for others to use as a
template for their services. One half-sheet for Shaharit, one for Minha-Ma’ariv.
Gabbai instructions:
Instructions for training members of the congregation to serve as gabbaim on
Shabbat or Holidays.
Synagogue meal planning:
Checklist for planning ritual elements of meals for Shabbat.
Creating
a Welcoming Synagogue: Checklist for assuring your building is a
deliberately welcoming place.
Get more
H.E.L.P.!
For
further information, suggestions or customized versions of this material,
contact
Rabbi
Paul Drazen
Mid-Continent
Region USCJ
4820
Minnetonka Blvd., Suite 410,
Minneapolis,
MN 55416
952-920-7068