Welcome to Mishkon Tephilo. We are pleased to have you join our congregation for services, and we welcome your participation.

We are a Conservative synagogue, and our service is a traditional one. Though much of our public worship is in Hebrew, we encourage you to follow, using the translation provided if you are more comfortable with English. Private worship, of course, which our tradition calls "the service of the heart," is in any (or no) language.

Part I: An Introduction to our Service for Beginners

The Sanctuary

We have no assigned seats, though many of our regular members have staked out their favorite places. We have no separate areas for men and women. The dividers in the middle of the room encourage our congregation to sit towards the front of the room: we only use the front half, except on special occasions.

In the center of the bima (dais) at the front of the shul (synagogue) is the aron kodesh (Holy Ark). Here we keep the Torah scrolls, which each contain the Pentateuch (Five Books of Moses), hand-written according to ancient practice. Each week the Reader chants a different section from these scrolls. In front of the Ark is a Ner Tamid (Perpetual Lamp), which is always burning, symbolizing our service to God.

The plaques and lights around the room are memorials to the departed family and friends of our members. Four times during the year, for Yizkor (Memorial) prayers, all of the lights next to the plaques are illuminated.

The Shabbat (Sabbath) Service

We have no regular cantor at Mishkon. The rabbi and members of the congregation lead the services. Anyone with knowledge and ability may take a turn.

Some prayers cannot be recited without a minyan, a quorum of ten adult Jews. There are many prayers said while standing; some out loud and some quietly; and others are said responsively. Sometimes we chant the English readings in the same traditional musical mode as the Hebrew. If you need help finding your place, please ask someone. We're pleased to help. Most will find the service becomes familiar after several return visits.

Friday Night

The Friday evening service begins with Kabbalat Shabbat, a festive singing of Psalms, and the hymn Lecha Dodi ("Come, my Beloved") to welcome the Sabbath Queen. In our synagogue we then take a moment to greet our guests and wish one another a good Shabbat.

These are the main parts of the regular evening service:

• Barchu, a call to prayer [p. 279].
• The Sh'ma, with preceding and succeeding blessings [pp. 280-292].
• The Amida, the central prayer of every service [pp. 296-303], recited quietly while standing.
• Concluding hymns and announcements.
• Shalom Aleichem (a hymn welcoming Shabbat), blessings and kiddush (the sanctification of the day) over wine or grape juice.

At several places in the service, mourners and those observing the yahrtzeit (anniversary) of a loved one's death rise to recite Mourners' Kaddish, a prayer that reaffirms the sovereignty of God. The service usually last about an hour.

Shabbat Morning

The Shabbat morning service is a lengthy one, nearly three hours, and consists of the following parts:

• Birchot Hashachar: Early morning blessings [pp. 10-52].
• Psukei d'Zimra: Psalms and verses of praise [pp. 54-94; 334-336]. These are spiritual warm up exercises before the formal service begins.
• Shacharit, the morning service proper. The main parts of Shacharit are:
• Barchu, the call to prayer [p. 340]
• The Sh'ma and its blessings [pp. 344-352].
• The Amida, the main prayer of every service [pp. 334-365]. In the morning everyone says it quietly first, then the Reader chants it aloud.

If this all seems overwhelming at first, you might wish to abbreviate your first few visits by arriving in time for Shacharit (about 10:00 am) or Torah Service (about 10:30 am).

The Torah Service

We remove one or more scrolls from the ark, and after a procession around the sanctuary we chant the weekly section from the Five Books of Moses for everyone to hear and learn. We often add an English translation, chanted in the same ancient mode as the Hebrew original.

We read the Torah in seven sections called aliyot. For each aliya, a person chosen for the honor ascends the bima and recites a blessing over the section to be read. After the reader chants the Torah it is lifted and dressed, and we read a section from the Prophets, called the Haftarah, in another musical mode.

The rabbi or another person often gives a talk. The talk may be a drasha (sermon), a d'var torah (a "word of Torah", a shorter explication of the text just read), a d'var tephila (an explication of a text or issue relating to prayer), or a discussion with the congregation.

We then return the Torah to the Ark. We chant another amida, the first part aloud, the rest quietly, for the Musaf (additional) service. The service concludes with mourners' kaddish, hymns and announcements. The congregation then continues its celebration of Shabbat with a kiddush (the sanctification of the day over wine or juice), followed by a light lunch replete with blessings and songs. Sponsoring the kiddush is a privilege open to members and guests. Consult with the office during the week if you would like to sponsor the kiddush or make a donation to the kiddush fund.

What You Need at Your Seat

The two main books we use are Siddur Sim Shalom, our prayer book, and the Etz Chaim Chumash, which contains the Pentateuch and the weekly Prophetic readings. These are available in the front lobby. On Friday night you will not need a Chumash. Please take these to your seat, and return them to the back when you are done after services.

We also have some other helpful booklets (including this one): a book of transliterations, and a booklet describing how to have an honor at the Torah (an aliya).

We request all men to cover their heads at all times. We provide skullcaps (kippot or yarmulkes) for your use. Please don't walk off with them! Women may cover their heads if they wish.

On Saturday morning, Jewish men wear a tallit, a prayer-shawl, also available in the lobby to borrow. Women may wear one if they wish. Both men and women must wear a tallit when accepting an honor on the bima.

Synagogue Etiquette

Please try to avoid leaving or entering the sanctuary during the Haftarah or when the rabbi is speaking.

Children are welcome. For those children who may find our regular services too challenging, we usually provide childcare and/or Junior Congregation. A playground is behind the sanctuary (walk down the left aisle and out the back door). Please do not leave your children unsupervised.

Please be considerate of your fellow worshippers' wish to hear the service, and the leaders' need to concentrate. If you need to have a protracted conversation, or if your children are fussing, please consider a brief visit to the playground or lobby.

We do not permit food or drink in the Sanctuary. Please deposit trash in the appropriate receptacles.

In honoring the Sabbath, Jewish law does not permit writing, photography, recording, or financial transactions.

Mishkon has no dress code and is definitely Venetian in its casual style. However, we ask that you please exercise good judgement in your choice of clothing.

Part II: The Spirituality of Prayer:
An Introduction to Davening

The English words "pray" and "worship," though not incorrect, do not fully describe what we do. The Yiddish verb "daven" (rhymes with "robin") is used more frequently by those who come regularly. This word suggests the interplay of many resources: our minds, our hearts, our voices, our bodies, others around us, the sacred space we occupy, and the text in front of us.

Davening is an art, one which is available to everybody; but it must be learned. You may not fully appreciate the experience of davening if you only come once. As in acquiring any skill, practice and familiarity make it both easier and more rewarding.

How to Daven

First of all, davening is a response to words; for that to happen, we must articulate our words of prayer. Even the parts of the service that we read quietly are done sotto voce, not silently. Davening must involve the whole self, and keeping silent is unnatural during prayer.

Though we ask you to try not to disturb others around you, please feel encouraged to experiment with davening out loud, at least so you can hear yourself. You don't need to know Hebrew to daven; we often chant some of our prayers in English, too. As you will hear, many of our members are quite enthusiastic about their davening.

You will notice many "ups and downs" during davening, when the congregation rises and sits for different sections. While standing, many of us will gently sway back and forth in a kind of liturgical dance called shokling. Feel free to experiment with different movements during prayer. If you feel more comfortable standing or slowly moving while davening, go right ahead.

Many people think that praying means "reading the prayers." This is not only wrong, it defeats the purpose of prayer. If you have just read through the words, without attaching your mind and imagination, you have not davened. The words, though sacred, are but an opportunity for real prayer. Don't neglect them, but don't get stuck in them either. Find your own rhythm. Sometimes you might linger on one or two words, and sometimes you'll want to fly.

Jewish prayer is musical. Even when we daven quietly, we chant the words rather than just recite them. When readers chant the Torah or Prophetic sections, they do so according to ancient musical modes called nusach. Different modes apply to each section.

There is also a lot of congregational singing. We often add niggunim, melodies without words, to our service. At these times, we especially need you! Don't wait for others: every voice is precious. Enthusiasm counts much more than musicality -- though we appreciate your best effort to sing in the same key as the reader!

Mishkon is an egalitarian congregation where men and women participate equally. We often try to allow our English readings to reflect this belief by changing language referring to God. This is to remind us that the Almighty is neither male nor female. Though we may perceive God through our gender-specific filters, we affirm that the unity of God stands above the male/female dichotomy.

Some parts of our service are done together, others individually. We try to pick a pace that is amenable to most of our members. If the rhythm of our service doesn't seem right to you (too fast or too slow), you can use the time to collect your own thoughts or to meditate quietly.

On Boredom

It happens to everyone. Sometimes flipping through the Chumash (Bible) or the siddur will tweak your imagination. We also have a selection of books of Jewish interest in the bookcase in the front right corner of the sanctuary. You are welcome to take a book to your seat (please return it when you're done).

Sometimes you may let your mind wander and think of other ways to serve God. A promise: as you come more often and understand davening better, you will find that there's too much going on to get bored. A suggestion: if you sense yourself getting bored, give your boredom as a gift to God.

Praying in a Community

Jewish prayer is almost always communal: we approach God not only as individuals but also as members of the community. We are part of a long tradition that extends vertically back to our earliest ancestors and horizontally to encompass Jewish communities around the world. We can use one another in making our davening better.

Communal prayer has been compared to a jazz band. Each musician is an artist in his/her own right and interprets the music in a unique way. At the same time, though, each is listening to the others, being guided by what each of the others is doing and trying to make it sound great together.

If everyone plays the same thing, or at the same tempo, or with the same volume or feeling, it's boring; if each is too independent, it's dissonant. To really work together well, a jazz ensemble has to practice a lot, know the music, and know one another.

When we daven together, you can be carried for a while by the rhythm that the congregation sets, but eventually you might yearn to solo. As in jazz, expressing yourself with feeling can be more important than "playing only the right notes."

And, like a good jazz session, a moving religious service can transform a timid spectator into an enthusiastic participant. Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and rejoice in standing in the presence of God.