URJ Shabbat

Last night, the Union for Reform Judaism hosted a wonderful service at Congregation B'nai Shalom. Three congregations joined together to observe the Sabbath. Musically, it was delightful. Our guest speaker, Rabbi Elwell, delivered a philosophical sermon on prayer. Not even a blizzard could stop this Shabbat!

For this momentous Shabbat, three synagogues in central Massachusetts came together. Temple Emanu-El of Worcester, Temple Sinai of Worcester, and Congregation B'nai Shalom of Westborough shared B'nai Shalom's sanctuary. Rabbis Matthew Burger, Seth Bernstein, and Larry Milder gave insight into Judaism and led the service co-led. Although the topic is solemn, I found it touching that the rabbis dedicated the Mourner's Kaddish to the late Debbie Friedman and the unfortunate victims of Tuscon, Arizona. The temples also provided us with three beautiful voices. Cantorial soloists Lisa Marcus Jones and Sharon Brown Goldstein joined forces with Cantor Kim Singer. They harmonized beautifully. Although it has been done, these three congregations have not joined forces on Shabbat in a very long time.

As I said before, the cantorial soloists and cantor harmonized quite well. With Rabbi Milder joining them on guitar, congregants did not know whether to pray or just watch the performance. Cantorial soloist Jones' operation of the flute was spectacular. Once she stopped, congregants just wanted the flute to keep going. Overtones are a concept of music theory. They only happen when people harmonize so well that the two notes turn into one note in the room. I heard overtones last night. One congregants of B'nai Shalom told me that they wish we could have music like that every week.

Finally, Rabbi Elwell presented this momentous gather with a very modern topic. With a number of accomplishments in the Reform Movement, Rabbi Elwell spoke on the topic of "Why does prayer matter?" Her words kept people engaged and interested throughout the sermon. A main theme of her sermon was that prayer is different for each and every one of us. I would bet that Rabbi Elwell made a difference on about 90% of the people who attended.

To me, the community in B'nai Shalom pleased me the most. I felt like a part of the "temple posse". As a foreigner of Westborough, this is monumental feat. I had always felt included with this group of temple folk, but last night I was no longer "the new guy". I could tell my entire family felt this way. We had become friends rather than acquaintances.

Unity, music, and wisdom all made last night a great Shabbat service. Hopefully, the three congregations joining collectively could become an annual tradition. If it does, the music could continue to be beautiful. Also, another sage of Jewish wisdom could be brought to our bima. On a cold January night, an event of such magnitude can shine brighter than the Moon.