CBH -- Shabbat

A Reconstructionist Community in Summit, New Jersey

Shabbat Celebrations

Beth Hatikvah's members express their Judaism in many communal ways: through prayer and ritual, music and dance, study and debate.

Friday Night

Friday evening services are followed each week by an Oneg Shabbat, provided through a rotation in which all our members participate, that affords an an opportunity for schmoozing. And roughly once a month, typically on the 2nd Friday of the month, we have a Tot Shabbat program for the families of our youngest children.

Our Friday evening service schedule, described below, offers a wide range of options for prayer, celebration and renewal for our diverse community. Check our Calendar for up-to the minute details on our plans. Please contact Spiritual Life chair Al Gottlieb for more information.

1. Music Shabbat

On the 1st Friday of each month, services will start at 7:30 PM. Rabbi Amy and the CBH Singers will lead us in celebrating Shabbat in song.

Additionally, religious school classes may have a dinner prior to the service and the class will participate in the service.

2. Adult Service and Tot Shabbat

On the 2nd Friday of the month, services will begin at 8 p.m. Rabbi Amy will speak or lead a discussion, or we may have a guest speaker or Life Long Learning program. Check the Calendar for details.

Tot Shabbat -- typically held on the 2nd Friday (but check the Calendar) begins at 6:00 p.m. Geared to the families of pre-school aged children, it includes a Shabbat celebration, craft, singing and a pizza dinner. For more information, contact Stefanie Mathews.

3. Family Service

On the 3rd Friday we will have a family-oriented service, starting at 7:15 p.m. A regular feature will be Shabbat Theater, an instant play staged by the evening's congregants based on the week's Torah portion.

4. Men/Women's Shabbatot

On the 4th Friday services are at 8 P.M. At the end of the service, before the Oneg, the men and women will have separate gender specific discussions. Check the Calendar for details.

5. Meditation Shabbat

On the 5th Friday of the month we will have a "Meditation Shabbat." Join us on those lucky months when we have 5 Shabbats to celebrate by exploring the use of meditation as an alternative method of prayer and celebration. Services will begin at 8 pm.

Saturday Morning

On Saturday mornings during the school year, there are two family services whenever school is in session. There is a Family Service for families with children in Grades 3 and older which begins at 10:45am and a Family Service for families with children in grades K-2 which begins at 11:00am. These services are followed by one community Oneg.

The entire community is welcomed at Shabbat morning services when one of our youngsters becomes a bar or bat mitzvah. We also try to schedule occasional adult-focused services on Saturday mornings.

In addition, there is a Life-long Learning program every Saturday morning.

Torah Blessings

Need help preparing for an Aliyah? Here are links to the text and Rabbi Amy chanting the Torah blessings.

CBH Singers

The CBH singers help to enrich our services with music. Typically the first Friday evening of each month is designated as "music shabbat." Their style is to be song leaders, not performers.

Pictured, from left to right, are: Debbie Nedelman, Andy Kaplan, Debbie Wohl, Steve Wetter, Leslie Skillman-Hull, Aaron Abramovitz, Myra Cole, Tom Reingold, Carol Reingold.

If you like to sing, you will be welomed with open arms.