Adat Shalom new
Friday night siddur
makes allfiel at home.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
StaffWriter

Rabbi Nevins, Cantor Glantz, Joe Lewis and Robert RUbin.

A

fter 29 years of "sitting around like a lump
of clay, not knowing enough to be able to
follow along in the siddur on Shabbat,''
Robert Rubin decided to stand up and do
something about it.
A board member at Adat Shalom Synagogue,
Rubin of Huntington Woods said he joined the con-
gregation because it is where his wife, Judy, wanted to
belong. But coming from a non-Conservative back-
ground, he was unable to participate fully. His realiza-

tion that he couldn't be the only one in his situation,
coupled with an out-of-town visit to a different kind
of service, inspired him to suggest the creation of a
new siddur (prayer book) at his synagogue.
Siddur Na'aseh Venishmah — complete with
instruction, line-by-line translation and transliteration
of the entire Adat Shalom Friday night service — will
be introduced at the synagogue at a Friday, April 11,
dinner and service.
Rubin's proposal of a new siddur came after his

The Spirit of Shabbat

wife encouraged him to attend services at the large
Congregation B'nai Jeshurun synagogue in New York
City a few years ago. At first resistant, once he was
there, he says "no one could have made me get up and
leave. Something was awakened in me. There were
1,600 people there an
and every one of them knew the
service."
He began to visit synagogues in other cities, such as
Los Angeles and Denver, and returned eight times to

STRANGERS No MORE on page 56

Welcome To Beth El

Members create a guide for understanding
and enhancing the Shabbat service.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
StaffWriter

S

Temple Beth El

Bloomfield

Beth El's Shabbat guide

habbat services at Temple Beth El
just got even more welcoming.
With the creation of The Spirit
of Shabbat booklet, congregants
now are armed with knowledge and back-
ground that make participating and fol-
lowing along much simpler.
"The booklet was created for both
learning and accessibility of the service for
every Jew and visitor of our synagogue,"
said Rabbi Daniel SYMe.
The 27-page guide is distributed along

with prayer books during Shabbat services.
It was prepared by the synagogue's
Worship 'and Ritual Committee chairs,
Phyllis Loewenstein and Nanci Rands,
alono- with members Miriam Cohen and
Dr. Charles Greenberg. The booklet was
compiled with input from Beth El clergy,
Rabbis Daniel Syme and David Castiglione
and Cantor David Montefiore.
The suggestion for the pamphlet came
from Beth El President Stuart Lockman,
who said, "I requested The Spirit of
Shabbat be created as a means of making

WELCOME To BETH EL on page 57

4/
2003

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