SERVICES

Shabbat Celebrations every Friday at 7:30 pm

For up-to-the minute information on special shabbats, events and programming, please go the Home Page under Latest News or the Calendar

July Shabbat Celebrations will take place in Gan Shalom

at 5:30 - Bring-Your-Own Picnic Dinner

at 6:30 - Welcoming Shabbat in the Gan

July 2: FOURTH OF JULY AND AMERICAN PIE

July 9: SHABBAT IN NATURE

July 16: SHABBAT IN ITALY

July 23: ISLANDS SHABBAT

July 30: DRUMMING SHABBAT

• Family Shabbat Celebration 1st Friday of the month,  6:00 pm,  plus adult services at 7:30

• Ice Cream Shabbat - 2nd Friday of the month, 7:30 pm

• F.i.s.h. (Families into Shabbat), 3rd friday of THE month, 5:30pm(CHILDREN AGES 2-6)

• Tish - 3rd Friday of each month, 7:30 pm

• Saturday morning Torah Study, 8:15 am

• Tot Shabbat - every Friday morning, 10:45 am

To familiarize yourself with the melodies that we use for worship at BSS,

please listen to these Shabbat Blessings from our website.

Special and Unique Shabbat Celebrations

At different times during the year, we share unique ways of celebrating Shabbat including:

Shabbat in Dance - T'filah danced, not just sung

Tabernacle Tish - Evoking the tabernacle in the desert

click here to see pictures and envision yourself in the Taberacle.

Shabbat in the Gan - Shabbat under the Summer Sky

Bark Mitzvah - a celebration that includes our pets

High Holy Days

High Holy Days Info

Beth Shir Sholom High Holy Day Services are an inspirational experience combining thought-provoking sermons, the musical talents of the cantor, the Tishtones & the choir, with traditional and alternative prayers. Additional programs include Selichot service and a basic prayer workshop before the High Holy Days, a seaside Tashlich service, workshops (i.e. interfaith issues, Israeli dancing), speakers, plus Youth Services, Children's Services, and childcare.

2010- 2011 Jewish Holidays and Holy Days

Selichot                              Saturday, September 4, 2010

Rosh HaShana                   Thursday, September 9, 2010

Yom Kippur                         Saturday, September 18, 2010

Succot                                Thursday, September 23, 2010

Shmini Atzeret                   Thursday, September 30, 2010

Simchat Torah                    Friday, October 1, 2010

Hanukah                            Thursday, December 2, 2010

Tu B'Shevat                       Thursday, January 20, 2011

Purim                                 Sunday, March 20, 2011

Pesach                              Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Yom HaShoah                    Sunday, May 1, 2011

Yom HaAtzmaut                 Monday, May 9, 2011

Lag B'Omer                        Sunday, May 22, 2011

Shavuot                             Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Tisha B'Av                          Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Erev Rosh HaShana           Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Other holidays/holy days include Selichot, Yizkor & Healing Service, Shulchan haZikranot, Lag B'Omer, and Tish B'Av. Please check our calendar for detailed information on upcoming holidays and other events at Beth Shir Sholom.

WHY ARE TISH SERVICES IN THE ROUND?

This article below will help explain why we choose to celebrate Shabbat using this physical configuration.

Taking Counsel in a Circle: Hearing the One Voice

Gathering in a circle is the perfect container to hear our truths for there are no hard edges, only endless support.

When we sit together in a circle and share thoughts and feelings, we participate in a powerful, unifying practice with ancient origins.. All early cultures practiced some form of this ritual, which gives each individual in the group a voice, and at the same time reveals the one voice, and the ultimate unity, of the group. This profound and simple way of talking and listening has experienced a modern rebirth in counseling, social work, and spirituality.

Most circles benefit from the presence of a leader who opens the circle by calling in angels, spirit guides, and ancestors-beings of light who will be present with those taking counsel. The leader may announce a theme, or one may evolve from the unstructured expressions of each participant. The circle continues for as long as it feels right, at which point the leader may summarize what has been said, perhaps leading everyone in a silent moment before the circle disbands. A powerful component of this work is "the talking stick"-any object (a crystal, a flower, a candle) that is passed around the circle person to person. The person holding the object speaks until feelings have been fully expressed, and others do not interject, interrupt, or respond until they are holding the stick. People who have a hard time speaking out are helped to express their long-buried feelings and points of view; the power of the circle thus increases since it is often what is not said or acknowledged in a community that causes the most pain and suffering.

Because it contains no hard edges or angles, the circle is the ideal container for these difficult truths. As we hear the many perspectives the subject at hand inspires, we begin to see that our individual truth is just one of many. Our own hard edges begin to soften as the circle flows from one person to the next, and each wave of words cleanses us of one more layer of mental and emotional armor, freeing us to be closer to the people around us.