Congregation Rodeph Sholom (Conservative Judaism)

You can listen to the interview with Rabbi Sack here.

2713 Bayshore Boulevard • Tampa, FL 33629-7318
(813) 837-1911

Contact: Rabbi Marc Sack

Book Recommendation: A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation

Religion: Judaism

Denomination: Conservative

Web Page: http://www.rsholom.org/index.html

The first time I visited a Jewish tabernacle, it was sort of as a party crasher. I went to Beth Israel mainly to introduce myself for the show, then found myself attending an evening Sabbath service.

In this case, however, I took pains to make sure everything was set up in advance. I should mention this case is unique in that I wasn't able to take notes during the service. Usually I'll make a live Twitter feed of my observations on the Blogthereligion twitter feed, or barring that I'll take notes with pen and paper.

In this case, both chances were unavailable to me. It turns out that writing is not allowed on the Sabbath, the day that I was attending services, and cell phones are to be turned off. So, out of respect for the congregation, I tried to commit to memory what I could.

Considering I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on, I hope you'll forgive me any mistakes here.

When I arrived, I was let in by a nice lady who let me have a small introduction guide. I confess to swiping it (something that it turns out Rabbi Sack, the leader of the congregation, was all right with). Inside were some descriptions of the various practices, their meanings, and the like.

As people came inside, each of the men - and some of the women - wore what is called mitzvot: a prayer shawl (talit) worn around the shoulders, and a skullcap (kipah). I was amused to notice that a father and his sons in front of me had Family Guy characters on their kipahs.

Most of the service was conducted in Hebrew. When I visited the Reform Judaism service it was just the opposite - most of that was done in English. Here, the opening prayers listed in their books were chanted Hebrew. Prayers for the departed - in Hebrew. The Torah passages were read in Hebrew. While the books I held provided English translations, the idea here was that the community was preserving their heritage.

That's not to say that heritage is a static one. As it turns out, women are held in equal standing with the men - something demonstrated as the day I was there was a Bat Mitzvah celebration. I was familiar with Bar Mitzvah - the time to celebrate when a young man turns 13 and goes through a ceremony celebrating his entrance into manhood. The Bat Mitzvah is the same thing - only for young ladies.

In this case, a young lady sang many of the prayers, her and her family reading from the Torah on scrolls laid out on the table. It was only later, when the young lady was giving her speech, that I learned that she had been adopted several years ago from Russia.

I may not belive in divinity, or in the existence of supernatural beings. But I do believe there is a power, perhaps only a psychological power, but a power nonetheless, that is contained in ritual. In a collective heritage. This young woman was engaging in rituals that her adoptive family had engaged in for hundreds of years. Those rituals may have been tweaked over time, expanded to include people that could not have been before. Passing those traditions, the expectations and formal rules of a people one after the other, until they passed down to this young lady.

She is now part of something far larger than herself. No matter where she goes in the country, or the world, she is part of an extended family with a shared language and traditions.

I'll be honest - I didn't understand a lot of the language, even with a kind gentleman named Michael filling me in. But I could appreciate the shared sense of tradition and history that this group had, and now extended to another person to join their community in worship.