Shabbat and Daily Minyan

Services are offered in person and online. Please check the calendar for the most up-to-date service times and listings.

Shabbat

At Beth El, we honor the commandment to sanctify Shabbat with moving and uplifting services on both Friday night and Saturday morning. We offer a variety of services, providing choices designed to accommodate differing styles of worship, a range of knowledge of Hebrew and sacred texts and varying levels of participation. The common denominator is joyous celebration of Shabbat through song and prayer.

Two of Beth El’s guiding values are empowering our members and merging tradition with the creative spirit. We are privileged to have a variety of lay-led minyanim that contribute to the diversity and empowerment of our synagogue community.

Our Etz Hayim Chumash provides expanded commentaries, historical maps and other items enhancing understanding and interest. We provide devices to assist the hearing impaired in participating in the service.  We also offer those who cannot attend services in person to listen by calling a special telephone number or streaming over the internet. We also provide siddurim containing transliteration of all key prayers, making our Shabbat service more accessible to congregants who cannot read Hebrew.

Friday Night Services

Our traditional Friday evening services are held in Swoff chapel starting at 6:30 pm unless there is a special Friday evening service such as Shir Yachad or Nedid Nefesh.

Friday Evening Service Zoom
(Friday, 6:30 pm)
https://zoom.us/j/617696790
Passcode: 742079

Friday night is a time for community, song, and joyful noise. Join us on the first Friday of the month from September to June for this exciting service filled with music that stirs the soul and welcomes Shabbat with joy and warmth. The evening begins at 6:00 pm with a light dinner to schmooze and nosh. The main Shir Yachad service begins at 7:00 pm.

 

Do you like to sing from your heart to bring in Shabbat? Did you love Friday nights at Jewish summer camp?

Join Rabbi Megdal and community leaders once a month for a 7:00 pm Friday evening musical service that blends familiar melodies and traditional liturgy, woven together with kavannot (intentions) and short teachings.

Join BEPS and Nitzanim on the first and third Friday of every month at 6:00 pm for Family Shabbat. This service features fun Shabbat songs and prayers and is followed by dinner. Family Shabbat is best for children under age six, but siblings are always welcome.

Saturday Morning

Join us each Shabbat at 9:15 am, in the Bender Sanctuary or Swoff Chapel for a service led by one or both of our rabbis and by our hazzan. The Torah reading follows the triennial cycle according to the Conservative movement.

This service is the home for life cycle events including aufrufs, namings, and b’nai mitzvah. The service generally ends around noon and is followed by a kiddush, which provides an opportunity to meet friends and engage with the community.

We have a Visitor’s Guide to the Shabbat Service for those visiting Beth El for the first time, which provides insight into the inner meaning of services at Beth El.

Volunteer to Usher     Volunteer to be a Lobby Greeter     Volunteer to Serve Kiddush

This lay-run minyan has been meeting since 1984, and begins at 7:30 am on Shabbat mornings in the Swoff Chapel. The service ends at about 9:00 am and is followed by a kiddush. For more information, contact Peter Novick at 301-493-8428.

Shabbat Early Morning Service on Zoom
https://zoom.us/j/94524727774
Passcode: Shabbat

Minyan Chaverim is one of Beth El’s lay led Shabbat morning services.  This traditional service is smaller, less formal, and more intimate.   It typically features opportunities to follow along, sing, and pray together.  We have an interactive Torah reading where brief discussions are common.  We encourage and facilitate meaningful participation at all levels.  The service is family friendly, welcoming tots, teens, and even adults.

This service includes our featurette – Banter on the Bimah with Melanie and Aryeh. This is a not to be missed activity.

Our minyan meets the third Shabbat of each month, typically in the chapel. A pot luck lunch hosted at a nearby home of congregants around 1:00 pm follows the service and congregational Shabbat kiddush. The pot luck offers opportunities to schmooze with other attendees (and for kids and teens to play or hang out together).

If you are interested in having an honor/aliyah at the service, please contact us on Shabbat or in advance.  Any questions are welcome.  Contact Mitchell Solkowitz via phone or at minyanchaverim@bethelmc.org or visit Minyan Chaverim’s Facebook page.

Developing a meaningful prayer practice is a lifetime journey. Join Rabbi Megdal and a group of fellow adult learners who want to become more comfortable at services. *No prior knowledge required.*

We will gather to study the meaning of the prayers, practice Hebrew pronunciation, and gain familiarity with the core melodies. In this Shabbat morning service, we will “learn by doing,” as well as engage in informal, interactive, supportive, and open conversations.

Ongoing sessions are available in the fall and the spring, and everyone is welcome to join in as many sessions as they want. For more information about Learner’s Shabbat, please contact Sara Greenbaum, clergy assistant, at sgreenbaum@bethelmc.org.

Daily Minyan

The twice daily minyan is one of Beth El’s core offerings for members, their families, friends and visitors. We encourage participation, whether it’s to fulfill a sacred obligation, a peaceful way to start or conclude the day, or to recite Kaddish and reflect on the life of a person dear to you.

The daily minyan also serves as an incubator for enduring friendships. Those reciting Kaddish or Yahrzeit often form strong bonds that yield new relationships that likely would not have occurred but for the minyan experience. The breakfast following the morning minyan helps cement this sense of community. The morning minyan lasts about 30 minutes except when reading Torah when it takes an additional ten minutes.

Minyan “captains” help ensure leadership and help guarantee that we gather the requisite ten people to proceed with the service. The evening minyan lasts about twenty minutes.

Each Tuesday morning, there is a Talmud study class immediately following minyan and breakfast.

The daily minyanim take place in the Swoff Chapel.

Online Minyan Links

Morning Minyan on Zoom
(Sunday at 9:00 am, Monday-Friday, 7:30 am)
https://zoom.us/j/646999471
Passcode: 355195

Evening Minyan on Zoom
(Sunday-Thursday, 8:00 pm)
https://zoom.us/j/95553634215
Passcode: 688885

Join us Daily and on Shabbat

Central to our mission, services are held twice daily for members, friends and visitors. Attend in person or via our enhanced live stream; join regularly and forge bonds with other regular participants.

Visit our live streaming page