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Congregation Beth Emeth by Jess Gaulden |
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Email: info@bethemeth.org I chose to attend a Friday evening Shabbat service at a local Jewish synagogue. I deliberately chose to attend a service in the Conservative branch of Judaism because I felt it would give me a good feeling of the practices of the faith without being too liberal or too orthodox. I did extensive Internet research and ended up choosing Congregation Beth Emeth in Herndon. Their website was very well organized and informative and it seemed that it was a fairly large congregation so I thought I would blend in. My husband, Bob, was kind enough to attend the service with me. I was surprised at how nervous I was when I was preparing for the service. I made Bob wear a very nice suit and I also wore a very conservative suit with a long skirt and very tasteful jewelry. I am not sure why I was so determined to look so perfect; I certainly don't think as much about what I am going to wear to church services on Sunday morning! I guess I was afraid of looking too casual and since I was uncertain of the dress code for services I figured it would be better to be overdressed rather than not. It turned out that we were the most formally dressed other than the rabbi, but I am still glad I played it safe. As it turned out, Friday evening was very cool and rainy. We arrived at the synagogue about twenty minutes before the service started and there were only two other cars in the lot! Bob and I were certain that the service must have been cancelled, but we went in just to be sure. Of course it wasn't, and the rabbi, Steven Glazer, met us at the door and welcomed us in. He, of course, didn't recognize us, and he introduced himself. He assumed that we were Jewish and were trying out the congregation's services. I introduced myself and explained why I was attending the service and unfortunately he seemed a bit disappointed and flatly told us that there was to be NO writing in the synagogue due to the Sabbath (it is considered work) and that my husband would have to wear a yamaka. He then related to us that several students from religion classes (I assumed our class but I am not positive) had visited the synagogue for services and his attitude made me feel as if they hadn't given him an overall positive impression (I may be wrong, though). At this point we were still the only people in the synagogue other than the rabbi and the lady that would be assisting in the service. We took a seat in the lobby area and pretended to be comfortable. I just kept hoping that we wouldn't be the only people in the service as I had no idea what to expect and what to do! My husband was probably more relaxed than I was. He isn't a Christian and he regularly attends services with me, so I can now appreciate how he must feel every time he goes to church and how he felt the first time he attended with me. Fortunately, many more people arrived in the next fifteen minutes, including a very nice woman named Sue or Susan who introduced herself to us. I explained to her why I was there and she related to me that she was a teacher at the synagogue and that she would be willing to give me information. As the service was beginning to start we didn't have much time to talk. Bob and I went into the sanctuary and chose a seat in the rear. The sanctuary looked a lot more modern than I had anticipated and the seating was arranged in a nice U shape, which I thought was very practical. There was a kind of stage set up that I would consider to be a pulpit in a Christian church, but I am not sure what it is called there and I have to admit I forgot to ask. In the middle of the stage were two large doors that pulled open like sliding glass doors, but away from each other like theater curtains. The opening was draped with a curtain and I was very curious as to what was inside. I don't think it was the Torah because that was on a table/podium that was on the left hand side of the stage. At the end of the service, a family walked on stage and very slowly closed the doors. So, whatever is back there has got to be important. I was surprised that the text used for the Shabbat was read from right to left, meaning that you start at what I would consider the back of the book and go the opposite direction than you would in English. I had known that Hebrew was read right to left but I just thought it was on the page, not the entire book. So, that was a bit of a surprise. The service began with a prayer, which sounded very much like something said in a Christian service minus the "In Jesus' name" bit at the end. Then the congregation began singing in Hebrew. There were forty or so pages of text that were either sung or read. The service took about forty-five minutes and there were times that we all stood and times we were seated. I was surprised at how choreographed the whole service was. In the Christian church, there are many things that are done on a weekly basis, such as reciting the Apostles Creed, saying the Lord's Prayer, etc., but the service itself is different each time. The entire Jewish Shabbat service is identical practically every time (Sue explained this after the service). My first clue of this was when a little, tiny, very cute, redheaded girl of about six sang and prayed loudly throughout the whole service and from memory. I doubt that she could read Hebrew yet, and she was on top of it the whole way through. I was really impressed with her and she seemed quite into the service. I think I would have enjoyed the service more if I had had some idea as to what was being said. 95% of the service was in Hebrew and most of the time I was on the wrong page and Bob had to help me keep up. I was surprised that a woman led practically the entire service. The rabbi only got up to read some scripture and to say a couple prayers. She led all the singing and the worship. For some reason I had thought that the conservative congregations didn't have women as leaders or rabbis, but Sue assured me afterwards that they do allow women in leadership roles. The best part of the service was the guest speaker. A man from a local Unitarian church was representing Reston Interfaith. His presentation was regarding the homeless crisis in Fairfax County. It was very informative and he was very sincere in his plea for help. His speech was so enlightening it made me want to get involved. I am planning on checking with my church to see if they are involved with Reston Interfaith because it seems to be an organization that does a lot of good for the community and I would like to be involved. After the service concluded, Sue returned to us to see if we had any more questions. We discussed the service, the lady leading the worship, and she explained about Hebrew characters to me. She showed me the vowel dots that apparently make it easier to read Hebrew. She explained that the rabbi would not need the vowel dots to read the text, though most everyone else did. I have to admit I'm still not totally sure about the difference in the two because I didn't see any Hebrew text minus the vowel indicators. But, it was interesting to find out. She also told me that I was lucky I had come on a Friday evening Shabbat service, as the Saturday morning service was three hours long! Sue was also kind enough to go step by step through the service with us, but as I wasn't allowed to write anything down I only have a sketchy memory of the titles for each section of the service. After we had spoken for a few minutes a woman from the congregation came up to us and interrupted. Apparently there was some sort of party/fellowship going on in honor of the man from Reston Interfaith. We were not invited to it and we thanked Sue and she went on her way. I was very surprised that Rabbi Glazer didn't speak to us after the service nor did any of the other people in the congregation. Actually, I sort of felt like the congregation was a little leery of Bob and me in that they felt like we were there to witness their service sort of like we would if we were at a circus. I know this is a terrible thing to say, but I just didn't feel a welcoming feeling from the congregation, it was almost like they felt we were intruding. I have a couple of ideas as to why this might be. First, they may have had a bad experience with another student in the past couple of weeks. Also, I understand that the Jewish faith does not actively seek recruits or new followers to their faith. So, the presence of two obvious non-Jews may have been uncomfortable or just simply unfamiliar. Last, the whole thing could have been in my head, but I don't believe so. I like to think that I am fairly perceptive and I know that I was mannerly, respectful and as unobtrusive as possible. I liked a lot of things about the service. I think the Hebrew language is very beautiful spoken and I liked that so much of the service was sung. I think singing can be very spiritual and powerful and moving and it really enhanced the service. I also liked to see children actively involved in the service. In the Christian church, children are not omitted from participating, but I think it is assumed that they are usually too young to understand the full meaning of the worship service and they don't always actively participate. The little red headed girl was very passionate and I think she was the most spiritually open in the congregation. A lot of the adults looked tired and were performing the service passively. She was very inspiring- but then again maybe she just liked to sing! I don't want to imply that I had a bad experience because it wasn't bad at all. It simply wasn't what I expected. I grew up in a very small southern town in a very small church and anytime a new person arrived for services (Christian or not) they were always made to feel very welcome and wanted. I just didn't experience that feeling with this congregation (though Sue was very, very nice), and I had assumed that most religious congregations, regardless of the faith, would be the same. Maybe I just went on an off night! |
| Created by Laura Ellen Shulman |
Last updated: November 2002
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