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Shabbat Task Force Update

03/21/2025 10:50:57 AM

Mar21

Niles Berman and Jake Harris, Shabbat Task Force co-chairs

This article also appears in the April 2025 TBE Bulletin.

In her reports as president of the Board of Trustees, Marta Karlov has mentioned that the charge—and hope—of the Shabbat Task Force is to find ways to make Shabbat even more meaningful in the lives of all of our congregants. We have assembled a thoughtful and enthusiastic team with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We are pleased, as co-chairs, to be working with Rabbi Prosnit, Cantor Niemi, Amelie Davidson, Michelle Gustafson, Jake Hajdu, Molly Harris, Jackie Judd, Sharon Kahn, Dale Kaufman, Melissa Osborne, Robyn Paloian, Carl Sinderbrand, and Jane Taves. We are being assisted by Marta Karlov and Stefanie Kushner.

Our three meetings in January and February gave us the chance to refine our vision: to identify ways to enhance families’ Shabbat experiences outside Temple as well as within the Temple’s walls. Appreciating how ambitious our charge is, our initial focus is on the “worship-at-TBE” aspect, the goal being that more members will want to come to Temple to celebrate Shabbat, feeling each time that their own lives have been enriched in some way by the experience.

We have developed a list of questions we should be asking ourselves and other congregants as we move forward— for instance, what makes a Shabbat meaningful for each of us personally; what do we see (or hear from others) about barriers to coming to Temple during Shabbat; what’s the best balance between liturgy and other elements of the experience; what’s the best balance between the familiar and the new; what do we owe each other; what are we afraid of; how can we better ensure that each person feels seen, acknowledged, and valued?

We’ve brainstormed how best to gather input from as many congregants as feasible and how to learn what other congregations have done successfully to engage their members in Shabbat worship. We are modeling our steps on the Temple rabbinic search listening process undertaken two years ago. This will include focus sessions to reach the various demographic groups in the congregation, a congregational survey, and several more open sessions, for example, one before Friday night services on April 11, one during Café Panim on Sunday, April 6, and a virtual session in the future. We will do our best to balance the desire for broad outreach with the feasibility of completing these efforts in a timely fashion so we can begin implementing the good ideas that surface.

Stay tuned to the Bulletin and the Weekly Happenings emails for further updates, including opportunities to leave specific suggestions or comments for the task force to consider. Thanks for joining in the process to enhance all of our Shabbat experiences.

April 30, 2025 2 Iyar 5785