One Saturday a few weeks ago I found the live streaming of the Reform movement's national convention's Shabbat service. I tuned in just as the assembly of 5000 people sang to the beat of a large band as an entourage of people carried the Torah around the hall. Suddenly a group of people began dancing behind them. Soon many others joined them. Others were swaying to the music at their seats, lifting their hands in the air, eyes closed. When the outgoing president's daughter chanted Torah, a camera zoomed in on the Torah scroll so that everyone could see every word she was chanting. Talk about pressure!!

Nothing that I described in the first paragraph would have been imaginable as recently as ten years ago. First, because we are now privy to so much more information and experiences thanks to technology. Second, because the entire Reform movement has been undergoing a major transformation in its worship style. There is a dramatic tension between a quest for a new type of spirituality which moves people both physically, emotionally and intellectually and the continuity of what has moved people in the past, what brings them comfort from their past experiences, traditions which they find meaningful and important to continue. Minutes after people were holding hands and dancing up the aisles at the convention service, a choir sang melodies which have been part of our tradition for decades. There was a clear attempt to combine the two elements, so everyone would find at least part of the experience meaningful and moving from their perspective.

It is one thing to integrate elements of very different approaches to worship within a single service at a national convention. It is very different to find the right balance within the weekly services of a synagogue community. Our Religious and Ritual Committee has been discussing and debating this for years. This year, we have taken the new tack of devoting entire services to different worship styles instead of trying to incorporate different styles into one service. This year, the first service of almost every month is our 6:30pm "Ruach (Spirit)" service, led by the temple band, including new, upbeat melodies, everyone sitting in a big circle, "Shabbat Shakers" (egg shakers) for everyone so we can all play and sing along. One service a month is a "Kavanah (pray with intention" or "traditional" service, during which we sing older melodies and include a Torah reading and Dvar Torah. We have our monthly Family Worship Service conducted by a religious school class. OurTikkun Olam service is an attempt to somewhat combine the Ruach and Kavanah modes, with a speaker who can speak to us on the theme of social justice.. We have our once a month "Kavanah" Shabbat morning minyan and a monthly Not Just For Tots service (families with kids 0-8).

We begin this month with one of our most unique services, our 6:30pm Tu Bishvat seder, which is held entirely in the social hall. It is a Ruach service which intersperses the Shabbat prayers with the drinking of four cups of grape juice and three types of fruit in honor of the New Year of the Trees.

We are in the midst of a spiritual journey. We have succeeded in reaching out to some members of our community who we had not been reaching before with these innovations. The Religious and Ritual Committee and I are actively trying to incorporate new ideas and modes of worship which will make the Shabbat experience so meaningful and fulfilling, that it will supercede all the other forces which compete for our attention on Shabbat.

As Abraham Joshua Heschel said, "more than Israel has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept Israel." It is our worship experience which brings us together as a community more than anything else. Please join us for whatever type of service appeals to you and let us know what we can do to make it worth your while to join us. We may not have the resources to put on the worship extravaganza of a Reform movement convention service, but we have the ability to provide a caring community devoted to the values of our movement, to help us find meaning, comfort and inspiration in our lives.