Worship

Shaare Tefila Congregation is egalitarian – men and women equally participate in leading services, receiving honors at the Torah, and even reciting the priestly blessing (“duchaning”) on the holidays.

We use Siddur Lev Shalem – the newest prayer book of the Conservative Movement – for Shabbat services. Our main service is conducted in Hebrew with active congregational participation; members of the congregation participate in reading the entire weekly Torah portion; and Torah study (whether before and/or after the Shabbat morning service) is an integral part of our service.

Jewish prayer is challenging yet uplifting. In order for all to experience religious fulfillment we periodically offer creative services on Shabbat morning highlighting different forms of Jewish spirituality. We also encourage everyone to study the service and the Torah reading with the English translations and commentary that are available and we encourage attending classes taught by Rabbi Layman to better understand the liturgy.

(Please be sure to check congregation publications and calendar for occasional time changes.)

Shabbat – Friday Evening – 6:00 PM

Shabbat – Saturday Morning – 9:00 AM Torah Study, 9:20 AM Service – sometimes the service starts at 9am (e.g. when we celebrate a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, if it’s a holiday) – please check the calendar page for the specific date and time

Monday & Thursday Mornings – 8:00 AM

Sundays & Federal Holidays – 8:45 AM

Weekday Evenings  – 7:30 PM

Annual Selichot Program and Service, Hosted by Shaare Tefila, September 21, 8:30 p.m. – Beginning with Havdalah & Dessert at 8:30, we will be joined by our neighbors at B’nai Shalom of Olney, Kehilat Shalom & Tikvat Israel for an uplifting evening. The theme this year is ‘Welcoming the Stranger’. More details are here.