The first synagogue experience that we will document for Kippah Up! is Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, where our friend and fellow NATE Seattle intern Michael has been teaching Religious School for a number of years. As soon as I walked into the building, I could feel the homey-ness of it (it might have even been an old house, as there is a big staircase right inside, and the library and study feel as though someone built them for personal use). Everyone was very welcoming, and despite being a tiny synagogue, I could definitely feel its large ruach (spirit). The small size of the congregation was noted by everyone in the sanctuary, though, because as it became time for the service to start, there were only five people sitting in the pews. Neither Ted, Michael, nor I had been in a situation where we wanted to pray and there was no minyan (group of ten Jewish adults required to say many of the prayers that make up a service). Luckily, before we came to the prayers we couldn't say without ten people present, more congregants showed up, although there were no more than 25 by the end.
The potential lack of minyan triggered some interesting conversation over our traditional post-services dinner and debriefing. We discussed the nature of community, and the role of the individual in services, and how we feel about those roles. For me personally, being one of a very small number of people praying made me feel self-conscious about what I was doing, and took away the ability that I usually enjoy of being able to occasionally lose myself in the congregation during services. As a singer who is used to leading services, I felt a responsibility to constantly be active in the songs and readings. I felt obligated to the Student Cantor, who was leading services, to be a strong voice in the congregation, helping to carry it and support her efforts. While Ted and Michael talked about how they liked feeling more self-aware in such a small group, since it made them focus more on the service, I disliked this feeling. I prefer to choose when to be self-aware during a service, and when to quiet myself and blend in as not merely an individual bringing my own spirit to the sanctuary, but as part of a larger whole. I could not do this when I felt so responsible to help the service leader and focus on how I sounded and came across in such a small group of congregants. When I go to services, I do not want to be responsible for anything but my own presence.
The experience was lovely, but it raised some important questions for me, not only about community, but also regarding the idea of empowerment versus obligation. We are all empowered to be a part of the community, to participate in the rituals since we were adults in the sanctuary needed to be there in order for the service to happen, yet during this particular moment I also felt obligated to continually be vocal and make sure I was saying the prayers, my presence strictly tuned to the words on the page and how I sounded in relation to the group. During services, how important is it to balance being an individual with certain needs praying for certain things with a specific history and agenda, and being part of a community coming together, chanting words passed down to our people from generation to generation? The almost lack of minyan at the service made us painfully aware of the significance of the community in Judaism; we almost did not have a large enough one to even say some of those words. I look forward to further exploring the notion of individual vs. community, and how the idea of community manifests itself both in the services we attend and in the technology we use to express our thoughts about them.
Brooklyn Heights Synagogue (Reform Jewish congregation)
131 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Telephone: (718) 522-2070
Service lead by: Student Cantor Nancy Bach (9/2/2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment