White Meadow Temple has held kabalat Shabbat services at nearby White Meadow Beach once a month through the summer.
Photo courtesy White Meadow Temple
Advertisement
August 20, 2009
When the sun goes down on Friday night at White Meadow Lake, people are hitting the beach. And not because it’s time to take the plunge. Sundown marks the start of this summer’s kabalat Shabbat services at the lake’s Beach One.
To usher in the Sabbath, said Rabbi Benjamin Adler of White Meadow Temple in Rockaway, “we’re trying to use the natural beauty right next door.”
On three Friday nights this summer — once each month — the congregation held family-friendly services on the shore. They sat in circles in folding chairs and on blankets on the sand. “We’ve got kids in bathing suits joining us,” said Adler.
The surroundings enhance the service, said the rabbi, quoting from several Psalms that describe the six days of creation: “And we have the beauty of creation all around us.”
Adler pointed out that the kabalists who wrote L’cha Dodi, the song greeting the Sabbath in the form of a bride, did so outside. “They used to go out and greet the Shabbat queen; the reason we face the entrance to the sanctuary when we turn for L’cha Dodi is to actually face west, where the sun sets. When you’re outside, you can see that,” he said.
Although the congregation has worshiped outside in the past, the services were tweaked this year to provide a more informal feeling and to be more welcoming to young children, including stories and age-appropriate songs. Adler leads services with his wife, Lisa.
The congregation, whose building is only a few blocks from the beach, has been turning to its natural setting more frequently for inspiration. In April, they met on the beach for the rare Blessing of the Sun; on summer Shabbat afternoons, Adler has been holding a study group on the shore. Next year, they plan to have a Lag B’Omer picnic there.
The third and final White Meadow Temple Shabbat on the Beach service for summer 2009 was held Aug. 7. About 30 people attended.
Among them was congregant Jeff Lefkowitz, who attended with his wife and two children. “It’s very powerful and relaxing to welcome Shabbat together on a sandy beach, with the sun setting over the lake,” he said.
Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com
--TOP--