BEFORE THE SERVICE BEGINS Some thoughts to help prepare for the Shabbat Morning Service We enter this service bringing with us much of the outer world: the troubles and joys, anxieties and hopes, that accompany our daily life, that are on our mind. The service offers us a different world, one which may give a perspective on our life, or simply time out from the daily round. But to enter it some preparation may help. As we leave our coats in the hall we shed a part of that outer load. Crossing the threshold into the sanctuary is a further step away and nearer to this new opportunity. A few moments seated in silence may help compose us. The passages on prayer may ease our way into the formalities of the service. Donning the tallit and reciting its blessing may further close out, however briefly, the outer noise and busy–ness of life. When about to begin the service itself, it may be appropriate to say aloud, or to oneself, ‘hineni’ , ‘here I am!’ The first section of the morning service, Birchot Ha–shachar , ‘the Morning Blessings’is about my personal situation. Though often read in unison, the different passages focus on who I am, my body, my emotions, my spirit, my soul. Im ein ani li mi li , ‘if I am not for myself, who will be for me?’ But in the next section, P’sukei D’zimrah , ‘Verses of Song’, we join together with all who are present. The focus shifts from my individual self to the community of which I am a part at this particular moment. And we, together, begin to move our attention beyond our individual selves, to God, however we understand such a term: the power of the universe, the mystery of creation, the workings of human consciousness, the beauty of art and nature, the experience of love, the simple awareness that we are not alone and not the centre of the universe. U’ch’sheani l’atzmi mah ani , but ‘if I am only for myself, what am I?’ With the Bar’chu , the Call to Prayer, the formal part of the service begins, and our journey is underway. Sometimes we can surrender to this world of prayer, sometimes not. Even if it does not always speak to us, our presence may help others find comfort, solace or challenge. That is the value of community and the mystery of a community at prayer. Welcome!
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs