On Shabbat we relax together and let the stresses of the week start to slip away. Friday evenings we welcome Shabbat with Erev Shabbat Services (first and third Fridays of each month at 8:00 pm) or early Kabbalat Shabbat services (second, fourth and fifth Fridays of each month at 6:30 pm). Saturday morning Torah study at 9:00 am starts with a nosh at 8:45 am, and is followed at 10:15 am by Spice Up Your Judaism – alternative worship (e.g., a healing service), learning, discussion and fellowship. (There are light refreshments between Torah Study and the “Spice Up” sessions.) Shabbat morning services begin at 10:30 am. For a complete schedule, please check the calendar section of this website.
Once a month, toddlers and their families worship together in services geared to children ages 2-5. Grandparents are also welcome to attend these joyful sessions that include tot-friendly snacks and crafts.
This intense period of introspection begins with Selichot. Two days of Rosh Hashanah are observed. Congregants may spend all of Yom Kippur at the synagogue, experiencing both services and additional programming. Various age-appropriate services and activities are provided for our youngest congregants throughout the High Holy Day season.
In addition to our warm and wonderful weekly Shabbat observances, there are annual services that are true highlights of life at M’kor Shalom. On Erev Simchat Torah we dance with our Torah scrolls to the music of our in-house Klezmer band, Izzy, which is made up of volunteer musicians of all ages. On the Friday night of MLK Weekend in January, a huge Unity Choir, made up of our M’kor Shalom choir along with singers of different races and different religions, raises the roof in song. It is a joyous celebration in honor of Dr. King. On Purim, our clergy dress in costume and lead a raucous service, followed by a shpiel put on by the teens of the congregation.