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Participation in the Service by the B’nai Mitzvah: Shabbat Minchah In addition to their participation in the Friday night service, all students are required to perform the following at the Shabbat Minchah service: Tallit Blessing (see Appendix B) Ashrey Hatzi Kaddish Torah Service D’var Torah Torah Blessings (see Appendix D) The tutor will teach the following parts of the service in the order designated below. Once the tutor is satisfied with level Aleph, the student can move on to level Bet. Level Aleph: Shilishi (Third) Torah Reading Level Bet: Sheni (Second) Aliyah Level Gimmel: Rishon (First) Aliyah Level Daled: Amidah prayers Back to Contents Participation in the Service by Family and Friends At least two months before the celebration, the Cantor will meet with the parents to make arrangements for family participation in the service. Many options are available to the family of the B’nai Mitzvah for their own participation and for the honoring of relatives and friends. The forms for assigning honors for Shabbat morning or Minchah events are included in the Appendix. Honors may be given only to Jewish participants over 13 years old. Please remind all those receiving honors that all adult males are required (and females are encouraged) to wear a tallit when going onto the bimah. Five of the eight aliyot, including the Maftir (#8), are reserved for the B’nai Mitzvah family. The aliyah honor involves going up to the bimah and chanting the blessings before and after the Torah is read. (The blessings appear in Appendix D.) Please leave any three aliyot blank (typically the first three); these will be assigned to congregants by the Cantor or Rabbi. If your child will be celebrating at a Shabbat minchah service, there are only three aliyot, all available to the family, the last of which is reserved for the B’nai Mitzvah child. The development of the child’s Torah reading skills is covered during the tutoring process. It is equally important that all other Torah readers – family members, friends, or other congregants – also be prepared to read Torah correctly. This means the ability to read from the Torah on the bimah without consulting supplementary papers or a Humash. It is our obligation to make sure that anyone who reads Torah does so accurately; the words must be pronounced correctly and, ideally, the proper trope be used throughout. To insure this happens, it is our requirement that everyone who will be reading Torah has a practice session with the Cantor or his designee at least one week before the B’nai Mitzvah. This includes any out-of-town guests, for whom a read-through must be done by phone at least two weeks before the B’nai Mitzvah. We do not have the capability to coach out-of-town readers -- if it is determined that there will be difficulty reading correctly, the Cantor will need the additional time to recruit and prepare replacement readers. Four Ark openings (p’tiha). Two people may be assigned for each p’tiha. Glilah. One person may dress the Torah with its cover and ornaments, as directed by the Gabbai on the bimah. Please note that Hagbahah, the honor of lifting the Torah, is reserved for a trained member of the congregation. Carrying a Sefer Torah in procession around the Sanctuary. Please bear in mind that the Torah scroll is heavy. This honor is available only on Shabbat morning when more than one scroll is used; the Cantor can tell you if this will be the case on your child’s B’nai Mitzvah day. Reading from the Torah. (If family members or friends wish to read from the Torah, it must be arranged with the Cantor two months in advance of the B’nai Mitzvah celebration date. Torah readers will need time to prepare and must demonstrate to the Cantor that they are prepared at least two weeks prior to the event.) The parents may elect to give a blessing expressing their Jewish aspirations for their child’s future upon presentation of the tallit at the beginning of the service. Please consult with the Cantor for appropriate blessings for this purpose. All parents are welcome to participate in the service by presenting the tallit, reciting the Shehecheyanu prayer and reading the chosen blessing in English, as well as standing on the bimah for the priestly blessing. It is important for families to hand out honors “assignments” well in advance of the celebration. Especially when people are not familiar with our services, they need to know exactly what the honor entails and approximately when in the service it will occur. A form describing the honors, which you may copy and send to your honorees, is included at Appendix G. The Cantor can provide you with CDs to assist people in preparing for the aliyah blessing and Torah readings. All honors in our service must be given to Jewish adults over the age of 13. Please complete the honors form, which appears below, including the English and Hebrew names of all the people you have chosen to receive honors. Please return this form to the B’nai Mitzvah Coordinator at least one month before the day of your B’nai Mitzvah. If the honors sheet is not returned at that time, you risk giving the honors up to other congregants. Back to Contents Shabbat at The Jewish Center Shabbat is a day of rest and celebration, a day set apart from the other six days of the week. Our congregation has established standards to help us create an atmosphere of sanctity and dignity for The Jewish Center on Shabbat. We appreciate your cooperation and that of your guests in the following: The Jewish Center is a nonsmoking facility in the building and on the grounds at all times. The use of cell phones, beepers, and other electronic equipment is not permitted anywhere at The Jewish Center on Shabbat or during any service. Please ask guests to arrange transportation needs prior to arriving at The Jewish Center so that they can avoid using cell phones for this purpose on the grounds or in the buildings. Dress in the Sanctuary should be appropriate for worship. Modesty and good taste are appreciated. Women may not come to the bimah in strapless or low cut dresses unless they are wearing a shawl or jacket to cover up All men must wear a head covering at all times inside the synagogue, and all Jewish men should put on a tallit for the service. These are provided in the Lobby. The wearing of a head covering and tallit is encouraged for Jewish women. The Jewish Center provides babysitting every Shabbat, downstairs in the Choir Room (below the Youth Lounge). The Kiddush provided by the family serves an important function religiously and socially. The time we share at the Kiddush allows the members of the congregation to know each other better and strengthens our bonds as a community. If you are having a private party in the Social Hall, the party may not begin until one hour after services are concluded. If you are having a reception in the Social Hall, please remind your caterer to set up as quietly as possible. Inform your disc jockey or band that they must wait until the service has ended to begin setting up and must wait one hour to begin playing music. At a private party following the B’nai Mitzvah ceremony and Kiddush, photography is permitted beginning one hour after services are concluded. Photography, audio-visual, and audio recording are not permitted in the synagogue buildings or grounds on Shabbat However, no photography is permitted in the Sanctuary or anywhere at The Jewish Center on Shabbat. Amplification equipment to assist persons with hearing impairment is available in the Sanctuary. Please arrange this in advance with the Administrator. Candle lighting and sign-in boards are allowed on Saturday only after sundown. (In the afternoon, small flags or flowers may be substituted for candles.) Please do not enter or leave the Sanctuary during the Torah processions, when the congregation is standing, or during the Rabbi’s sermon. While we welcome the many friends of our B’nai Mitzvah, please advise your guests in advance about observing appropriate rules of behavior while at The Jewish Center. Back to Contents Shabbat afternoon at The Jewish Center For the Minchah (afternoon) service, the same general rules of attire and conduct apply as above. The following pertain to Minchah only: No Kiddush is required. Parties, photography, and music may begin immediately after the service. However, photography and audio recording in the Sanctuary is prohibited throughout Shabbat. Back to Contents USE OF THE JEWISH CENTER FACILITIES Catering at The Jewish Center The Jewish Center Social Hall is an ideal site for your B’nai Mitzvah celebration. The many options include (but are not necessarily limited to) a private Friday evening Shabbat dinner, a private party or luncheon after the congregational Kiddush, a Saturday evening party, or a Sunday afternoon or evening party. Some families choose to host a Kiddush buffet or luncheon for the assembled congregation and their guests in place of the traditional congregational Kiddush followed by a separate private party. (There is no rental fee for the Social Hall if you choose to host a congregational Kiddush Luncheon.) The B’nai Mitzvah Coordinator will be able to provide you with information about the various options. She will also discuss our current rental fees, inform you about guidelines for kashrut, and provide you with a list of Jewish Center approved caterers. All food and supplies must be delivered before 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Contact the B’nai Mitzvah Coordinator as early as possible to reserve the space. Back to Contents *Decorations: Flowers and Tzedakah* baskets** The B’nai Mitzvah family may provide fresh or dried flowers or plants for the bimah, as well as a centerpiece for the Kiddush table in the foyer. It is also possible to place food baskets on the bimah or in the foyer in place of flowers. Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Mercer County currently has a special program to provide the baskets. The funds contributed for the food baskets go to feed the hungry in our community. For more information, call 609-987-8100. Flower deliveries must arrive at The Jewish Center by 1:00 p.m. on Friday. Bimah and Kiddush table flowers remain at The Jewish Center after the service. If there is another occasion on the Shabbat of your child’s B’nai Mitzvah, the cost of these may be shared. As a courtesy to clergy and congregants with allergies, we request that you avoid intensely fragrant flowers, such as lilies. We encouraged you to choose roses from Israel in flower arrangements (see http://www.israelrose.com/). Back to Contents