last night's service
Aug. 2nd, 2003 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioLast night's service went really well. One other person and I split the service, and we had the cantorial intern and a separate torah reader. It's nice to be inclusive and give parts to more people, but there's something to be said for the person in charge (that is, me) being able to see and easily talk with everyone else involved. The congregation never knew about some of the cues and tweaks we were making, because we could do so discreetly. :-)
I got a lot of compliments, both on the service in general and on the d'var torah (sermon). I actually didn't think the d'var torah was all that great; there were a couple transitions that were kind of rough. It was a lot better than Tuesday's draft, though. And I think I struck the right balance; several people at the oneg told me that they are planning to come to the Tisha b'Av service next week, which will be a new experience for this congregation. I'm sorry I won't be able to be there.
The torah reader learned the portion (firat aliya of D'varim) in under two weeks, with trope. I am impressed.
The cantor complimented me on my singing, which was nice. (Also on my torah chanting last week.) I think she's getting more comfortable with the congregation, too. (She just started a few weeks ago.) I really like her; she's friendly, very easy to work with, and clueful.
Service division: I did kabbalat shabbat and kriat shema, the other person did t'filah and kriat torah, and I did the concluding prayers. This meant that I ended up with the kaddish list (names of people whose yahrzeits, or anniversaies of death, occured this week). So before the service I read the names out loud, which surprised some people. It seemed obvious to me: some people may come to services only to hear a relative's name on that list, and I at least want them to hear it without stumbling. And there were some weird spellings on the list, so I'm glad I did this. (There was also a dedication of a memorial plaque, which is a relatively infrequent occurence, so I asked the administrator to confirm that the family knew they weren't getting a rabbi this week. Again, it seems considerate to do so. They knew and were ok with that.)
After the service the administrator had lots of nice things to say, both about the job we did and about how it was a pleasure to work with me on this etc. I guess I'm one of the more organized folks among recent lay leaders. :-) I told her I enjoy doing this and would be delighted to help lead services in the future; we'll see if that goes anywhere. (She also said something about rabbinic school and I said "not now", which didn't really surprise her.)
I got a lot of compliments, both on the service in general and on the d'var torah (sermon). I actually didn't think the d'var torah was all that great; there were a couple transitions that were kind of rough. It was a lot better than Tuesday's draft, though. And I think I struck the right balance; several people at the oneg told me that they are planning to come to the Tisha b'Av service next week, which will be a new experience for this congregation. I'm sorry I won't be able to be there.
The torah reader learned the portion (firat aliya of D'varim) in under two weeks, with trope. I am impressed.
The cantor complimented me on my singing, which was nice. (Also on my torah chanting last week.) I think she's getting more comfortable with the congregation, too. (She just started a few weeks ago.) I really like her; she's friendly, very easy to work with, and clueful.
Service division: I did kabbalat shabbat and kriat shema, the other person did t'filah and kriat torah, and I did the concluding prayers. This meant that I ended up with the kaddish list (names of people whose yahrzeits, or anniversaies of death, occured this week). So before the service I read the names out loud, which surprised some people. It seemed obvious to me: some people may come to services only to hear a relative's name on that list, and I at least want them to hear it without stumbling. And there were some weird spellings on the list, so I'm glad I did this. (There was also a dedication of a memorial plaque, which is a relatively infrequent occurence, so I asked the administrator to confirm that the family knew they weren't getting a rabbi this week. Again, it seems considerate to do so. They knew and were ok with that.)
After the service the administrator had lots of nice things to say, both about the job we did and about how it was a pleasure to work with me on this etc. I guess I'm one of the more organized folks among recent lay leaders. :-) I told her I enjoy doing this and would be delighted to help lead services in the future; we'll see if that goes anywhere. (She also said something about rabbinic school and I said "not now", which didn't really surprise her.)