service...

[jewscout]

...ok...question

i've never been to a Humanistic Jewish shul before and i gotta know how the services work, what the siddurim are like (if u guys use siddurim) and all that...

i mean, G-d is such a part of any prayer service in Judaism i gotta know how it works if you pull G-d outta the equation...

thanks!

 

[dauer]

I've never been to a Jewish humanist shul, but I've read that they tend to sing familiar cultural songs that don't really reference God, and sometimes include things like Israeli pop. Some reading you might find relevant:

Humanist Bat Mitzvah:

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/lifecycle/Bar_Bat_Mitzvah/InPractice/MollysBatMitzvah.htm

Also, this seems to answer quite a few questions:

http://www.oraynu.org/id19.htm

How do you celebrate the Jewish holidays?

As Humanistic Jews, we celebrate all of the major Jewish holidays. In the fall, we hold observances for Rosh Hashanah, Kol Nidrei (Erev Yom Kippur) and Yom Kippur, and in the spring, we offer our popular Community Passover Seder. Oneg Shabbats, Chanukah, Purim, Sukkot and Tu Bishvat celebrate our Jewish heritage and fill our year with celebration and inspiration. Our holiday observances incorporate philosophical reflections, poetry, prose and music which combine to create a wonderful sense of spirituality.

...

If you don't pray, what do you do?
We celebrate our Jewish identity. We use poetry and prose to express that connection - to encourage reflection and meditation. We sing Jewish songs in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish. We create own own liturgy which includes blessings for wine, challah, candlelighting, holidays, etc. As well, we sometimes adapt traditional materials to be consistent with humanistic Jewish philosophy.

 

[Avi1001]

Hi Dauer,

I do not know much about Humanistic Judaism, but would like to learn more.