Category Archives: Shul Reviews

SHUL REVIEW: Leader Minyan (Amika de-Bira) (Saturday and Holidays)

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My favorite Saturday minyan, Leader sings every page in the siddur, and every person is there to daven and have fun

Rating: 6/5
Service Attended: Saturday Morning, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur
Date: October 18th, 2014, Rosh Hashana 2014, Yom Kippur 2014

Type of Service: Very Modern Orthodox. Tons of singing, lots of different tunes from different traditions (anything from Sephardic to Carlebach)
Time of Service: Saturday morning- 8:00-1:45, Rosh Hashana- 7:15-3:45, Yom Kippur- 7:00-End of Neilah
Mechitza: Left-Right half mechitza, no one really enforces (or cares) if someone has to go to the other side for a minute
Meals: No meals because of length of service, but very serviceable kiddush at 11:30
Frequency: Every Shabbat Mevarkhim, the Shabbat before Rosh Hodesh, some Holidays
Sermon: Sometimes all Hebrew, sometimes English translation as well
Family friendly service: There are a number of families that attend, but due to the length of the service, many come late and/or leave early
Women: Almost full leadership. Women lead services, read Torah, have Aliyot, etc. I say Leader is pretty much as egalitarian as you can get while still having a mechitza. Some women wear tallitot.

Review:

Saturday: Leader minyan is for people that like to sing and enjoy their davening. The service started at 8 with the morning blessings, and they spend around 2 hours on P’sukei D’zimrah, singing every word of every page. They had three guys alternating leading the different psalms, each with a very different style. One had a very earthy, grounded tone, another a kind of hybrid Ashkenazi/Sephardi vibe, and the third had a very distinct Sephardi sound (and tunes).

After Shacharit, around 11:30, we broke for a pretty large kiddush in their courtyard. The people there are great, and most speak English and are very friendly. There’s always plenty of alcohol, and many of the guys like to use this opportunity to recharge for the rest of the service.

They happened to be celebrating one of the member’s daughter’s Bat Mitzvah that day, so she read rishon-shlishi, as well as the Haftarah. By the time Musaf came around, there was around a dozen men still left, and maybe 20 women still remaining. Still it was a nice feeling, and the service ended around 1:45.

Holidays: Leader also has select services on the High Holidays. I attended First Day of Rosh Hashana and part of Yom Kippur services while shul hopping (they also had Second Day services). Literally every page of the Machzor was sung, and sung by the whole kahal (community). It was really an incredible feeling to be present in a community where every single person is davening with intense kavanah, and really participating in the service.

Rosh Hashana, the service lasted until around 3:45 with an extensive kiddush in the middle, and they went all day on Yom Kippur (I left for another service at 4:00 and they were half way through Musaf repetition). I definitely recommend it for the Holidays, although the tunes will probably not be like they are at home.

As I said at the start, the Leader Minyan is my favorite traditional minyan in Jerusalem, and for any person that really wants to sing and enjoy themselves while they’re davening, I highly recommend it.

The Leader Minyan is located in Ha-Merkaz la-Umanuyot ha-Mizrah at 17 Hizkiyahu ha-Melekh Street, Katamon, Jerusalem, Israel. For more information, visit their website. You can find a link there to sign up for reminder emails, or find them at Amika de-Bira on facebook.

SHUL REVIEW: Raz’s Minyan (VaAni Tefillah) (Friday and Saturday Morning)

Rating: 4/5- Friday nights are wonderful and full of energy, Saturday mornings are rather lacking

Services Attended: Friday Night and Saturday Morning
Date: November 14, 2014 and November 15th, 2014

Observance: Orthodox
Time of Service: Mincha 20 min after candle lighting on Friday, and 7:30am-10:45am Saturday Morning, children’s book reading following
Mechitza: Right-Left, with shtender in middle in front
Women: No leadership
Meals: No mention
Frequency: Every Friday Night, Saturday Morning, Holidays
Family friendly service: Extremely. Nice courtyard for kids to play outside, and following services there’s story time
Sermon: All Hebrew

Review:

Friday Night: Friday night services were full of energy and youthful exuberance. The place was packed, and filled with young people and families. Raz leads his own tunes for Kabbalat Shabbat (which are similar to Carlebach in style), and everyone joins in, singing and dancing at length at times. Ma’ariv was more typical Carlebach, and just as wonderful. Raz has a quiet demeanor, but a beautiful voice that allows the congregation to join in prayer.

Saturday Morning: Twice I’ve been to Raz’s on Saturday morning, and I’ve been disappointed both times, especially after seeing what it is on Friday Nights. They set up less chairs expecting a smaller turnout, and they certainly get that; in the Torah Service, they maybe had 20 men and 10 women. Between this and the fact that Saturday services are lay led (still good, but not Raz), the room lacked energy and general enthusiasm for prayer. Saturday morning services start early at Raz’s, so if you’re a morning person it’s great, and you’re done before 11. P’sukei D’zimra is probably around 1 hour in length, but I didn’t get there that early. After the service, the multitude of children gathered around the front for story time, and there was a small kiddush afterwards.

Friday nights are really wonderful, and if you’re a young person looking to meet that special someone, this is the minyan for you. However, unless you have young children, I wouldn’t bother going on Saturday mornings.

Raz’s Minayn (VaAni Tefillah) is located near 34 Menahem Ussishkin Street, Sha’arei Hesed, Jerusalem. It’s located through a gate which opens to a compound of school buildings. The gate should have a sign that says “Kehillat VaAni Tefillah here”, but in Hebrew. Enter through the more southern gate (probably the only one open). On your left, you’ll see a building that says Beit Bubis, with a garden in front of it. VaAni Tefillah is located in the second building on the right.