This page was exported from Sam Blustin [ http://samblustin.com ] Export date:Thu Nov 7 16:35:05 2024 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: SHUL REVIEW: Leader Minyan (Amika de-Bira) (Saturday and Holidays) --------------------------------------------------- [sharethis] 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. --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- Excerpt: My favorite Saturday minyan, Leader sings every page in the siddur, and every person is there to daven and have fun. As egalitarian as you can get with a mechitza. --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2014-10-19 20:35:21 Post date GMT: 2014-10-19 20:35:21 Post modified date: 2014-10-19 20:35:21 Post modified date GMT: 2014-10-19 20:35:21 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com