Tag Archives: Yakar

SHUL REVIEW: Yakar- Upstairs Minyan (Friday)

Rating: 4/5- Solid service with lots of ruach, lacking in harmony

Service Attended: Friday Night Services
Date: 8/23/2014

Slogan: Authentic open-minded Judaism, rooted in the riches of tradition and relevant to the issues of the present day
Time of Service: Begins 30 min after sundown
Mechitza: Left-Right, shaliach tzibur in the middle
Women: No leadership
Seating: A few chairs in back in the men’s section, most people stand, significantly more seating in the women’s section.  Get there early if you want a seat.
Meals: They asked at the beginning and end of the service for anyone who is looking for a place to go for Shabbos dinner to go up front and they would match you up. I was matched with a lovely English couple, who had other guests that hailed from various English speaking countries (US, South Africa, Australia).
Frequency: Upstairs minyan is only every Friday night
Family friendly service: Shaliach Tzibur began by announcing that if any child would like to make noise, that they are encouraged, as it’s a form of prayer as well.  I couldn’t agree more.

Review: Yakar is an extremely friendly congregation, and I found it to be quite delightful.  The shaliach tzibur made every person feel welcome as they walked into the men’s side (at times at the expense of actually leading), greeting them with a handshake and a shabbat shalom.  It was very friendly towards kids, and the shaliach tzibur gave out candies to those present.  He also reinterated a number of times that if anyone needed a place for dinner, they would find someone, and he did in my case.

The davening was very solid, filled with ruach but not much harmony.  The shaliach tzibur was good, although at times out of tune, and he would occasionally switch to the harmony part, which would have worked had the congregation been solid enough underneath him to carry the melody at those times.  The service was largely Carlebach, with some different tunes I had not heard before or was unfamiliar with.

Note that the minyan does not have air conditioning, so when it’s warm out, it’s warm in the minyan.  The room filled as the service went on, but I’m told it’s generally a lot more full. Overall, I would like to go back during the year and see what a full minyan is like.  If you’re looking for some really solid, spirited davening, this minyan is a good place to check out.

Yakar is located at 10 Halamed-Hey St., Jerusalem. The entrance is actually off of Kovshei Katamon Street, and is up one flight of stairs on the outside of the building. For more information, visit their website.

SHUL REVIEW: Yakar- Downstairs Minyan (Friday and Saturday)

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Rating: 5/5- Beautiful harmony that is perfectly resonant in their space

Service Attended: Friday Night and Saturday Morning Services
Date: Septemeber 26th/27th, 2014

Slogan: Authentic open-minded Judaism, rooted in the riches of tradition and relevant to the issues of the present day
Type of Service: Orthodox with Carlebach tunes
Time of Service: Friday- Begins 30 min after sundown. Saturday- 8:15-11:30, with kiddush and class ~9:15 and Torah Reading around 10.
Mechitza: Front-back, shaliach tzibur in the back of men’s section
Women: No leadership
Meals: No mention of setting anyone up for meals
Frequency: Every Friday night and Saturday morning
Sermon: Friday- Sermon in Hebrew by Rabbi. Saturday– There were two breakout shiur options (short learning sessions) in the middle of the service led by congregants, one in Hebrew and one in English, instead of a Rabbi’s sermon.

Review:

Friday- I didn’t find the downstairs minyan at Yakar to be quite as friendly as its upstairs counterpart, but I enjoyed the davening more. Shabbat began as we were ushering Rosh Hashana out, so they did an abbreviated Kabbalat Shabbat, which was still really nice. The room reverberated from the power of the harmony, and although the shaliach tzibur was quiet, he had a great voice and set the tone for the packed room. The tunes were a little slow at times, so if you want a more upbeat minyan, check out the upstairs minyan. There are very few places however that can beat the feeling in that room.

Saturday- Saturday’s service had very much the same feeling, but was lacking a little bit in participation from the previous night. I think this was due to the difficulty of singing with the particular service leaders for that day (they were in and out of tune), but it was still a really nice service, and I gave it a 5/5 for its potential.

Before the Torah Service, we took a 10 minute break for Kiddush and a 30 minute break where we were given two choices of shiurim (classes) to attend instead of a sermon, one in English and one in Hebrew. The shiur I attended was very well done and interesting.

Both of Yakar’s minyanim seem to be great, and you can find pretty much anything you want there, making it one of my favorite congregations in Jerusalem.

Yakar is located at 10 Halamed-Hey Street, Jerusalem. The entrance is actually off of Kovshei Katamon Street. The women’s entrance is immediately to the right inside the gate, and the men’s is around the back past the stairs. For more information, visit their website.