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 We
at the Woodbury Jewish Center are continuing a connection to Jewish
music which dates back to the time of our ancestors when songs of
joy, triumph, sadness and despair alike were exalted in the desert,
exile, and the times of the Temple as well.
Likewise, our approach to song at the Woodbury Jewish Center is
to pray and sing together b'kol echad - in one strong voice.
Our services are warm and uplifting in a spirit which embraces Jewish
music. Prayer for us, is a time of meditation, healing, communication
with G-d and revitalizing ruach - the divine small spark in each
of us. These goals are ones we strive to achieve through spirited
congregational singing.
Our children are taught tefilot - the Jewish prayers - in
Hebrew School in order that they may be encouraged to participate
with us in services. Such skills may allow our children to go on
in their Jewish lives comfortable to pray in any Jewish setting.
Furthermore, our Bar and Bat Mitzvah program instructs our children
on reading the musical notes for their Haftorot and Torah readings
providing our children with the skill of being able to read any
Haftorah or Torah reading in the years following their Bar or Bat
Mitzvah. Our synagogue also offers a two-year adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah
program -a course which studies the observance of Jewish holidays
and Jewish prayers, teaches the skills of reading Hebrew and mastering
the Haftorah Trop and culminates in a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Adult
education courses are also taught during the course of the year,
including a variety of courses covering congregational melodies
and the study of prayers.
The synagogue is our spiritual home. We can restore our strength
and courage and find wisdom through prayer. It is my hope and prayer
that Jewish music will provide the spark for our generation to continue
to express their Judaism in our spiritual home that is the Woodbury
Jewish Center.
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