Every Monday morning we have a Shacharit (morning) service, complete with regular Monday torah reading. Every student is required to lead one Monday service and, on a separate occasion, read Torah. Rabbinic students give a D’var Torah each week (only rabbinic students. It’s a point of contention, one I’m rectifying for myself by giving a D’var on a Saturday morning service, but that’s a different story).
My service was today. It was a doozy. I co-led with Jon, a rabbinic student, and Lauren, a cantorial student. We organized the service around the themes of Purim, the holiday which begins tomorrow; these themes included freedom, light, joy, living in the Diaspora, and personal responsibility. Purim and Adar, the month we’re currently in, represent joy, gladness, and celebration, but they also represent topsy-turvy-ness, when one thing becomes something else. We tried to infuse the service with lots of joy – from upbeat singing and lots of positive iyunim, but also some introspective teachings (taking advantage of my role as an education student) and reflecting.
There was some good collaboration between the three of us – who have very different working and prayer-leading styles – and it ended up being a positive experience. We each shared different duties, I sang some prayer nusach (standard meolody) and Lauren led some iyunae, Jon and I led part of a round of Ashrei. It was really, really nice. Overall, the service moved, was efficient use of time, created a good prayer space, and got people excited about Purim. I feel really good about the work we did.
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