Adult Choir, Band of Milk and Honey and Shirei Elohim (our Junior Choir)! For Practice and Performance Schedules Click ... Temple Calendar Look for Affiliate Groups - Highlighted in Yellow Click for Sanctuary Facts and Local Customs Click for Photos of Brandis Retreat TAE’s Adult Choir is always looking for new members and now is a perfect time to join!  Remember, you do not have to read music to join.  In fact, you do not have to have any choral experience at all!  All you need is a willingness to give of yourself and have a wonderful time getting to know our growing choir family.  If you are interested, come by a rehearsal on Thursdays at 7:30 pm in the Sanctuary and see for yourself how fun singing in our choir can be!  You can also support our choir when they help to lead Shabbat Services, usually on the 4th Friday of the month, with the Band of Milk and Honey.  For more information contact Cantor Shukiar at dshukiar@adatelohim.com.  We look forward to welcoming you to our family. Join Shirei Elohim, our Junior choir! If you are in the second grade or older and love to sing, then Shirei Elohim is the group for you!  We will sing at monthly Family Shabbat Celebrations and at local retirement communities and malls for Chanukah and Passover.  You don't have to have any experience singing in choirs to join.  Come and have fun as you make new friends, play games, participate in services, learn Jewish songs and prayers and learn the basics of music and singing.  We rehearse every Sunday from 11:30 – 12 noon or Tuesday from 3:30 – 4 pm in the Sanctuary.  Remember if there is no Religious School there will be no choir rehearsal.  You can also support Shirei Elohim when we sing at our monthly Family Shabbat Celebration which usually are the 3rd Friday of the month.  If you or your parents have any questions or you would like to sign up for Shirei Elohim, contact Cantor Shukiar at Temple (805) 497-7101 or via email (dshukiar@adatelohim.com).   We can't wait to see you there!   Sanctuary Facts and Local Customs Aron HaKodesh (Ark) Torah Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) Stained Glass Memorial Board Kippah/ Yarmulke Tallit Undressing and Dressing the Torah Aliyah Bar Mitzvah & Bat Mitzvah   Welcome to Temple Adat Elohim. To enhance your experience today, we would like to introduce you to our sanctuary, our service, and our community. We are a vibrant and diverse community that is blessed with youth and age, supported by energy and wisdom and strengthened by vision and purpose.  Our mission statement reads: Temple Adat Elohim is a house of prayer, study and assembly.  We worship God in accordance with the faith and practice of Reform Judaism.  We cultivate a love and understanding of our heritage, teachings and values.  In assembly we offer families and individuals the opportunity to act with strength and common purpose.  We exemplify that purpose in the performance of mitzvot [good deeds/commandments] and in the furtherance of Tikkun Olam - the healing of the world.  We strive to serve the spiritual and social needs of this congregation and community in such a way as to make Temple Adat Elohim a “light unto the nations.”   We are honored that you have chosen to pray, sing and celebrate with us today. To ensure a more meaningful experience, our prayer book includes Hebrew, transliteration, translation and creative English readings. We encourage you to join in reading with the congregation whenever the text is in italics or when invited to do so by the Rabbis or prayer leader. We also encourage you to sing with the Cantor and choir.   To minimize distractions we ask that you turn off or silence cell phones. Please enter or exit the sanctuary only when the congregation is seated. Photography is permitted before and after services. For your convenience, there is a glassed-in “Shalom Room” on the side of the sanctuary with couches and toys for small children.  The Sanctuary Aron HaKodesh (Ark) -- This is the central feature of every synagogue since it contains the sacred scrolls of the Torah. Judaism teaches that the original ark was built to hold the tablets Moses brought down from Har Sinai (Mt. Sinai). Traditionally, the ark is located on the wall of the synagogue that faces toward Jerusalem. When the ark is open, we ask that the congregation rise as a sign of respect. Throughout the world there are many styles for arks. The Hebrew letter shin rises from the doors of our ark to symbolize the Tree of Life. The letter shin is also the first letter of the word shalom (peace) and Shaddai (one of the many names for God). The shin from our ark thus welcomes each person who enters the sanctuary with peace and God’s presence.  The wood of the ark is from the acacia tree – the same type of wood used by Noah to build his ark.   Torah -- This scroll is the most precious possession of the Jewish people. It is a hand-written parchment that contains the Five Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). The Torah is divided into fifty-two portions that are read sequentially. This tradition ensures that the world-wide Jewish community is reading the same Torah text each week. Reading the Torah, which is written in ancient Hebrew without vowels or punctuation, requires a great deal of preparation and advanced study. The reader uses a yad (pointer) out of respect and so that he/she does not smudge the text with the natural oils from his/her hands.   At TAE, Torah is read every Saturday and many Friday nights. This follows the custom that the Torah should be read when the community is present. The Torah reading can be found in The Torah: A Modern Commentary. Copies of this book are found in the seat-backs in front of you and we encourage you to share these books with those seated around you.   TAE is blessed to have three Torah scrolls. We are currently researching the history of our Torah scrolls. To date, we know that one scroll is from Czechoslovakia and survived the Holocaust. Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) -- The light hanging in front of the Ark commemorates the perpetual fire that burned at the altar of the Temple in ancient times. A flame shines continuously in every Jewish sanctuary symbolizing God’s eternal presence in our world and in our lives.   Stained Glass -- The windows depict the parting of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds) and Har Sinai (Mt. Sinai). The mountains are shown to move closer to the Torah. Malachim (angels) are found throughout the sky watching over the Jewish people.   Memorial Board -- The memorial board displays the names of those remembered by the TAE community.  In addition to these names, at each service we read the names of those who have died within the past thirty days (sheloshim) and on the anniversary of their death (yartzeit). Our Rabbis may also ask for additional names of those remembered by guests at each service.   Ritual Kippah / yarmulke -- The head covering is worn as a sign of reverence and respect. In our community, the kippah is worn by men and women while in the Temple or during a prayer service. Wearing a kippah ties us to Jews around the world and throughout history.  While not a requirement, all congregants and guests are encouraged to wear a kippah in the sanctuary. Extras are available for your use and can be found at the entrance of the sanctuary.  If you see a lot of men wearing a red kippah, this is the color that our Brotherhood has chosen to use for their organization   Tallit– Wearing a tallit is a sign of entrance into adult responsibility in the Jewish community. In the Book of Numbers (15:38), we are commanded to affix tzi-tzit (ritual knots) to the four corners of our garments as a reminder of God’s commandments to the Jewish people. Tallitot are worn by both Jewish men and women in our community over the age of thirteen. Tallitot are available for guests in the foyer. Tallitot are worn during morning services by congregants and at all services by those honored with an aliyah and by prayer leaders.  It is our minhag (custom) to don our tallitot together as a community at the beginning of our morning services. Undressing and Dressing the Torah -- We adorn our Torah scroll with special cloth coverings and silver ornaments responding to our teaching to beautify the Torah. The Torah is undressed before and then dressed after the Torah is read.    Aliyah -- The reading of the Torah in public is an ancient tradition, dating back to the third century B.C.E. Those who are called up to chant the blessings before and after each section is read are Jewish and at least thirteen years old because, with these blessings, the individual affirms acceptance of the Torah and its teachings. Others may be invited to accompany those who recite the Torah blessings.   Bar Mitzvah & Bat Mitzvah In the Reform Movement, both boys and girls become Bar/Bat Mitzvah at the age of thirteen. In our synagogue, we recognize this age by inviting our students to serve in three capacities: Sh’liach Tzibur (leader of worship), Darshan (teacher of Torah), and Ba’al K’riyah (chanter of Torah and Haftarah).    Literally, Bar/Bat Mitzvah means “son/daughter of the commandment.”  By becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, our students are accepting the rights and responsibilities of adult life in the Jewish community. Though some may be tempted to view Bar/Bat Mitzvah as the end of formal Jewish studies, in fact, it is the beginning of life-long Jewish learning.   When a child becomes a Bar/Bat Mitzvah we pass the Torah from generation to generation representing the Shalshelet Kabbalah (chain of our tradition).  As we physically place the Torah in the arms of grandparents, parents, and then the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, we symbolically pass Judaism through the generations and finally place the scroll – and with it our hopes and blessings – into the arms of our children.  .