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Kabbalat Shabbat at Romemu  Last Friday Night  -  A Spiritual Adventure

01/21/2025 11:50:39 AM

Jan21

Rabbi Rudin

 

The website describes the congregation as “a welcoming, experiential, irreverently pious Jewish community engaged in spiritual practice that connects the heart, mind, and body to foster human flourishing.”
 
Members of Adath Shalom, Cantor Avima and I spent a lovely Friday Night at Romemu, a congregation that is part of the Jewish Renewal Movement.
 
Here are some thoughts and impressions:
 
Born out of a melding of 1960’s counterculture, Hasidic mystical spirituality and Buddhist mindfulness and meditation, Romemu’s Jewish Renewal Friday night service offers the familiar liturgy infused with spirited congregational singing, dancing, meditation and an approach to Judaism as a personal path to connection with G-d, community and the inner self.
 
The service was also a lot of fun, uplifting and inspiring. Rabbi David Ingber, with whom I had the privilege of studying with at the Academy of Jewish Religion, has built a community that has grown and flourished on the Upper West Side, still meeting in the Presbyterian Church each week and bringing in a large multi-generational group of daveners.  Some danced the whole time in a sort of Tai Chi meets Israeli dancing way. Others swayed, rocked and clapped like Hasidim while most just sang along quietly but joyfully.
 
What struck us was the deliberateness and intentionality of the service. Rabbi Ingber gave a short pep-talk in the beginning about creating sacred space together but the folks there knew what they had come for: to share ninety minutes of song, relaxation, smiles and laughter.
 
From lowered lighting to meditative melodies and songs that focused on a single line from the prayers, excerpting from the Siddur rather than trying to get through every word on every page, the experience was designed and deliberate. The inspiration may have come from Rabbi Ingber and the “Davening team”- a congregational choir led by Cantor Simon with his guitar, but the energy came from the congregation who instead of kibitzing, focused on the spirituality.
 
I think that Romemu has a lot to teach all of us about creating a meaningful and connective experience in services. We were treated to a delightful Shabbat dinner hosted by program director Eden and my old friend Dr. David Kaufman, a historian of the American Jewish community and also a member of Romemu who spoke to us about the congregation and its mission.
 
While Adath Shalom, like every synagogue, has its own unique character, a trip to a community like Romemu is an opportunity for reflection: Please let me know what would make services more personally meaningful, spiritual and joyful for you?

 

Mon, February 10 2025 12 Shevat 5785