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How do you celebrate Shabbat [the Sabbath]? What are your services like? Do you wear kippote (yarmulkes), tallit (prayer shalls), and tzi tzi (fringes)? Do you speak and teach Hebrew? Do you use a siddur (Jewish prayer book)? Do you have a Torah and Ner Tamid (Eternal Flame)? Does your Messianic Rabbi teach from the weekly Parsha? Did your Messianic Rabbi attend Yeshiva? Do you have a Cantor? Do you observe all the customary Jewish lifecycle traditions (brit milah, bar/bats mitzvah, weddings and funerals)? Do you celebrate the Jewish Holidays? Do you celebrate the Christian Holidays (Christmas and Easter)? Do you keep kosher? What kind of programs do you have for the children? What kind of volunteer programs and humanitarian aid programs are you involved in? What are the requirements of membership for our congregation?How do you celebrate Shabbat [the Sabbath]?
We celebrate the Shabbat in our homes on Friday evening, starting with the lighting of Shabbat candles and blessing our children and our meal. We attend Shabbat morning services and often fellowship afterwards at one another’s homes. Sometimes we all go out to lunch together to the nearby Chinese buffet. We do no regular work, we do drive and carry things to shul.
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What are your services like?
Our service begins with the children’s choir singing the Borchu, we then cant the Shema and recite the V’ahafta. We read a Psalm and enter in to about half an hour of very gregarious Messianic Praise Music and Davidic Dancing. We then pray, read from the Torah, share testimonies of G-d’s goodness to us that week, bring in our tithes and offerings to the storehouse, and bless one another. Rabbi shares the message for the week and we end with the Aaronic Benediction.
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Do you wear kippote (yarmulkes), tallit (prayer shalls), and tzi tzi (fringes)?
Most of our men wear kippote and tallit, but not all. A few of our men wear tzi tzi, even under their garments. We generally ask women not to wear tallit, but do not forbid it. We agree that you should dress according to your conviction before Ha Shem. No mode of religious garb is required to attend service. We only ask that you dress modestly as not to draw undue attention to yourself.
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Do you speak and teach Hebrew?
Currently, all the liturgies are done in both Hebrew and English, as well as half of the music. We are looking for a Hebrew teacher because many in the congregation are interested in learning. As of yet, we do not have anyone in the congregation who is fluent in the language.
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Do you use a siddur (Jewish prayer book)?
We all recite the liturgies together from overheads at the front of the room. We find this is easiest for intermarried families and their children to learn, and for the congregation to stay together. We regularly do the Borchu, the Shema, the V’ahafta, the Pre and Post Torah Blessings, the Etz Chaim, the V’ne’emar, and the Aaronic Benediction (Y’varechecha).
Occasionally we also do the Kaddish, Adon Olam, Avinu Malkeynu, Ma Tovu, Shabbat Blessings, etc. Plus we do many liturgical songs such as: Melech Ozair and Micha Mocha.
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Do you have a Torah and Ner Tamid (Eternal Flame)?
Yes, our Torah is kept in a lovely cedar-lined ark (cabinet) that pulls out on rollers for an easy reading surface. Our Ner Tamid is suspended directly above the ark.
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Does your Messianic Rabbi teach from the weekly Parsha?
Every week our Rabbi reads from a portion of the Torah directly and then continues his message from the corresponding Haftorah (Hebrew Scripture) and Brit Hadasha (New Covenant) portions. The message is generally about 45 minutes long and can include additional time for prayer and reflection. The Rabbi’s teachings are available on audio tapes and can be accessed through this web site by returning to our homepage.
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Did your Messianic Rabbi attend Yeshiva?
Our Rabbi just received his full ordination through the International Association of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS) this past January after successfully completing coursework through their Messianic Yeshiva Program along with 3+ years of on-the job training.
Additionally, our Rabbi carries a Bachelor of Technology degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and has over 12 of experience as an Electrical Engineer in the field of Nuclear Electric Generation.
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Do you have a Cantor?
We currently have two cantors on our leadership staff.
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Do you observe all the customary Jewish lifecycle traditions (brit milah, bar/bats mitzvah, weddings and funerals)?
Yes! We just began our first Bar/Bats Mitzvah class at the beginning of this year and are looking forward to the upcoming celebration. Plus we have been blessed to find a local physician who has made himself available for at-home circumcisions which we have our Rabbi then officiate. We have not, as yet, celebrated any weddings or funerals in our new building, but look forward to doing so as the need arises. The Rabbi, and his wife, have experience in all these areas and would be happy to work with anyone interested in planning these important life events. Simply call us at the congregational office 425-1400.
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Do you celebrate the Jewish Holidays?
Yes! We celebrate Rosh Hashana (New Years/ Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) in the fall. We celebrate Pesach(Passover), Bikkurim (First Fruits) and Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) in the spring. Additionally, we celebrate Purim (Feast of Lots) and Yom Ha’ Atzma ut (Israeli Independence Day). We also observe the Yom Ha Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Tish B’Av(Fast of Av). All these gatherings are open to the public and all onegs remain biblically kosher.
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Do you celebrate the Christian Holidays (Christmas and Easter)?
No. We respect the right of Christian church communities to celebrate these events in the context of their faith, but, because they are technically the legitimization of formerly pagan holidays, we feel it would be inappropriate to acknowledge them corporately.
However, we do celebrate the birth and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua. If you do the math, you will realize that Messiah’s birth was actually during the biblical festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) which we DO celebrate. And, Messiah resurrected 3 days after Pesach – which is the biblical holiday of Bikkurim (first fruits) which we DO celebrate.
Additionally we celebrate national holidays such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day and the like.
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Do you keep kosher?
We keep biblically kosher according to Leviticus Chapter 11. We do not keep rabbinically kosher. You see, the only biblical reference to food being “unclean” refers to the above mentioned scriptures. Therefore, we don’t eat pork, shellfish, etc.
All other dietary laws, such as the ones prohibiting the eating of dairy and meat products in the same meal, were developed by the rabbis over the centuries and are extra biblical (not actually in the Bible itself).
While we are grateful for the Rabbis’ desire to keep us from transgressing the biblical dietary laws, we agree with Yeshua that their complicated legal requirements have become unnecessarily burdensome.
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What kind of programs do you have for the children?
Our “B’nei Israel Shabbat Gathering” for the children (ages 5-11) includes teaching from the parshas, rudimentary Hebrew, puzzles and activities sheets. At 11, children are expected to begin preparing for their Bar/Bats mitzvah during the weekly evening class. Children 4 years old and younger are part of our Nursery program. All children over the age of 4 are expected to be with their parents during the Shabbat Service. Plus, we are working on developing a children’s choir.
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What kind of volunteer programs and humanitarian aid programs are you involved in?
We actively participate in sending humanitarian aid to Holocaust survivors and Chernobyl victims in Belarus through Shalom International Ministries. We give more than 10% of our corporate income to the development of sister congregations in Minsk, Belarus and Budapest, Hungary.
Through the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, we are looking forward to participating this year in the Nehemiah project, getting Jewish immigrants out of the impoverished Former Soviet Union and the Joseph Project, collecting food, clothing and medicine for immigrants to Israel.
Plus, we provide local help through one-time benevolence grants and food baskets for the needy on Purim and Thanksgiving. And, we regularly send members of our congregation out to provide on-site assistance.
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What are the requirements of membership for our congregation?
Anyone is welcome to attend our congregation at any time. For those who feel called to become members of this congregation, as is required for our establishment as a “free church” in New York State, we require the following: completion of our 12 week membership course, commitment to serve regularly, support financially, walk together in unity and “loving our neighbor as our self.”
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