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I realized something the other day. Shaarey Zedek has a long history of rabbis over the last 125 plus years, but how many of those rabbis could look out over the congregation on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and say to themselves, “I sat in those seats when I was a kid!”

Not many. Maybe not any.

But I can.

I remember those annual trips to Shaarey Zedek when I was younger, both before and after my Bar Mitzvah.

I remember the unforgiving brown folding chairs in the back section of the auditorium where my family used to sit.

I remember the dulcet tones of Rabbi Berkal and the beautiful melodies of the choir (though I could never figure out where those voices were coming from!)

I remember the movement – people moving out, people moving in – all service long, like one giant parade.

And I remember braiding my dad’s tallis strings and flipping ahead in the machzor to figure out how far away we were from the end of the service, and tugging on my mom’s arm every five minutes to ask for permission to go downstairs and visit with my friends.

The unfortunate truth is, I didn’t get much out of those services. And I’m a guy who, even as a teenager, always had a soft spot for synagogue and ritual and Jewish music. I wanted to like those services, I wanted to be inspired and uplifted by them, but I just wasn’t.

That’s why I am so proud of the changes we’ve made at Shaarey Zedek, the innovations we introduced to our High Holy Days services last year and have only continued to build on for this year.

I can say confidently, if 14 year-old Matthew Leibl were sitting in the pews (or chairs) these days, he wouldn’t be flipping to the back of the machzor or braiding his dad’s tallis or trying to find a way to get out of the room. He would be completely engaged.

Because this is a service that makes sense in Winnipeg in the 21st century.

No service is longer than 2 and a half hours.

We designed and created a brand new machzor that is more user friendly, with updated translations, easy-to-follow transliteration for people who have a little trouble with Hebrew, and modern explanations of all the old prayers.

We now have commentary throughout the prayers and the Torah reading. No longer do we just sing something and move on. Now we take the time to think about and explain what the words of the prayers mean and why we’ve been praying this way for so long.

And – this is the best part – we did it by preserving the best parts of our old Shaarey Zedek services. The same familiar melodies and tunes I remember Rabbi Berkal and the choir singing are still around, only now they’re sung by Rabbi Mass, a quartet of singers all under the age of 35, and a keyboard accompanist. Hineni, U’n’tanah Tokef, Ashamnu, L’dor Vador, and Hayom, Hayom, Hayom are all still there, just like you remember them from your childhood!

Last year was just the beginning.

If you were there, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

If you weren’t, you should come check it out this year. I guarantee you won’t be tugging on your mom’s arm asking to go chat with your friends. Please have a look at our special promotion below for first-time attendees and others who have not come to High Holy Day Services at Shaarey Zedek for 3 or more years, members and non-members! We hope to see you here!

Please contact Lara London, High Holy Day Seating Coordinator, at 204-975-3481 or [email protected] to arrange for your seats. Click here for service information.

Shanah Tovah!

Congregation Shaarey Zedek
561 Wellington Crescent
Winnipeg MB  R3M 0A6
204-452-3711
www.szwinnipeg.ca
www.facebook.com/ShaareyZedekWinnipeg
www.youtube.com/SZWinnipeg