Due to COVID-19, services are now done online.

Join us for a special virtual Kabbalat Shabbat Service.

Click here on Friday between 5:55pm - 6:00pm to join the service.

In the first verses of Bereshit (Genesis), God creates light and “there was evening and morning, the first day.” (Genesis 1:5) The rabbis reasoned that if the Torah, the product of divine revelation, said that the first day began with evening, that must have been God’s intention, for “days” to begin at sunset. So when the sky is streaked with the fading Friday sunlight, in Jewish homes around the world, candles are lit, blessings are said and Shabbat is welcomed. And in synagogues, the Friday Ma’ariv (evening) service begins with a series of hymns, Psalms, and blessings collectively known as Kabbalat Shabbat/ Welcoming the Sabbath.

Leha Dodi: Welcoming the Sabbath Bride

Shabbat is a time of joy, and the six Psalms that make up the bulk of the Kabbalat Shabbat are celebratory, corresponding to the six days of creation; but it is Leha Dodi that many feel is the true centerpiece of this portion of the Shabbat evening service.