Shabbat Exploration Series: Society Hill Synagogue

This is the February edition of our Shabbat Exploration Series! We will be attending services and enjoying lunch at Society Hill Synagogue, located at 4th & Spruce. Their services are grounded in Conservative liturgy (prayer structure) and incorporate influences from the Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Reform movements, and beyond. This experience will include sitting together for Shabbat services beginning at 9:45am which includes a popular intergenerational Torah discussion facilitated by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar at 10:30am. At 12pm, we will sit together as a group for lunch and at 12:30pm enjoy a lunch-and-learn with their visiting scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Michael Cohen, who will speak about “Overcoming the Asymmetry of the Sensational: A Better Future for Israelis and Palestinians.” We are incredibly grateful to our friends at Society Hill Synagogue for welcoming us warmly to such a special program!

Like every part of this series, no prior experience is expected — the point is to try something new and not do it alone! You can sign up for just this one event as a drop in, or join our Shabbat Exploration Series cohort to enjoy the full arc of programming. See below for details!

Shabbat is a day of rest, joy, and connection, and there are many ways to experience it. Maybe you want a break from your phone for a day, or even just for a few hours, but that might feel lonely. Maybe you’ve been wanting to check out a synagogue in town, but don’t want to go by yourself. Maybe you want to connect over a leisurely Shabbat lunch and songs with other people, feeling like there’s nowhere you have to rush off to, just being fully in the moment.

This is the inspiration for our Shabbat Exploration Series. One Saturday a month from January to June, rotate between synagogue-based experiences and home/nature-based ones with other 20s and 30s. This is a chance to explore different ways of doing Shabbat to see what fits for you individually, while also forming friendships with people who are doing the same. The experiences are open to people who currently have any level of Shabbat observance, including zero experience, and there is no end goal regarding how you observe. Tribe 12 Rabbinic Intern Adina Ikeman and Tribe 12 Director of Engagement(s) Danielle Selber will lead this program.

Participation options:

Drop in to individual events: Just interested in one or two offerings? You can register for any individual event just like any other program.

$5 for synagogue-based experiences (includes a meal)
$10 for home- or nature-based experiences (includes a meal)

Join the cohort: Want the full experience? Join a cohort of people exploring what Shabbat means, together. Cohort members are automatically registered for every program in the series (if you need to miss any, that is totally fine).

$54 covers all Saturday morning experiences
Cohort members have the added perk of attending a closing Shabbat dinner with Danielle and Adina!

Schedule: (subject to change and will be updated)

Saturday, January 31st: Potluck lunch and singing (Manayunk)

Saturday, February 21st: Synagogue experience (Society Hill Synagogue)

Saturday, March 21st: Shabbat lunch and walk (Wissahickon Park)

Saturday, April 11th: Synagogue experience (Rodeph Shalom)

Saturday, May 16th: Guided Shabbat hike (Northwest location TBA)

Saturday, June 6th: Synagogue experience (Center City location TBA)

Friday, May 29th: Closing Shabbat for cohort members (Location TBA)

Questions? Email danielle@tribe12.org or adina@tribe12.org!