Religious worship is offered in many forms at convenient times.
 The community is always welcome to join with us in worship.

Weekly Shabbat services are at 7:30p.m.  second and fourth Friday of the month
and 10:30 a.m. Saturday mornings.

Tehillat Shabbat 7:30 pm third Friday of the month preceded by congregational dinner

Early Service (AKA Junior Congregation) are at 9:00 a.m. second and fourth Saturday
morning, when religious school is in session please consult Temple's calendar.

Tot Shabbat service is on the second Friday of the month at 6:00 p.m.

Kabbalat Shabbat service is on the first Friday of the month at 7:00 p.m. followed by congregational dinner

High Holy Days and Festival services are at 8:00 p.m. on the erev of and 10:00 a.m. the morning of.
Summer services are at 7:30 p.m. Friday evenings and 10:00 a.m. Saturday mornings (July-August).

Weekly Friday (Shabbat) evening services generally begin at 7:30 p.m. except as noted above. They are
held in our sanctuary with a sermon or discussion by our rabbi. Our liturgical music is
rendered by the cantor with the congregation. The cantor is accompanied by an organist and
twice a month, a professional choir. Additionally, guest musicians regularly participate in the
service.

All services are followed by a festive Oneg Shabbat collation in our Social Hall

  Riverdale Temple's monthly Kabbalat Shabbat offers a welcoming, festive atmosphere for the entire community to greet the Sabbath with song, prayer, friendship, dancing, and dinner together.  It's at an earlier time and in a less formal atmosphere than our other Friday night Shabbat services.

Rabbi Judith Lewis and Cantor Leslie Friendlander begin our Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7:00 p.m. on the first Friday of every month.  They lead a joyous celebration of Shabbat that appeals to all generations and frequently features special musical guests.   Everyone can participate in our exciting combination of prayer and song in Hebrew and English.

Following the service, our Kabbalat Shabbat celebration continues as everyone joins in a community dinner and fun activity in the temple's spacious social hall.  Menus vary and feature international cuisines.   After dinner our activities for the young and young at heart have included Israeli dancing, storytelling, folk dancing, and a talent night.  You'll have  plenty of time for casual conversation between new friends and long-time members of our congregational family.

There's no charge for the evening and no need for reservations.  We kindly ask that everyone bring a dessert or side dish to share and a donation for the Kingsbridge Riverdale Marble Hill Food and Hunger project.

 

 Tot Shabbat is held on the 2nd Friday of every month at 6 p.m. from September through June.
It is a joyous, song-filled lively musical service led by both our rabbi and our cantor. This brief service is appropriate
for preschoolers and their families.

The next Tot Shabbat is November 20, at 6:00 p.m. . Why not join us and invite a friend or neighbor?

                              
                                The “Guided Service” with Torah Reading
 Riverdale Temple will hold its first monthly “Guided Service”—a regular Sabbath Evening service enhanced with instructional commentary and explanations and with a brief reading and discussion of the weekly Torah portion in place of a traditional sermon. Everyone is invited to attend, regardless of religious background, Jewish knowledge, or synagogue affiliation.

As Reform Judaism has reclaimed more Hebrew and many of the choreographic elements of traditional worship, the ideal of making our synagogue “a house of prayer for all people” presents new challenges. Join us for our “Guided Service” to be introduced to Jewish worship or to gain a deeper understanding of our prayers and practices.

 Tehillat Shabbat at Riverdale Temple (third Friday of the month) at 7:30 p.m.

 

Join us for our newest service for Shabbat which will include some old familiar tunes and some new ones. Join us and stay for nice dessert treats. 

This service continues to evolve...

  

  Junior Congregation meets in the Library Chapel. The service is led entirely by the students in our religious school under the watchful eye of our cantor. The main leader of the service, usually a student who has already become Bar or Bat Mitzvah, assigns the different prayers of the service to be read by the people who are present.  The cantor chants the Torah and the Haftorah portion of the week followed by a lively discussion about the Torah portion just read.  There is an ARK committee, usually made up of the youngest children that are present at the service, whose responsibilities include opening and closing the Ark and helping to undress and dress the Torah.  There is nothing "Junior" about this service.  It is the place where the current Bar/Bat Mitzvah students play a large role in the service leading up to their celebration in the main Sanctuary.  Many adult congregants attend this service as an alternative to the main service.

Junior Congregation Service TNA

  

Worship in the main sanctuary begins at 10:30 a.m. each week and is led by our rabbi and includes
a Torah study. Our liturgical music is rendered by our cantor and the congregation,
accompanied by our organist, often with our choir when there are Bar or a Bat Mitzvah
celebration.

 

The High Holy Day season begins with Selichot on the Saturday evening preceding Rosh
Hashanah. The evening begins with a pre-service program followed by a collation in the
temple's Social Hall. The service in the sanctuary begins at 10:00 PM.

Services begin at 8:00 p.m. for erev Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre. Morning services begin at
10:00 a.m. They are led by our rabbi and cantor, accompanied by our organist and
professional choir.

Rosh Hashanah and Shavuot are celebrated with two-day observance. Sukkot and Passover are
celebrated on the first two and last two days of each festival. Yizkor Memorial Services are
held on Yom Kippur and the last day of each of the three pilgrim festivals. Simchat Torah is
celebrated with both an evening and morning service.

Special services are also held throughout the year to commemorate special days/holidays on
the Jewish calendar such as Yom Ha'Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance), Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Israel's
Independence Day), and Shabbat Shirah (the Sabbath of Song).

  The Riverdale Temple Players, a changing band of good spirited temple members, on Erev Purim, after a traditional reading of Megillat
Esther, provide for a the telling of the story of Esther to music, merriment and mayhem.

Each year a new farcical script filled with silliness for the children and subtle satire for the adults is created by our own in-house talent.
This is combined with the selection of a musical theme of easily recognized compositions whose lyrics are rewritten to tell the age old
story.  Temple members and our neighbors have been treated to the story of Purim to the music of the Beatles, Broadway, Disney,
Rodgers and Hammerstein, and operatic classics.  Complete with costumes, backdrops and comical staging, our sanctuary is transformed
into the palace of Shushan.

Annual cast calls to all temple members who can sing-or like to, act- or are willing to try, direct, produce, play an insturment, or build
props and sew costumes are held.  Auditions, followed by a series of rehearsals, culminate in a holiday celebration enjoyed by
congrgants of all ages.

The Megilla according to Irving Berlin
Written and Directed by Helen Krim
Musical Direction by Jim Fogel
Piano accompaniment by Rudy Radna