Temple Solel ’s services are warm and welcoming. We offer a variety of worship experiences recognizing the diversity of our congregation.
Friday evening Shabbat services attract a large number of worshippers. On the first Friday of the month we hold 8:00 pm Erev Shabbat services. Our remaining services each month begin at 6:00 p.m. to accommodate the differing needs of our congregants. A light oneg precedes our 6 p.m. service, and a festive oneg follows our 8 p.m. service. Our award winning onegs allow congregants and visitors the opportunity to socialize and gather in celebration of Shabbat. During the summer months, we offer a 6:00 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat service to enable our members to go home and enjoy a leisurely Shabbat dinner.
Shabbat morning worship is held each Saturday morning at Temple Solel throughout the year. Preceding the worship is a weekly Torah study on the parasha hashavu’ah, at 9 a.m. in the Temple library. In the summer months, our minyan is lay-led and includes a Torah study component.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies take place on Shabbat mornings as our congregation celebrates the “coming of age” of our children and their future in the Jewish community. Temple Solel B’nai Mitzvah conduct the majority of the service, read Torah, Haftarah, and offer a D’var Torah to the congregation.
Family Shabbat services are held periodically on Erev or Shabbat mornings for our youngest congregants and their families. This abbreviated service is highly participatory. The worship may be in the sanctuary, the Phoenix Mountain Preserve or some other enriching location. On Shabbat morning, a kiddush typically follows, with singing and a light snack.
High Holy Day and Festival Services are dignified and moving worship experiences. We use Gates of Repentance as our High Holy Day prayerbook (mahzor), and our adult choir enhances the beauty of our worship. Lively and meaningful family services help our congregants celebrate the festivals. In addition, services are held on the first and last mornings of Sukkot and Pesach, with Yizkor services at appropriate times.
Life Cycle Celebrations
From birth to death, our life experiences are enriched as we celebrate together within the context of Synagogue and community. Children are named in the Sanctuary, consecrated when they begin Kindergarten in our Religious School , become bar or bat mitzvah around age 13, and celebrate confirmation at the end of the 10th grade during Shavuot. We anticipate their weddings in our Sanctuary and since death is an inevitable part of the life cycle, we have a Temple Solel section at Green Acres Cemetery.