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Whenever I am out of town—except for wilderness trips—I make a concerted effort to attend  a local synagogue for Shabbat or daily minyan.  It’s an invaluable experience, for a few reasons.  It opens me to new tunes for familiar words, and fresh liturgical possibilities.  It also affords a very different perspective from the one I usually experience on the bimah; I enjoy being a congregant instead of the rabbi.  Finally, it helps me to appreciate the vibrant community that we have here at Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel.  I remember that while I can and do learn a great deal from attending other congregations, CABI is home.
 
Under normal circumstances, most of us don’t get this experience of “Jewish tourism” very often.  Vacations can be short and far between, and I understand that going to shul is not necessarily everyone’s highest priority while they are away.  Far too few of us get to experience the joyous array of religious expressions amongst the Jewish people around the world.

But things are different now.  As difficult as the Covid pandemic has been—and will likely continue to be—and as much as we miss being together in physical community, there is a silver lining.  Far more congregations than ever, across the non-Orthodox world, are streaming their services.  With a simple computer screen, or even a smartphone, you can virtually attend Shabbat services almost everywhere in the United States and Canada, and often overseas as well. 

This July will be an especially good time to take advantage of this opportunity. Instead of offering our usual lay-led services via Zoom, we are encouraging our CABI members to check out Shabbat worship in other synagogues—some similar to our own, and others quite different.  We’re including a list, with links, of congregations that have committed to welcoming our Boise Jewish community to their streaming services.  Of course this list is just a small taste.  You may want to go back and visit a synagogue where you grew up, or got married, or attended at some other time before you moved to Idaho.  Please do—and invite your CABI friends to join you!
 
I am confident you will learn a lot, and nurture both your head and your heart.  Then we’ll be grateful and eager to welcome you back in August!
 
L’shalom—
 
Rabbi Dan

SUGGESTIONS FOR SHABBAT SERVICES IN JULY
 
I have spoken with rabbis and/or executive directors at the following places:

Ikar
Los Angeles
Spirited, traditional-leaning, politically progressive spirited community
Friday nights 6:30-7:15
Saturday Mornings 11:00-12:00
Stream on Ikar’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IKARLosAngeles/
 
Central Synagogue
New York
Large Reform synagogue known for their excellent live stream and dynamic rabbi
Friday nights 4:00 pm
Saturday morning 7:30 am
https://www.centralsynagogue.org/worship/live_streaming
 
North Shore Congregation Israel
Highland Park, Illinois
Friday nights 6:15 
Saturday morning 9:15
https://www.nsci.org/streaming

Temple Adath B’nai Israel
Evansville, Indiana
Warm, lovely midwestern Reform congregation
Friday nights 5:30
Saturday mornings 9:00
https://livestream.com/accounts/7771162

Temple Beth Shalom
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Friday nights 6:30
Saturday Torah study 9:00 am
Saturday Shabbat Morning Service: 10:30
https://www.sftbs.org/
 
Congregation Kol Ami
Vancouver, Washington
About our size, outside Portland, OR
Friday evenings 8:30  Zoom link
Saturday morning Torah study at 10:00 Zoom link
Saturday morning services Zoom link
 
For many more options, here is a big list from the Union for Reform Judaism
URJ List of Congregations Streaming Services

 CABI is excited to introduce Project Zug, an educational partnership between CABI and the Hadar Institute. As part of our new Lifelong Learning initiative, CABI is providing access to 30 online classes through Project Zug for everyone, from b'nai mitzvah to bubbies. These courses are designed to be taken with a partner or a group, known as chavrutah study.  

You choose your classes and create your own chavrutah, or let CABI help you find your study partners.

UPDATE February 12: Classes are forming for Mindfulness, Jewish Parenting, Jewish Social Justice, God Prophecy and Free Will, Vision and Spirit of Leonard Cohen, How to increase Peace in the World and others.  If you are interested in a class and don't have a partner or group, email Beth at school@cabi-boise.org, and we'll help you find one.

Click here for more information and registration.