What You Don't See: A Look Behind the Scenes of The Shabbat Experience

The Charlotte Jewish News, March 2023

By Peter Levinson

It looks so easy. Just get up in front of The Ruach community once a month for about an hour or so and provide modern Friday night services built on Jewish tradition. But just what does it take to do The Shabbat Experience? Here’s a glimpse of what goes on that you don’t see. Finding a venue — Since The Ruach community has no regular place to gather, we are always searching for suitable locations that are available on a Friday evening. Venues should be convenient and accessible, have room to accommodate all those who attend, plus The Ruach, and have ample parking.

Of course, it must be affordable. Finding these locations is problematic and takes time because there is competition to use them. Lots of research is done and many calls are made before a location is secured. Although the process is time-consuming, we have always been fortunate enough to find a place that works.

Building a service — At its heart, The Shabbat Experience is a Friday night service. It includes Kabbalat Shabbat (Receiving the Sabbath) combined with the evening (ma’ariv) service, which includes Mourner’s Kaddish and a prayer for healing. We begin with a theme for

The Experience that is based on an event or the weekly Torah parasha, or both. (In January, it was International Holocaust Remembrance Day). The Ruach then decides which songs to play that will best fit the service we are doing that month. These are modern songs written by new Jewish artists that are based upon liturgy and convey the essence of traditional prayers. There is one exception: instead of Adon Olam, we find a popular secular song that fits the theme of the evening to end the service. These have included “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” by Nick Lowe, “All You Need is Love,” by The Beatles, “Heroes,” by David Bowie, “Rise Up,” by Andra Day and “Times Like These,” by Foo Fighters. To tie the service together, we find meaningful poetry and readings that will enhance The Experience. Then, using the songs, readings, and a few traditional prayers, we construct the service based on the order of a traditional service.

Getting ready for The Experience — The band gets together once a week for several hours to rehearse. In addition to rehearsals, each band member is expected to know their part before coming to rehearsal. This means they must practice on their own during the week. We work on new music at each rehearsal and refine what we already know. At the last practice before each Experience, the band rehearses the service.

Load in and load out — On the day of The Shabbat Experience, band members must arrive at the venue by 4:30 p.m. to load in and set up their equipment. Everyone is to be ready for sound check at 5 p.m. Sound check usually takes about an hour but can take longer since it is more difficult to balance the sound in some venues than others. Also, at the same time the band equipment is being set up, the live-streaming equipment is set up. After each Experience, it takes approximately an hour to break down the equipment and load it back into our cars. If a service ends at 8 p.m. members of The Ruach usually don’t leave until 9 p.m.

Other details — All of this would be for naught if there was no one at The Experiences. To keep people informed, an email communication is prepared and sent out at least once a week. In addition to the emails, updates about The Ruach and upcoming Experiences are put out on Facebook and Instagram. And to keep everyone feeling safe and secure, off-duty CMPD officers need to be hired for each Experience.

As you can see, a lot goes into each of The Shabbat Experiences. And it is all done by volunteers and supported by voluntary contributions. Rabbi Rachel Smookler, band members, and support crew all donate their time and talents. Each of us is passionate about our Judaism and providing a spiritual and meaningful Shabbat Experience that is understandable and relatable.To keep up with The Ruach Community and upcoming Experiences, subscribe to our distribution list by sending an email to the.ruach.band@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.