Many Temple members have given me excellent and useful feedback after attending High Holiday services. I am appreciative both for the constructive criticism (I will read out loud more quickly!) and the positive response to remarks I have made.
It is a difficult balancing act to satisfy everyone’s wishes at any one set of services. Is there enough Hebrew or too much? Do you want to be sung to or do you want to sing with? What issues should sermons speak to? Then, there are just room conditions. Is the microphone too loud or too soft? Is the room too hot or too cold? (I can answer that—it’s always too hot!)
In light of receiving feedback, we recently asked a select group of Temple Beth El 10th and 12th graders what they would do if they were in charge of services. They actually took the task quite seriously and their responses show that they understand the value of services and even desire, at times, to have moments of spirituality. Here are some of their responses:
If I were in charge of services, I would…
“Keep services basically the same.”
“Have ten to fifteen minutes of private praying time.”
“Have interactive sermons.”
“Have a big Oneg Shabbat after Rosh Hashana evening services. It would be fun
to see everyone, and it would make the traffic less crowded.”
“Smile a lot.”
“Allow us to eat during services. It would be like bringing a TV dinner in to watch television.”
“Make it kid friendly.”
“Include lots of songs.”
“Make it only 1 ½ hours long.”
“Let more people play instrumental music, either professionals or students.”
“Accept people for who they are.”
“Consider letting me wear jeans.”
“Have a giant hourglass to time the sermon and when all the sand runs out,
the sermon ends immediately.”
Many Temple members have given me excellent and useful feedback after attending High Holiday services. I am appreciative both for the constructive criticism (I will read out loud more quickly!) and the positive response to remarks I have made.
