Overview of the Evening Service
The Evening Service, called Ma’ariv (also called Arvit or spelled Maariv), is slightly longer than the Afternoon Service.
It features the Bar’khu call to prayer, the full Sh’ma with two introductory blessings and two concluding blessings, the Amidah, the Full Kaddish, the Aleinu hymn, and the Mourner’s Kaddish.
The Amidah is never repeated during the Evening Service.
Every day of the year, the Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Services follow some variation of the order of prayers outlined above. Thus, it is possible for any Jew from any community to walk into a service in any synagogue that maintains a traditional prayer service and be able to follow along and to participate fully.
Adapted with permission from The Observant Life.
Authors
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Rabbi Dr. Karen G Reiss Medwed, is Teaching Professor emerita at Northeastern University. She serves as Interim Vice Provost, Academic Affairs and Initiatives for HUC-JIR. Dr. Reiss Medwed's scholarship includes digital education, higher education leadership, and faith-based education. Dr. Reiss Medwed was ordained by JTS in 1995, and earned her Ph.D. from New York University's Steinhardt School of Education in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning with a specialization in Jewish education in 2005.
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The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews distills a century of thoughtful inquiry into the most profound of all Jewish questions: how to suffuse life with timeless values, how to remain loyal to the covenant that binds the Jewish people and the God of Israel, and how to embrace the law while retaining an abiding sense of fidelity to one’s own moral path in life. Written in a multiplicity of voices inspired by a common vision, the authors of The Observant Life explain what it means in the ultimate sense to live a Jewish life, and to live it honestly, morally, and purposefully. The work is a comprehensive guide to life in the 21st Century. Chapters on Jewish rituals including prayer, holiday, life cycle events and Jewish ethics such as citizenship, slander, taxes, wills, the courts, the work place and so much more.
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