Join Us for Shabbat

Celebrating Shabbat together is one of our community's most precious rituals, and the diversity of our community—our blessedly wide range of ages, family structures, and prayer preferences—calls us to explore and experiment with different types of services and service times. In doing so, we affirm our commitment to a broad-based practice where everyone can find their place in our Shabbat community. Please click here for a full list of our 2025-26 special Shabbatot.

At Congregation BJBE, music is at the heart of our spiritual and communal life. It uplifts, connects, and inspires us. Most importantly, it helps build community. It's how we pray, how we celebrate, how we teach, and how we come together. Through diverse musical styles and collaborative worship, music at BJBE expresses our congregation's commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and Jewish identity. Music is not a performance—it is a shared experience that invites every voice, every age, and every heart to join in. Whether you're a lifelong musician or simply love to sing along, there's a place for you in our vibrant musical community.

Friday Night Shabbat Services

6:00pm or 7:00pm 
Our traditional service format features both lay and professional musicians as well as brief teachings by our clergy. While we gather at 6:00pm most Fridays, we aim to hold one 7:00pm service each month.

P'nei Shabbat
This 6:00pm "Shabbat in the Round" service format allows us to gather in a circle to foster a warm, communal atmosphere in which we can connect deeply with each other and our own spirituality through prayer, music, and shared reflection.

Matzah Ball Shabbat
Geared toward our young learners, we come together at 5:15pm to enjoy matzah ball soup as a community before a 6:00pm, multi-generational Shabbat service featuring Kol Simchah (our youth choir) and a story shared by our clergy.

Saturday Shabbat Services

Kol Shabbat
We hold this 9:30am Saturday morning service in the intimate space of our Chapel and feature Torah readings and professional musicians, interactive prayer and uplifting music.

B'nai Mitzvah Services - Morning & Afternoon 
Celebrate with BJBE teens and their families as they take on the obligation of becoming B'nai Mitzvah. The students co-lead the entire service (alongside our clergy), chant Torah and Haftarah, and deliver inspiring Divrei Torah. 

Family Havdalah - Afternoon
Geared toward our youngest learners and those young at heart, experience Havdalah through a short, multi-sensory service with songs, stories, and special crafts. Bid farewell to Shabbat and usher in the new week with sweetness and light.

Yahrzeit Requests

In the weeks leading up to your loved one's Yahrzeit, you will receive an email with their name and the date of the coordinating Shabbat service at which they will be honored. You may request that their name be read aloud during that service (or during a service on a different date if you are unable to attend the coordinating service) in one of two ways:

• Email our Clergy Assistant Hannah Ciechomski with the name of your loved one and the date of the service you'd like their name read.
• Call the office during business hours at (847) 940-7575.

It is a tradition in Judaism to honor the memory of a loved one thorugh tzedakah, a charitable contribution toward a meaningful cause. To make a contribution to BJBE, please click here.