Minyan M’chadesh is the small group, alternative service at Darchei Noam that prays together every second Shabbat of the month, at 10:00 a.m. in the triple room downstairs. A Minyan is a group of ten, but we can have as many as thirty or more people depending on the program. “M’chadesh” means “renews” in Hebrew, thus we are "the “Minyan that renews": it renews the ways in which we pray, sing and discuss prayer, and the experience renews us as well. The Minyan began meeting in February 2003.
The Minyan's aim is to experience Jewish prayer and service in a small, informal group, to experiment with new ways of prayer and singing and to explore more deeply Jewish themes of interest to the congregation. It is a forum for testing more creative uses of liturgy and music that can be adopted by the main service. In the last year we explored the theme of blessings in our liturgy and tradition. We created the Minyan M’chadesh Book of Blessings, a collection of blessings requested by members of the congregations for occasions for which no blessings were found. The blessings are available for downloading off the Darchei Noam website, from the Minyan M’chadesh site. In the coming year we will focus on Jewish prayer songs. Our year’s schedule is available on the Darchei Noam website, under Services and Minyan M’chadesh.
The Minyan is led by volunteering congregants, and all are welcome to contribute, expert or not. The Minyan is open to all.
We start with the morning blessings, and pray the Shema and the Amida. We stop to ask and answer questions about the prayers and reflect on prayers content. Then we address the prepared theme for Shabbat – this year will include a lot of Prayer Songs learning and singing . Finally, we join the main service, during or after the Torah/Haftorah service. Of course, we join the rest of the congregation for our kiddush lunch.
Please contact Shirley Segev at shirley.segev@sympatico.ca for more information, to provide feedback/comments, or if you would like to participate in leading some aspects of the service. Or, you can always contact the office.
Shalom Ve Lehitra’ot! See you at the Minyan.