jewish mamas, i need your help,i am nervous!

[Mimi]

My dads mother is jewish, but my dad never taught me anything. I always felt very jewish,so we keep kosher & live jewish, have for several years now, but i have never been in a synagogue, i lived in germany untill last year, where the nearest synagogue was 4 hours drive away, & now i finally found the courage to call the synagogue & have them put me on the list for friday night.
(i had to give so many details for security reasons,it is scary!)
now i am nervous, what will it be like? what does a service look like? it is a reform synagogue, & i am so scared of making silly mistakes! I mean, i want this, i consider myself jewish, i am so very scared that i make a mistake & lose the chance of this lovely community.
please, jewish mamas, walk me through a friday night service!
<3

[mirlee]

Don't worry about it. You will be just fine. I found this link, http://www.alyth.org.uk/index.php?op...id=96&Itemid=1, which does a better job of describing things than the stuff I deleted. lol.

Is it possible you can schedule a tour or meet with the rabbi some time this week? It might help you feel a bit more comfortable if you can get the lay of the land. Also, check to see if they synagogue has a website. They might have some information for people attending for the first time and new members.

You'll do just fine.

[Mimi]

thank you for the link.
they don't have tours or the possibility to meet the rabbi, for security reasons only authorized people are allowed in. they have a website, but it requires a name & password, which i am assuming they give out once they have met you a few times.
i am not good at talking to people, & i don't even speak a lot of english, what was i thinking. oh my. i am really sort of freaking out at the moment.

[LookMommy!]

I'm sure if you go up to anyone and say nicely, "I'm new here. Can you help me find my way around?" they will be more than happy to help out. Just stand when everyone stands (they will probably bend their knees and bow slighly at some points, but no big deal if you skip it for now) and sit when they sit and you'll be fine. Mumble when they sing, and be quiet during the silent meditations. (Usually Reform congregations are more orderly than Orthodox, so everyone is doing things at the same pace. Orthodox is much more confusing.) Dress nicely - it might be the custom to cover your head, but it is not absolutely necessary. No one should be judging you AT ALL, so concentrate on having a meaningful experience, and don't worry about doing things perfectly "right".

Brucha ha'ba'a (Welcome) to the Jewish community! Lisa

[Mimi]

oh actually i was going to ask if it is alright to cover my head because i do it, & i wasn't sure what the "rules" are.
i think i might find someone to talk to there,to say "i'm new", but then i am really shy,so i don't know. okay. stand when they stand i can do, sit when they sit, too.

[mirlee]

The nice thing about Reform Judaism, is you can cover or not cover. There are no rules on that. You can be as observant or not observant depending on what you feel is right. If you want to cover, go ahead.

[Mommal]

Don't worry for a moment! I grew up attending a Reform synogogue, and at least half the people there were not Jewish, or were Jews for Jesus, or Atheists, or they were Jewish but totally ignorant about Judaism. So if you "make a mistake" for some reason, it's unlikely you will make it alone. If this is a good community, they will welcome you no matter what your background or level of Jewish education.