Ten years after its first lay leaders paved the way for a congregation in Copenhagen, and eight years later in Stockholm, the Progressiv Judendom Stockholm is proud to present its new Siddur – the first Progressive Siddur in Sweden since 1877.
Siddur Kol Haneshama includes Maariv, the Friday evening service, and Shacharit, the Shabbat morning service, an alternative Kabbalat shabbat as well as a section with prayers, blessings and zemirot, shabbat songs, for kabbalat shabbat at home. It also includes Havdala and special prayers as Birchot hashachar and weekday Amidah, as well as spectrum of berachot for special occasions.
The intention has been to make the siddur an open gateway into Jewish tradition and worship, and make it comprehensible also to a newcomer. It differs from previous siddurim by having all texts parallel in Hebrew, transcription and a modern Swedish translation. In the fourth column, readers will find introductory and explanatory comments, and in a final chapter informative texts about the Jewish year, important holidays, celebrating life cycle events, etc.
The progressive character of Siddur Kol Haneshama is manifest not only in its aspiring to be gender neutral (manifold naming of God, the matriarchs on a par with the patriarchs etc) but also in emphasizing the ambiguity in minhag and interpretation.
World Union readers are invited to the Siddur launch shabbaton starting Saturday October 6th, in Stockholm with kabbalat shabbat and a communal pot lock dinner; Shabbat morning services will be followed by a joint kiddush (between Progressiv Judendom and the Masorti (Conservative) minyanim. The preliminary program includes:
Friday at 6 pm: Kabbalat shabbat with Rachel Berkson, Eva Ekselius and with Nathaniel Glasser on guitar. Potlock dinner with discussions after the service.
Saturday at 10 am: Noa Hermele och Avital Shein lead the Shacharit service with Nathaniel Glasser joining on the guitar. Joint kiddush with the people from the Great Synagogue service (masorti).
Saturday at 1 pm: Presentation of the Siddur Kol Haneshama by Eva Ekselius, main editor. Readings, reflections, music etc, with Rachel Berkson, Stefan Rokem and others.
For more details or to RVSP, email Progressiv Judendom directly at: pjsstockholm@gmail.com