Last month, I attended Erev Shabbat services at a Synagogue located approximately 30 minutes away from my home. They were two Friday Erev Shabbat services where the congregation meets to praise God and later engage in chatting while eating cookies and taking drinks. During the worship service, the prayer leader directed the congregation on where to sit as well as give direction on when we needed to stand. During the Erev Shabbat services, standing is not obligatory. Those people who were not able to stand were allowed to remain seated during the entire ceremony.
We spent the largest part of the service singing in Hebrew. The Rabbi talked very infrequently. Then, we had a sermon led by the Rabbi before continuing with the singing. At the beginning of the service, there was a candle-lighting by women. After the lighting of the two candles, everyone turns towards the entrance to say a prayer in Hebrew as they welcome Shabbat, God's bride. There was a goblet of wine that the Rabbi took a sip of at the beginning with more prayers, and at the very end of service, everyone held shoulders and prayed over a loaf of bread. I thought it interesting that they had wine and bread in their service when I thought that was a Christian/Catholic thing representing Jesus's body and blood. I asked the Rabbi what the significance of the bread and wine was to them, and he said the bread was a traditional staple food, and wine was always used when sanctifying something.
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Experience
When I attended the service, I realize that the Jewish were very traditional. The reform synagogues allow men and women to do most roles equally. Also, becoming a rabbi which the Orthodox Synagogue does not allow as the orthodox synagogues are very traditional. My experience during the service was similar to what I had previously read from online sources. Jewish belief in the existence of a single God to whom they pray during the services.
Additionally, I learned that the stereotypes that have been put in place by people are wrong. Before researching and attending the services, I thought that women and men were treated differently, especially concerning performing religious activities. I also expected to meet the three denominations of the Jewish religion.
Nonetheless, this was not the case. Although I knew of the denominations, it was not easy to pinpoint and identify them. Besides, since Jews are Jewish both in blood and culture, I went to the service with expectations for some level of bias and reluctant to relate with non-Jewish. It was quite the contrary, as I did have a pleasant experience. We were all allowed to take part in the service irrespective of our culture. I received kindness from the girl who sat near me during the reading. She helped me find the text during the ceremony. They are wholly inclusive in their Erev Shabbat services.
I had a preconceived notion for some reason that the Rabbi would be older than he was. I told the Rabbi that, and he laughed and said all Rabbis had to start somewhere. As a Catholic, I found it oddly similar but in a much more casual way to a Catholic Mass, minus the Holy Eucharist. They had readings from the Torah, and they sang a lot. I was not sure what I was expecting, though I was not expecting such a small room.
Being a Minority
Deciding to accompany my Jewish friend to the Erev Shabbat was a bit thrilling. The fact that I was not a Jewish made me feel uncomfortable and a bit nervous about the entire idea. I was not sure of how they were likely to treat me being an outsider. Fortunately, I had a good experience with the Jewish. There was at no point when they made me feel alienated from the group because I was not a Jew. Everyone seemed so friendly hence engaging in constant interactions.
Additionally, despite feeling like I was an intruder, they all made me feel comfortable and part of them. For instance, during the readings, I could not locate the book. Therefore, the girl seated next to me was kind enough to help me find it and ensure that I moved at the same pace as others. Being the first time as a part of a completely different religion and participating in various religious activities like singing, I enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed following the directions of the leader who gave us instructions on when to stand, bow, sing, and even sit.
During the chatting moment that comes shortly after the Erev Shabbat, I got to make a new Jewish friend. Everyone seemed quite welcoming while asking me to return to the Synagogue the next week. By the time I was leaving the congregation for home, I was feeling like a completely different person. The enthusiasm and systematic way of praying appealed to me to the point of wishing to be a Jew. It was so much fun being part of the service, mainly because it was a new experience for me.
Beliefs and Values
Fundamentally, Jews believe in only one God who is the source of everything on each and in heaven. They emphasize the need for having a relationship with God through the keeping of his laws. During the service, the Rabbi led the congregation in reading the Torah, which contains the holy words of God. Torah is the guiding book among the Jewish people. Usually, people are required to stand during the readings as a way of showing respect for the word of God. They seek to ensure and uphold holiness in all aspects of their lives ( Fairchild, 2010) .
Besides, Judaism is a community religion in that they believe in being the chosen people of God to set an example to others through holiness and being ethical. In the prayer books, they referred to the congregation as "we" and "our" as opposed to "I" and "mine." They live as a community in that they have several prayers services that tend to bring them together as a religion. Even prayers they were conducted in unison.
They are tremendous in a family; it is a crucial aspect of their lives. Usually, religious customs among Jews tend to revolve around the home ( Fairchild, 2010) . For instance, they always celebrate the Sabbath meals during which the family members join together to welcome the special day. They have a huge school and offer Hebrew classes, which they find extremely important to teach their youth. Most of the time, the prayers and other readings were made in the Hebrew language. The Rabbi made an emphasis on how important education was to the Jewish population as a whole.
Cultural Background
Even though my Maternal Grandfather’s side of the family is ethnically Jewish, I was raised in a completely different culture of German militant household. Here, people do not express emotions unless they are happy. People only smile to be nice. The smile on my face enabled me to remain warm and friendly to those that came in contact with me. Spending time with my maternal grandfather helped me develop knowledge to read Hebrew. Therefore, I did not have much problem when it came to reading and reciting prayers during the service. Moreover, I have never had a real problem being around strangers in my entire childhood. My little knowledge facilitated talks and interactions with the Jews during and after the service.
I wanted to be an Archaeologist, and I love traveling and studying other cultures. I was somehow excited to interact with the Jews and learn their cultural way of life. Besides, I was eager to experience a different culture from one that I was raised in. It was exhilarating for me to learn the beliefs and culture of the people themselves besides what I had learned from the online sources concerning Jews. I always have, even though I was a little nervous at first, being able to get pretty comfortable pretty quickly. It was easy for me to interact and also ask questions regarding the various religious practices. Attending the services got me to understand the significance and reasons behind the meal and drink taken at the end of the services. I got a chance to talk to the Rabbi, whom I always thought was powerful and unapproachable.
Counseling theories
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)is a psychotherapeutic treatment that enables patients to understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behavior. CBT is often used in treating anxiety, depression, addiction, as well as phobias among clients. Among the Jews, there are spiritually integrated frameworks that use religious concepts and sources to counters maladaptive beliefs and cognitive distortion among the Jews ( Rosmarin et al., 2019) . The method is considered short and effective in therapy.
Another theory is the real theory of counseling, which emphasizes problem-solving and making well-informed decisions to achieve specific decisions like quitting drug abuse ( Flasch & Fulton, 2019) . Like other counselors, Jewish practitioners believe in the importance of working towards resolving a particular challenge. Therefore, they ought to work together, determining what would work for both the patient and the counselor to attain the set goal. The last counseling theory is person-centered, where the patient narrates the problem t the practitioner while the later pay attention and ensure critical analysis of the problem (Cooper et al., 2013). It entails featuring one's self in the other’s challenges before giving the right solution.
Counseling Techniques
Among the popular counseling techniques utilized by Jewish practitioners include Miracle questions. The method entails the practitioner asking the client questions that are supposed to help them envision how the future is likely to change without the challenges ( Oxaal et al., 2020) . The technique helps in goal setting. For awareness, it focuses on creating awareness of thoughts and feelings among clients without judgment. It helps in self-understanding. The last technique is reflective listening, through which the practitioner actively listens to the customer as they relay, they are though, and thinking practitioners help in reconstructing the feeling and thoughts of the client.
Jewish counselors have the same functionality and role as other practitioners worldwide. They focus on eliminating challenges among their patients hence enhancing their wellbeing. In relation to resilience, counselors familiarize themselves with the various counseling theories. Usually, the perception of an issue and problem differs from person to person ( Fairchild , 2010). Therefore, they ought to decide on the most effective strategies depending on their challenges and the effectiveness of the technique. Counselors maintain flexibility through learning on different methods and applying them to different people depending on their responses.
References
Cooper, M., O'Hara, M., Schmid, P. F., & Bohart, A. (Eds.). (2013). The handbook of person-centered psychotherapy and counseling . Macmillan International Higher Education.
Fairchild, E. (2010). An overview of Jewish beliefs and traditions for counselors.
Flasch, P., & Fulton, C. L. (2019). Counseling Jewish Americans: Considerations for Practice. Counseling and Values , 64 (1), 2-19.
Oxaal, I., Pollak, M., & Botz, G. (2020). Jews, antisemitism, and culture in Vienna . Routledge.
Rosmarin, D. H., Bocanegra, E. S., Hoffnung, G., & Appel, M. (2019). Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression Among Orthodox Jews. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice , 26 (4), 676-687.
