Gabbai Corps– “Assistants”

The Congregation Beth El Gabbai Corps is a group of lay volunteers who work with bar and bat mitzvah families in preparation for the religious celebration. They serve as an additional resource to the family, augmenting the assistance provided by the rabbi and cantor. Each b’nai mitzvah family is assigned a personal gabbai to guide them through the process of choosing Torah readers, Torah lifters and dressers and ushers who will participate in the Shabbat service. The gabbai also advises the family on the congregation’s ritual observances for the occasion. On the Shabbat of the b’nai mitzvah, the gabbai shares a d’var,teaching, about the day’s Torah portion and then guides the congregation through the Torah service, calling up readers to chant from the scroll. The gabbai also presents the child with gifts from the congregation and the Union of Reform Judaism to honor their passage into Jewish adulthood.

When my nephew was 4 years old he came to visit and sat in services with me. After about an hour he whispered, "Aunt Susan, I can feel G-d here." I smiled, "Me too, Daniel, that's why I come here."
— Susan T