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Being able to lead the congregation in prayer, believe it or not, is one of the requirements of becoming b’nai mitzvah. In our liberal Jewish communities, we modify this to a few key points in the service: Barchu, Shema, removing Torah from the ark, perhaps kaddish, etc. When we can lead the congregation in prayer, we can support our rabbis, and be an important leader in a congregation. We can also offer this mitzvah at assisted living centers to enhance the lives of the elderly. (I have a secret agenda.) 

As many of you know, I lead services every Friday at Rhoda Goldman Plaza, an assisted living center, and a jewel in our SF Jewish Community. I need someone to cover for me when I will be away on July 26, doing a wedding in LA.  

That got me thinking: It would be great to train some folks to lead a simple 1 hour service, using the stripped down, large print, illustrated siddur that I developed for RGP. Folks could then not only do a mitzvah there at RGP on occasion, but perhaps also for Or Shalom, or for shiva minyanim, etc etc.  One could start by learning a few parts of the service, and then gradually increase the repertoire. 

If this interests you, let me know, as I want to form a class with some on-going support. You are invited to attend my service at RGP any Friday at 3:30 PM at 2180 Post St., to check out what I am talking about. Contact me first for the protocol at 757-645-2507. Nathan Ladyzhensky is planning to be there on July 26 to accompany the service leader. He comes with me about half the time, and is familiar with the routine. Whoever leads the service on that day gets a free copy of my beautiful (IMHO) siddur.