A Shabbat service is a Jewish religious service that takes place on the Sabbath, which is a weekly holiday that celebrates creation and offers a respite from the hectic pace of the rest of the week. Shabbat begins at sundown on Friday and ends with Havdalah, a short ceremony that separates Shabbat from the rest of the week, on Saturday evening. Many Jewish communities hold Shabbat services on both Friday night and Saturday morning (and sometimes also on Friday afternoon and on Saturday afternoon and evening). Each congregation is autonomous, although many are linked by their denominational affiliation.

Although each Shabbat worship service differs from the others, there are some Shabbat customs, traditions, and practices observed in one form or another in synagogues and Jewish communities throughout the world. A central part of the Shabbat morning service is known as Seder K’riat HaTorah (Service for the Reading of Torah), which includes special prayers and songs that highlight the importance of Torah. Each week, Jews around the world read from the same parashah (portion) of Torah, making the Torah reading one of the key unifiers of time and message in the Jewish world.

Here are some details about Shabbat services from different sources:

• Friday Night Services: Friday night services on Shabbat include both Kabbalat Shabbat, a joyous recitation of psalms, and a Shabbat Maariv, the evening service. Late Friday evening services usually begin at 8:00 or 8:30 P.M. year-round. Kabbalat Shabbat (literally, “Welcoming Shabbat”) was created by the mystics of Safed among whom Rabbi Azikri lived, who believed that Shabbat functions as a foretaste of the ultimate redemption even more than it serves as a day of rest from labor.

• Saturday Morning Services: A typical Shabbat morning service lasts between 2½ and 3 hours, but that can vary based on the congregations pace and the loquaciousness of the rabbi. The central prayer speaks more about revelation, and depicts Shabbat as a central pillar of the commandments revealed to Israel at Mount Sinai.

• Who Participates in the Service: The shaliach tzibbur is the leader of congregational prayers, be it the cantor or another congregant. The shaliach tzibbur must be skilled in traditional musical modes and familiar with the prayers. Any member of the congregation above the age of bar/bat mitzvah who is familiar with the prayers ...