The Women's Tefillah (Prayer) and Torah Study Group at Bais Abraham meets the first Shabbat of most months (between our special opening Simchat Torah service and our closing Shavuot services) at 9:00 a.m. in the downstairs auditorium of the synagogue at 6910 Delmar Blvd. in the Loop neighborhood of University City, St. Louis. Our Tefillah Group was founded by a circle of women who want to participate more actively in Shabbat prayer services and Torah study, adhering to halakha (Jewish law) in a traditional Orthodox setting. We feel that a women's prayer group offers unique possibilities for spiritual growth, development of new skills, and the flourishing of a community of women.

In recent years, an increasing number of women's prayer groups have formed in the United States. A Women's Tefillah Group Network has been established. One role of this network is to examine the halakhic issues in women's prayer and suggest guidelines. A central issue is the question of minyan (quorum for prayer). In order for women's tefillah groups to work clearly within a halakhic framework, the accepted practice today is to omit Barekhu, Kedushah and Kaddish, those elements of the traditional service that require a quorum of ten men. For more information, including many halakhic references, see the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance's (JOFA,) website.

You may also notice additions to the service. We will be reciting a Prayer for Agunot, women unable to obtain a get (Jewish divorce). Some years we preceded each section of the Torah reading with a short d'var torah pertaining to that section. In other years there have been more conventional, longer divrei torah. One year we made a study of psalms in the opening part of the service, the Pesukei D'Zimra. We welcome any ideas about ways to enrich our service.

The Tefillah Group has celebrated such simchas as baby naming ceremonies (Simchat HaBat), Bat Mitzvah celebrations and brides' aufrufs. If you do not live within walking distance of the shul, home hospitality is available.

For more information or to participate in Women's Tefillah please contact us. If you are interested in learning how to leyn (chant from the Torah) or lead services please contact us also. We can help. If e-mail is not convenient for you the shul office at 314-721-3030 can put you in touch with us.