Immediately following the bar’chu, while we still standing, we added a second responsive reading in 2010. While the bar’chu calls us to the formal beginning of communal prayer, our “If Not” ritual calls us to the values of our havurah: wisdom from Jewish tradition, a commitment to work with others, and a commitment to our community.

We perform this ritual as a call and response, with the leader calling out the “If” lines and the havurah responding as a group.