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About Us

Ohavay Zion Synagogue (OZS for short) is a welcoming and active congregation.  We have events and activities for everyone, as we strive to be a Beit Keneset, Beit Midrash, and Beit Tefilah.

A Beit Keneset is a house of gathering.  OZS opens opportunities for the community to come together:

Kids’ Shabbat is a monthly Friday night get-together and Shabbat service for children, with pizza and play, song and stories. We read wonderful PJ Library books (available for free through the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass), and have a lot of fun.

Youth Shabbat is a monthly Friday night get-together and Shabbat service lead by our students.  Often folks from Stewart Home join us for dinner as well.  It is a terrific time to enjoy a Kabbalat Shabbat service, support our students, and welcome our friends from Stewart Home.

Young OZS-ers is a monthly Friday night get-together and Shabbat service for folks in their 20’s and 30’s.  We join together and hang out over dinner.  Then we enjoy some Jewish learning, exploring together.

OZS Shabbat Dinners are monthly Friday night get-togethers for the whole congregation.  It is wonderful to see our friends and reconnect.  We chat over dinner, and then enjoy a Kabbalat Shabbat service together.

A Beit Midrash is a house of learning.  OZS strives to provide wonderful educational opportunities for our whole community:

Gan Shalom is an incredible preschool.  Known around Lexington for its strong commitment to education, diversity and joy, Gan Shalom provides our youngest children with a warm and safe place to grow and develop.

OZS Religious School provides our children with an excellent Jewish education.  The students have fun as they learn how Judaism can help them become a Mensch (a good person).  They learn about the landscape of Jewish life, and how to pray the traditional Jewish prayers.  When they celebrate their Bat or Bar Mitzvah, they can truly lead and teach a community.  But this is just the beginning, after Bat and Bar Mitzvah students begin more adult learning that continues all the way through High School.  They learn to think critically and wrestle with the Bible, the Talmud, the Mystical tradition, and with their own Jewish identity.  OZS provides a wonderful, fun, and enriching Jewish education for our children.

OZS Adult Education seeks to fulfill our need to learn.  Whether we are learning to make Challahs, enjoying the teachings of the Talmud, discussing the latest Jewish novel at book club, or learning the basics of our Jewish tradition, OZS provides us with fun ways to expand our Jewish knowledge.

A Beit Tefilah is a house of prayer.  Worship at OZS is joyful and connecting.  We sing a lot, and enjoy our traditional prayers.  We have weekday services on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and on Friday mornings.  We have a wonderful variety of services on Friday nights.  And we have our traditional Shabbat prayer and Torah service on Saturday mornings.  Prayer at OZS is a way to connect, both with God and with our community, as we lift our voices in song.