When congregants at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton say their synagogue rocks, they’re not just using a figure of speech.

In keeping with a long tradition in Reform synagogues utilizing contemporary style music in its Shabbat services, the 60-year-old Newton temple has members tapping their toes in rhythm to the soft sounds of jazz and the rhythmic beats of rock.

When Rabbi Keith Stern, 69, closes his eyes and sings what he calls the “Mi Chamocha Blues,” turning the prayer that thanks God for redeeming the Jews from Egypt into a musical tour de force, one realizes this is not like most Friday night services.

A four-piece jazz quartet led by Jamie Saltman, a professional musician and longtime congregation member, slowly introduces the prayer with an introduction on the piano. The three other musicians join in and they play a succession of simple chords, waiting for the rabbi to start singing.

The musicians accompany Stern during the soulful prayer and then, as Stern finishes and slowly moves away from the Bima, they repeat the same chord changes and groove, using that as a basis for improvisation as they play on by themselves for a few minutes.

Temple Beth Avodah, a nearly 400-family-member congregation, has been conducting jazz Shabbats since 2012, offering them about once every six weeks, alternating with rock Shabbats that began last year with the hiring of 29-year-old Cantorial Leader Emma Rehfeld.

“Music is a spiritual idiom for me,” said the rabbi. “Ultimately, for me, it is the highest degree of spiritual elevation and inspiration. During a jazz Shabbat, there is a very deep sense grounded in the tradition and a real sense of transcendence.”

A lifelong jazz aficionado, he calls the music “the soundtrack of my life.” And when Saltman first arranged some well-known liturgical pieces into jazz structures that were still recognizable, Stern said “It was mind-blowing.”

The objective from the start, Saltman said, was to take “the music that was the most familiar to our congregation and keep the melodies the same so that the congregation could sing along and participate. But change the harmonies and rhythmic groovers into more of a jazz idiom.”

The jazz and rock services are clearly hitting a high note with the congregation, as participation in the Friday night services doubles (and sometimes triples) and is attracting a more diverse group of members, according to the rabbi. Visitors from other congregations are not unusual.

“I was skeptical when Rabbi Stern announced his jazz Shabbat experiment,” admitted Bonnie Millender, a member for 54 years and a former temple president.

“But it was fascinating to hear familiar prayers and melodies transformed into jazz. It enhanced the spiritual quality of the music and made the Shabbat experience more relevant and meaningful for the entire congregation.”

Harvey Weiner, also a past president of the temple and former national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A., called the jazz Shabbats “a true spiritual gift [that] resonates in my being. The combination of jazz and Judaism touches my soul.”

His comments were echoed by current president Carole Rodenstein, who said she feels “energized and spiritually moved by the music. It flows through me and fills my soul.”

While Beth Avodah is not the only synagogue in the country conducting jazz and rock shabbats, it is the only one known to offer them on a regular basis. Truro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., for example, has conducted jazz Shabbats but they are designed to coincide with the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

Fusing jazz and Judaism has a distinguished history. Notable Jewish musicians and composers, such as George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, were influenced by jazz and incorporated elements of the music into their work.

Last year, when Rehfeld was named cantorial leader at Beth Avodah, she suggested to Stern and Saltman that they consider building on the Temple’s musical traditions by putting together a rock Shabbat, using the strong beats of rock music and add a new twist – not the Chubby Checkers kind – to traditional prayers.

“We take melodies that everybody already knows, and we put a drum beat on it and add some instruments. It elevates the texture of the song,” she explained. “A lot of members find it really engaging. They love the music and think it’s cool that we’re doing beats they can recognize.

“People really get into the music. You can see their heads nodding or their body shaking and even some are crying. It means that the music has somehow touched people in a way that’s meaningful to them,” Rehfeld said.

She’ll often select songs that connect with the rabbi’s sermon. Recently, after Stern talked about the war in Israel, Rehfeld selected “Kumi Lach,” a song about spring and “this wish that there is rebirth from what seems to be a desolate moment in time.”

What’s next? Rehfeld, who started song-leading professionally while still a teenager in St. Louis, said she is considering adding “L’cha Dodi,” the prayer that welcomes the Sabbath, in the melody of the Beatles’ hit “All You Need is Love” in the future. Θ