For one Shabbat out of the year, attendees at Temple Beth Torah aren’t dressed in typical Friday night attire. They’re wearing shorts.

Shabbat in Shorts has been a summer tradition at the Chantilly Reform synagogue since before Rabbi Lauren Laird began there as a cantorial soloist more than a decade ago. This year, the “casual summer service” falls on July 17.

“I try to make it a bit reminiscent of summer camp, bringing back some of the summer camp melodies, putting the chairs [into] a circle so we’re all together,” Laird said. “I’ll ask volunteers to read or we’ll just read the English together.”

The rabbi typically tries to incorporate more music into the special service.

“My goal is to have the community involved, … so that we’re singing together, we’re reading together,” Laird said. “If you transplanted the service to a Jewish summer camp, it would fit right in.”

A fixture of Shabbat in Shorts is some kind of cold treat for the 20 to 30 attendees.

“This year, the rumor is it might be ice cream cake,” Laird said. “That would be exciting. We haven’t done that before.”

The relaxed attire is fitting for the season, especially with mid-July temperatures.

“It’s just a nice time,” Laird said. “The idea being it’s summer, nobody wants to get all dressed up and go in the heat to do things, so we [begin the service] a little bit earlier, a little more casual, and then you still have plenty of time to enjoy your night after that.”

Shabbat in Shorts is an opportunity to better get to know the Temple Beth Torah community, according to Laird.

“I make our services really accessible to everyone, whether they practice their Judaism daily or want to get a little more Jewishness in their lives or may be in interfaith relationships,” Laird said. “For example, not everybody is going to know the songs, so I often repeat them or try to teach them as we go through, so that everybody feels that they can participate.”

Originally, this special Shabbat was held outdoors, but post-Oct. 7 security and extreme heat both moved the service inside. Its family-friendly nature remains the same regardless of location.

“My favorite part is that there’s an atmosphere of fun and excitement of getting together, because it’s been a few weeks since we’ve had services [and] it’s been over a month since religious school was done,” Laird said. “People come together like, ‘Hey, it’s great to see you again.’ [There’s] just an air of joy and love.”

Temple Beth Torah serves about 60 member families, and Laird hopes that number will grow.

“We are small but mighty,” she said. “We don’t seek to be a huge congregation with hundreds and hundreds, but some more [members] would be nice.”

Laird spoke to the many opportunities and ways people can join the community, including a volunteer membership.

Young professionals have the option to volunteer with the temple’s religious school in exchange for membership “because we know it can be very difficult, especially right out of college, to afford memberships,” Laird said.

The Temple Beth Torah community will soon see an increase in programming.

The shul recently received a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, which will be used to host Shabbat dinners throughout the fall and more social activities outside of services.

Laird said she hopes to foster inclusivity, which is why Shabbat in Shorts is open to the community, not just members of the synagogue.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to make Temple Beth Torah a place where everyone is seen for who they are, and a place that people feel so comfortable that they describe it as coming home,” Laird said.

She added that this comfortability is something the community has seen over the past several years at the shul, especially among the younger millennials and older Generation Z.

“We really are a place where people can come to make sense of what’s going on in the world around them and find a spiritual home that allows them to be themselves while experiencing the community — that sense of being a part of the Jewish community without expectations,” Laird said.

zbell@midatlanticmedia.com