If favorite books are like old friends, prayerbooks are like trusted and beloved family members. We turn to them in joy as well as in sorrow, in wonder and in confusion. While holding the prayerbook in our hands, we talk to God, it helps us find the right words when our own words fail us… It bears witness to the passage of time and to the major events in our lives.
Temple Emanuel has its own prayerbook, Seder Tefilot Emanuel. This wonderful and warm book has inspired generations of TE members – and continues to do so! It began as a loose-leaf collection of prayers in the early TE years, then became a ‘Yellow Prayerbook’ and eventually took shape that we know and love some 20 years ago. It has survived two reprints and has served our community as a truly magnificent tool. In the current edition of the ‘blue prayerbook’ as it is affectionately known, there is an introduction from Rabbi Brieger: “As this second printing appears, I suggest to our members that the time is here to begin thinking about what needs to be addressed for a revised second edition of this prayerbook”. These words were written back in April 1998, almost 13 years ago. Rabbi Brieger’s health and transition have prevented us from pursuing this charge. In the meantime, the Reform Movement has produced a new prayerbook – Mishkan Tefilah, a wonderful liturgical collection that reflects very well both the history of our movement and the traditional structure of Jewish liturgy. It addresses many limitations of its predecessor, the Gates of Prayer, that our own ‘blue prayerbook’ sought to address some 20 years ago.
Last year the ritual committee began a difficult task of discussing how to proceed. The love for our current prayerbook is unquestionable and a thought of replacing it is very hard to bear. Yet we cannot deny that the book in its current form urgently needs a serious update… I was asked to help the committee form its opinion of the new prayerbook and we organized an explanatory service with the few copies of Mishkan Tefilah that we have in our library. It was then decided that we should have similar introductory services conducted for the entire congregation, allowing us all to experience the prayerbook that has become a standard among most reform congregations in America, before trying to make a decision on how to proceed.
Camp Eisner is generously lending us enough copies of Mishkan Tefilah this winter. Over the next few months we will have an opportunity to explore this prayerbook. We will get a chance to flip through the pages, to see what it has to offer and to form our own opinions. A picture may be worth a thousand words, how much more so an experience of a ‘real thing’!
The first explanatory service is planned for February 4th, following a shabbat dinner. There will be more such services planned in March and April. I very much hope that you will be able to attend these services and, together with the Ritual Committee, I look forward to hearing your thoughts, feelings and comments. As we embark on this important, yet challenging journey, may we continue to listen to each other with patience and love, to express ourselves and our thoughts with wisdom and care. May we go from strength to strength.
B’shalom,
Rabbi Farbman.