Entering the Mishkan
Sermon, December 21, 2007
Rabbi Bruce Kadden

We Jews are called the “People of the Book,” recognizing the central role that the Torah plays in Jewish life.  But as important as the Torah is for Judaism, there is another book that more closely reflects the heart and soul of the Jewish people:  the siddur.

In his book, Jewish Worship, Abraham Millgram writes, “The religious classic that has been closest to the heart of the Jews is the Jewish book of common prayer, known as the siddur.  The collective experience of the Jewish people was slowly and painstakingly distilled and deposited in the siddur…it is not only a handbook for Jewish prayer, but also a faithful record of Jewish thoughts, ideals, hopes, and anxieties during the many centuries of its growth.”

This evening, as we dedicate Mishkan T’filah and use it for the first time, I want to reflect on the history of the siddur and on its role in Jewish life.  Although the synagogue dates back to at least the first century B.C.E., and the basic order of the liturgy was established by Rabban Gamleil II soon after the destruction of the Second Temple, the siddur as a formal text did not come into existence until the ninth century.

Before that the liturgy was quite fluid; the major rubrics:  The Sh’ma and its blessings and the T’filah were established, but the wording of some of the prayers was left to the discretion of the shaliach tzibur who led the service.

Over time the liturgy became more complex and regional variations developed.  There was confusion about which prayers were required, the wording of certain prayers, and the order in which they were to be recited.  Responding to these challenges, Rabbi Yehuda Gaon in the 8^th century wrote a Responsum (an answer to a question) permitting the shaliach tzibur to use a written text on Yom Kippur, when the liturgy was particularly long and elaborate.

Over the next century it was common for the shaliach tzibur to use a written text, even when leading Shabbat or daily worship.  These texts continue to vary until Rav Amram, the head of the Babylonian academy at Sura, wrote a responsum entitled Seder Tefillot, the Order of the Prayers, which is considered to be the first siddur.

His siddur was primarily directed to the shaliach tzibur, so one of his successors, Rav Saadia Gaon, created a siddur directed to the worshipper, grouping and classifying the prayers and providing an extensive commentary. 

While his siddur primarily reflected Sephardi traditions, it greatly influenced the development of prayerbooks throughout the Jewish world.  In the 11^th century, Rabbi Simcha ben Shmuel, a student of Rashi, produced the Machzor Vitry, which became the official liturgy of French Jewry and the basis of virtually all other Ashkenazi liturgies.

These, of course, were hand-written siddurim.  The first printed siddur was published toward the end of the 15^th century on a secret printing press in Montalban, Spain by Juan de Lucena for the crypto-Jews of the Iberian Peninsula who had to practice Judaism secretly.  Soon, other siddurim were published and, in the 16^th century, siddurim with translations into Italian, Yiddish and Spanish were published.

The first siddur with English translation was published in New York in 1761.  In the middle of the 19^th century Rabbi David Einhorn published Olat Tamid and Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise published Minhag America, both of which were used in Reform congregations through the rest of the century.

In 1895 the Central Conference of American Rabbis published the first official Reform prayerbook:  The Union Prayer Book for Jewish Worship, which remained the prayerbook of Reform Judaism in revised versions until Gates of Prayer was published in 1975.  And now, in 2007, we move from Gates of Prayer to Mishkan T’filah.

The prayerbook’s name comes from Exodus 25:8 where God commands the Israelites to build a portable sanctuary that would accompany them on their wanderings.  “And let them build Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”  As the introduction explains, “Mishkan T’filah is a dwelling place for prayer, one that moves with us wherever we might be physically or spiritually.  It offers the opportunity for God, the individual and community to meet.”

It is distinguished from Gates of Prayer and other prayerbooks in a number of ways:

--the language is gender sensitive throughout, no longer referring to God as “He” or Adonai as “Lord.”  A few language changes are also made in the Hebrew text.

--transliteration appears on the same page of the Hebrew, either across from it or immediately below, to facilitate the participation of those who are not fluent Hebrew readers.

--special attention has been paid to the aesthetics of the page, creating an attractive inviting book.

--footnotes on each page identify the source of the prayer as well as other information which enhances the understanding of the text.

--certain traditional Hebrew phrases have been restored to some prayers, at least as an option.

--it includes many more songs, both in the back of the book and elsewhere, indicating the central place of music in our liturgy.

The siddur is only one part of the worship experience, albeit an important part.  It provides the basic text, the Hebrew prayers and English readings, of the liturgy.  In many ways it sets the tone for our worship and provides the continuity from Shabbat to Shabbat. 

Let us pray that it provides us, as individuals and as a congregation the words to express our hopes and fears, our joys and sorrows.  May it help us worship together as one community and allow each of us to develop and nurture a relationship with the Divine.  May it help us create a meaningful worship experience as we celebrate Shabbat and festivals.

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