Dear
Readers,
These columns began on my area of America Online, called: Judaism
Today: Where Do I Fit? People anonymously
sent me E-Mail, and I began to choose one for a public response
in my Jewish E-Mail of the Week column. The column has become
quite popular and is now syndicated internationally in many
Jewish papers and websites. I hope you find they help you
as you think about the Ethics, Spirituality and Peoplehood
components of the Jewish way of Life. I welcome your
comments... see the end of the column.
Gil
PS
Teachers and others, feel free to copy my columns and forward
them or use them as you see fit. Please see the friendly
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Synagogue
Services
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Dear
Gil,
Thank
you for the opportunity to send you my
comments. Relative to synagogues and
prayer, since so many people are not
positively affected by Hebrew music
and chanting, why don't you suggest to
the people who fall in that camp to
look for a synagogue where English is
the predominant language in the
services and music? And if they can't
find one, (I doubt that they will as I
have seriously searched for one,)
demand it in their own
congregations...better yet, advise
them to start one of their own.
Sincerely
yours,
J.E.
Dear
J.E.,
My
experience from interviewing and
listening to Jews leads me to two
conclusions: First: when it comes to
worshop, prayer and services --
everybody is different. For example I
have heard people say the one thing
they like in the service is the
sermon. I have heard others say they
hate sermons! I have heard the same
opposite sentiments about: choirs, the
Torah reading, organ music, praying as
a group and so on. You get the idea.
Second:
Having said that I have heard a lot
more people tell me they prefer
English over Hebrew -- though I have
certainly heard people say they prefer
Hebrew.
Therefore,
I think your suggestion is a good one,
for people who prefer English they
should seek out that type of service
-- though you note that finding such a
service can be hard or impossible --
depending on where you live.
I
think people should start by
approaching their rabbi and asking for
help to form a small group or chavurah
of like minded souls, if that doesn't
work, as you say, try to create
something new. The former option is
sure a lot easier. Asking the rabbi to
overhaul the service to the likings of
just some people is impossible --
however if the small group starts to
experience success soon they won't be
so small. Then some serious changes
could be easier for the rabbi to
implement.
Now
I can just hear some people saying, my
rabbi would never agree to these kinds
of suggestions. To that I have 3
responses: 1. You must show your rabbi
that you are prepared to roll up your
sleeves and help make your changes
truly successful, 2. If your rabbi is
unreceptive -- find another rabbi, 3,
I think you should be able to find a
rabbi who is open to these ideas, but
if not, take J.E.'s suggestion and
create another congregation
--recognizing that is a big job!
I
want to end on a positive note. There
are many people around the country who
are seriously looking at how to make
their synagogues and services more
meaningful. One organization doing
that is called Synagogue 2000. They
are non-denominational and are
currently working with 16
congregations around the country to
(in their words) "transform
synagogue life from a corporate way
stations where members consume
products like religious education or
high-holiday seats, to spiritual
centers where people come together
beccause they are committed to the
ongoing human task of growing deeper
as they grow up and grow older."
If you want to learn more about them,
there web site is http://www.syn2000.org/.
J.E.,
thanks for your comment!
Gil
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