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Shabbat Mishpatim 5768 - 2/2/08

Change is tough, arguably necessary – but tough. This week’s Torah portion, mishpatim, is a testament to the challenge of change. Look how many laws are needed in order to guide and transform this recently redeemed group of individuals into a cohesive and functioning community. Last week’s aseret hadibrot, the grand “10 statements/words, or commandments” as we often translate into English, are far from enough to ease this critical transition. This week’s portion offers a litany of detail on how to behave now that the community is no longer in bondage: Laws ranging the gamut from ethical behavior, criminal code, and even dietary custom. Indeed, mishpatim along with last week’s aseret hadibrot mark the Israelites’ first, thorough and organized legal code. Yet, this week’s detailing and continuation of revelation does not make the people instantly ready for what is ahead. As a colleague of mine used to say when teaching nusach, “it is not instant soup!” It takes time. True change and adaptation are rarely instantaneous. Yes, God appears impatient – eager to mediate quick change “"את אֵימָתִי אֲשַלַח לפניך וְהַמֹתי את כּל העם אשר תבא בּהם– throwing terror and panic on all the people whom the Israelites encounter (23:27) – yet, God’s understanding of this need for time and adjustment is revealed clearly, “ "לא אֲגָרֲשֶנוּ מפניך בְּשנה אֶחַת“I will not drive them out in a single year” rather God “drives them out little by little” until they (and perhaps God too) have gotten used to the changes a foot.

Now the Israelites are a trusting folk and agree to naaseh v’nishmah –which has historically been understood, due to the flexibility of the biblical ‘vuv’ between those words, as “we will hear then we will do” (“v” in Biblical Hebrew does not always imply “and”). They agree to change before actually knowing what that change will entail. (Do they have much of a choice? )

Our new siddur, Mishkan Tefillah, perhaps for some feels like a change that is beyond one’s choice – we, na’a-seh v’nishmah, we agreed to this book to a large extent long before we ‘heard’, before we saw the finished product. Perhaps far from the transformative power of Sinai’s revelation, but still this prayer book – the order and detail of our liturgy - and how we use it, does have the power to define us as a community. In addition to being a place of gathering and a place of learning, we are a beit ha-tefillah, a house of worship, and how we pray very much defines us, perhaps in our liberal American world far more than Jewish legal codes.

Last Shabbat eve, Rabbi Meiri began to speak about some of the changes that Mishkan Tefillah represents – specifically with regard to the lack of stage direction – the book no longer tells us when to sit or stand – and of the impact this lack of imposed direction has on our worship. This morning, I’d like to spend a few minutes discussing the change in layout and its impact on our worship.

At first glance - with the abundance of transliteration and its often campy English renderings - this siddur appears to be aimed towards the least educated among us. Certainly the editors of any siddur strive for some level of mass appeal, yet in many ways the layout of this book assumes a significant grounding in liturgical structure. The offerings on each page spread are far from random but rather represent a rubric of the traditional order; moreover, this non-linear layout challenges us to view worship as the highly organized task intended by the siddur’s earliest editors.

Take the Shema u’virchoteha - Shema and her blessings - a small section of prayer that is identified by a taste of Torah, namely the Shema, at its core. Turn w/ me to pg. 106. First, note the separation between the introductory prayers and the Shema and Her Blessing marked by the punctuation of the Chatzi Kaddish which allows for a break between what comes before and what will follow - as with each page spread, we choose one option: either the traditional Hebrew or an English rendering which serves the same function. The Shema u’virchoteha, the Shema rubric itself, opens formally with a call to worship (a call that is repeated when it is time to study Torah in earnest). After all are gathered by this call, three central historical themes are laid out and celebrated through prayer: creation, revelation, and redemption. In our new siddur, each of these themes is presented with multiple options both traditional and non, on one page spread. We choose one - but each is tied intimately to the traditional theme.

How do we know when to turn the page? How do we know where we are?

The page spread format represents a whole new approach to communal prayer. Yes, it is challenging and particularly difficult for newcomers to such an approach, yet at the same time brilliance lies beneath the change. It does require at the very least a modicum of work of avodah - draw us back to that ancient term for worship which implied a significant amount of labor; not a bad thing at all. And, it allows both traditional and modern elements to be easily blended within one service, Hebrew renderings, for instance, can easily be juxtaposed along side Classical Reform English treasures such as “Grant us Peace” or “May the Time Not be Distant.” As Reform Jews our liturgical offerings are rich and varied, this siddur allows that richness to shine through in one seamless service.

Throughout the text appear subtle (and not so subtle) textual changes that will take us all time to adapt to. Some impact the music of our worship such as the addition of val kol yoshvei teivel in Oseh Shalom. A lovely sentiment, central to Reform Judaism’s universalistic strivings, yet frankly difficult to implement with many of the currently popular settings...for example: [sing Hirsch’s] Clunky at best. Other changes are not as easily explained as the editing of our Birkat ha-chodesh prayer that announces the new moon which we will recite this morning. Not only is the Hebrew so significantly altered that music has to be completely reworked, but excised from the text is, at least in my humble opinion, an interesting and compelling historical reference to the need for unity and friendship among Jews, “(מי שעשה נסים לאבותנו וגאל אותם מעבדות לחרות)... הוא יגאל אותנו בקרוב חברים כל ישראל!!" - that was not only needed during the time of conflict when the prayer was written - Jews fought vigorously among themselves over calendar issue - but is certainly needed today.

Could the editors have found another way to include the important value of extending peace to all mankind rather than changing the universally accepted Oseh Shalom? Could they have retained the value of Jewish unity, a value inherent in the Blessing for the New Month that now may be lost forever. Surely. But this is the text the siddur includes, and we - like the many generations before us -- na-a-seh, we will do and we will adapt.

Holy One of blessing,
Your Presence fills creation.
You have enlightened this path
with the wisdom of Torah,
giving it to the Jewish people
as their particular way.
Blessed are You, Merciful One,
who gives this Torah to the Jewish people.

Cantor Silverman