Friday, November 30 1945
,
Page Twenty-Three
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
A MISGUIDED ANDMISLEADING SIDDUR
By RAV TZAIR
It is fortunate for Professor
Mordecai M. Kaplan that a ban
was put on his new Prayer-
I book.
This has given him and
his defenders an opportunity to
flay the fanaticism of his op-
ponents. It has also shifted the
discussion from a consideration
of the merits or demerits of the
Siddur itself.
It is difficult to contribute
anything to this controversy
without being accused of taking
sides. Prof. Kaplan attaches far-
reaching importance to the con-
troveisy and asserts that it
shows that we are not prepared
for self-government. I should
Ilk( to reassure him on this
score and to remind him that
we had many religious struggles
in ancient Palestine which did
not impair our power to govern
ourselves, just as there have
been constant religious conflicts
practically in every self-govern-
/ ing state throughout history.
What concerns us most is that
Prof. Kaplan views the whole
matter as a question of "class
struggle," rather than of reli-
gious differences. He explains
away the opposition of various
Yiddish writers by stating that
the Yiddish press is in the con-
trol of the Orthodox Rabbinate.
He quotes Maimonides to show
that we are addicted to follow-
ing authority blindly. This, how-
. ever, is far from the truth.
There is no doubt that the in-
strument of the ban as such
was unjustified but one cannot
question the religious motives
of the Rabbis who sponsored it.
The main issue at hand is the
Siddur itself and its contents.
Though strongly opposed to the
ban, I feel moved to express
my views on the Siddur itself.
I do so not out of any partisan
bias for I am not a member of
any of the Rabbinical groups.
I consider it scandalous that
a group of younger men in 012
Rabbinate who, except for Dr.
Kaplan, are not known for their
contribution to Jewish learning,
should have dared to make such
radical changes in our prayer-
book. The Siddur is more than
a religious volume; it has deep
national roots and to change it
is to harm the character of our
whole people. If only additional
prayers were inserted it would
be another matter but here we
have a number of fundamental
changes.
To nlutilai e such a beautiful
and time-honored passage as
"Kriath Shema" is both illogi-
cal and irreverent. The removal
of the prayers referring to im-
mortality is a complete depart-
ure from our religious practice.
Maimonides who interpreted this
belief in a spiritual sense found
no fault with those prayers. Ye:,
the compilers failed to remove
consistently all traces of the be-
lief and we find it retained in
various places, and even added
to elsewhere.
Generally speaking, the entire
Siddur gives one the impression
of a job hastily gotten together.
The Mussaf, for example, gives
a distorted view of sacrifice.
The style of the prayers is dif-
ficult even for those well-versed
in Hebrew. Some smack of
Christian influence and others
are borrowed from non-Jewish
sources. Among the glaring con-
tradictions are the retention of
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references to miracles and the
omission of references to Zion
at many points.
The introduction is a dog-
matic statement, presenting a
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plying that Judaism has no fix- ■
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ed with "din" or justice. This
is the same type of thinking
which led to the omission of the
"shofh hamatkha" in the Hag-
gadah.
Another cardinal belief whicli
has no place in the new Siddur
is the principle of national re-
demption. There is not to b,
found here any belief in a Mes-
siah or redemption from the
"galut" but rather a beli:f
individual, personal redemption
corresponding to the Christian
conception of salvation. We fill
to see why as national Rws th
editors could not subscribe at
least to a belief in a national
redemption of the Jewish peo-
ple. For this even the most mod-
ern Jew could pray without hes-
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the "galut" if we deprive our-
selves of any moral purpose or
aim? If there really is nothing
that separates us, from the non-
Jc•s why does the new Siddur
substitute the words "asher ker-
vanu la avodata" for "bahar
banu"? There is really no dif-
ference in the context. We have
a right to retain the chosen
people idea if Only for having
introduced monotheism. There is
certainly nothing in this idea
that smacks of racial superiority.
The same sense of inferiority
that led the compilers to tam-
per with the chosen people idea
probably led them to omit tin:
"ay ha-rahamim," the prayer
for the martyrs in Israel which
contains references to the hope
for revenge. They have failed
to understand that in the Bible
revenge or "nakaham" is equat-
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ed principles. Upon analysis we
find these inadequate and out
of place in a book of prayer.
Some of the Wants are very
general in nature, dealing with
such points as learning how best
to make use of our leisure. Such
a want could just us well serve
as a motto for a business es-
tablishment. Taken as a whole,
they show little depth of thought
and express no attachment to
the hallowed principles of Jew-
ish belief, such as the Sabbath,
the Festivals, and the study of
the Torah.
One of the ideas which has
suffered at the hands of the
compilers is the chosen people
concept. Claiming that it no
longer applies in our time, they
have removed it from our pray-
ers, although inconsistently this
time as well. It must be remem-
bered that this concept runs
through our Bible and that it is
based not merely on the strength
of the recognition of one God
but also on the Covenant which
God made with His people. It is
thus an integral part of our
belief in one God and cannot
be dissociated from it.
The chosen people concept
was retained even by the early
exponents of Reform, though in
modified form. What reason can
we provide for our existence its
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