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 Chanukah Greetings references to miracles and the omission of references to Zion at many points. The introduction is a dog- matic statement, presenting a Dependable Since 1921 misconstruction of the Jewish God idea, the chosen people con- Plumbing — Heating cept, and the belief in national Installations — Alterations redemption. This viewpoint com- Repairs—Commercial, pletely contradicts the religious Industrial, Residential faith of our people. Instead of 15815 LIVERNOIS AVE. the 13 principles of faith, the UN. 2-5500 Siddur presents 13 Wants, im- plying that Judaism has no fix- ■ • _ • Chanukah Greetings PEGGY ANN Mayers Bakery Fine Cakes and Pastries Sam Breisblatt Iw SEASON'S GREETINGS! HOLIDAY GREETINGS • RYAN COAL COMPANY Norwalk Truck Line Co. COAL and COKE 175 So. Campbell VI. 2-1435 1 74 0 0 RYAN ROAD TW. 2-3 5 3 0 :s■ CHANUKAH GREETINGS To all our friends and to all mankind everywhere we extend our sincerest wishes for a joyous holiday. We thank them for their faithful patronage and hope for the privilege of continuing this most pleasant friendship. • Chanukah Greetings :—: BUY VICTORY BONDS :—: • FLOOR COVERING CONTRACTORS 9116 GRAND RIVER AVE. Rugs Carpets Linoleum TYLER 6.1827 TOWNSEND 8.2470 1440 Washington Boulevard 9910 DEXTER BLVD. To. 8.6113 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- itation. This is especially sur- prising since the editors regard themselves as Zionists. 11 Monica Plumbing Heating Co. Exclusive Frocks Ben Bornstein 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- TURNER BROOKS, Inc. I Chanukah Greetings 12028 Dexter 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. 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