Purely Commentary

With all the beauty and inspir-
ation to he found in our Sidur —
the prayer book- and the Mahzor
--the text of prayers for festivals
and holy days, there is neverthe-
less the pressing problem of how
to reach the worshiper, in what
fashion to instill interest and
loyalty in the youth.

icenee of the revised Holy Day
Mahzor. It is not really a revised
prayer books it is as traditional
as one would wish, and the ultra-
Orthodox observer as well as the
reformer in our ranks can use it
with equal ease and with as much
satisfaction as the Conservative
Jewish community.

the listeners leaves much to be
desired. The officiant who ut-
ters the liturgical prayer is in-
deed the only person who pays
a little attention to what he
says. Those present are occupied
with something else.

In order to correct previous fail-
ures, let this be taken seriously'. We
need inspiration, and that can
come only from proper guidance
and direction. If the rabbis who
utilize the new Mahzor will apply
the teachings provided by the new
insertions, the Holy Day services
can become at once more prayer-
ful and at the same time will pro-
vide means for study while recit-
ing liturgy.

Our rabbis have resorted to
First, let it he indicated that
responsive readings, and some
it is typographically superb. It is
prayer hooks have been enriched
readable, and the Rabbinical As-
with selections from important sembly and editor Harlow of the
classics. New trends are to keep
new edition used good judgment
alive the memory of the holo-
in selecting the fine translations
caust tragedies and to hold aloft
by Rabbi Gershon Iladas for this
the glories of Israel redeemed.
work.
In spite of all the courageous ef-
(Adas Shalom worshipers in
forts to elevate the aims of syna-
Detroit will be the first to use
gogual procedures, we remain op-
pressed by the three-day-a-year
this Mahzor on Rosh Hashana
dedications to Jewish loyalties,
and Yom Kipur).
and that limited religious year has
already been reduced to two day-s..--\ The selections chosen for this
in many quarters.
new Mahzor by Rabbi Harlow and
the appropriate spots assigned to
Is the response inevitably nig-
them give this work distinction
gardly, and are we doomed to in-
and earn for it a place of merit in
difference and to shallowness'
liturgical literature.
After the Holy Days of the cur-
Rabbi Harlow had written an
rent year 5732. in the column
essay "On Editing a Prayer Book"
dated Oct 15. 1971 we were crit-
for
Conservative Judaism Maga-
ical of the selections chosen for
zine, and in order to "focus upon
responsive readings and of the
a serious problem in services of
methods used to attract youth to
prayer" he utilized a quotation,
our spiritual treasures. We under-
from
- studies made of cultic prac-
took then to raise some serious
tices among the Ratak and Katchin
e s t io n s regarding blur fi•al
tribes of Sumatra and Burma,"
tet . hinques and the column refer-
which reads:
red t‘, concluded with the follow -

and

Why the almost terrifying in-

difference among our youth?

Upper-class students in one
our suburban high schools
were exchanging views on their

of

lark of desire to participate in
religious services, and in the
course of their discussion one

of the boys commented: "My
dad, like me, doesn't step into

• synagogue. But for the Holy

Days he bought himself a $130
Spica( her synagogue seat."

If community — rabbis, lay-
men, those is responsible posi-
tions don't show more concern
about such a state of affairs—
(some of the youngsters call it
a state of hypocrisy) — we'll
have no one to blame' but our-
sets es.

History seems to have become
a blank right after the Holy
Days. 'The atoning is finished.
the sins pile up anew, and the
Kol Nidre is a mere hymn that
can be listened to as music an%
time of the sear. But our chil -
dren may seek knowledge too
late for proper absorption if we
do not create the practical ap -
proach to them. Is there a mod -
ern prophet among us to offer
a solution?

These questions are as valid to-
as when they were first writ -

In the earlier column referred
to, we took occasion to commend
Rabbi Jules Harlow of the Rab-
binical Assembly (Conservative)
for an excellent Yom Kippur sec-
vice translation he had issued at
that time. The use he had made
of traditional material added to
the Mahzor was cause for our
jubilation.

Now we take occasion to com-
mend Rabbi Harlow and the Rab-

binical Assembly for the magnif

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
2—Frid•y, August 1i, 1972

before the Lord" (Leviticus
16:30). Rabbi Elazar ben Asa-
riah has expounded this verse
in the following way: Yom Ki-
pur brings atonement for trans-
gressions between people and
God (i.e., "before the Lord"),
can
bring
but Yom Kipur
atonement for transgressions
between one person and another
only if the person offended has
first been reconciled.

Properly utilized, there are les-
sons in Hebrew and in history in

There is an impressive lesson
for all mankind not to misjudge
our people, and for our kinsmen
to understand the great values
of our ethical codes in this selec-
tion from Mishna Yoma 8:9:

On Yom Kippur: Whoever
"I shall sin and repent,
and sin again and repent," will
have no opportunity to repent.
Whoever says, "I shall sin and
gain atonement through Yom
Kipur," will gain no atonement
through Yom Kipur, Yom Ki-
pur brings atonement only for
transgressions between people
and God. Atonement for trans-
gressions between one person
and another can be gained only
when the wrong has been righted
and the offended person has
been reconciled. "For on this
day shall He grant you atone-

are recited eith-
er with ceremonial stiffness and
frigid officialism, or they are
gabbled in a purely mechanical
manner. The leader, who utters
the formula, concentrates hii
attention anxiously on the task
of avoiding mistakes, leaving
nothing out, and emphasizing
correctly - every syllable. The
multitude looking on is filled
with pious dread in the presence
of the unintelligible and the my-
sterious, but often ignores what
is happening in an irreverent
manner. . . The attention of

traditions.

the officiant in the liturgy atten-
tive.

711Dr7

There was an interesting news
story a few days ago New York
Times, Aug. 6 under the head-
ing: "Black Catholic Churches Are
Mixing Jazz With Their Tradi-
tional Services." The new Mahzor
is not jazz: it is literature. Be-
sides those whe have quoted there
are selections in the new prayer
book from the writings of Nelly
Sachs (Nobel Prize winner in lit-
erature),
Solomon Ibn Gabirol.
Ray Nahman of Bratslav,
Leo
Baeck, Martin Huber and others.

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says,

The appropriate selections here
can be multiplied a hundred - fold,
and that many times the new
Mahzor contains literary gems to
link us with history and with our

quoting from the explanatory note
offered at the outset, makes only

Turezin

141r1

as it appears in the Harlow-edited
Mahzor:

Of importance is the fact that
there are no banalities in the new
work, that it does not resort to
shallow responsive readings that,

NInveni

77177

one exemplary insertion in the
newly revised Mahzor. Rabbi Har-
low included as a prayer a selec-
tion by the famous Hebrew poet
Fiillel Zeitlin (1871-1943), who
was a martyr of the Jewish people
under Nazism. We reproduce the
Hebrew text and the translation

The 23,000 copies of this Mahzor
already distributed in many Ameri-
can Conservative synagogues will
serve their own purpose as in-
spirers for others.

71;7:::71 77;; -

A typical example is the link-
ing of the lessons of our age in-
termingled with the Radish, and
the challenges of Israel and the
miseries of the Nazi era are
shown, as in the reproduction at
right.

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Let such classics be utilized
properly, under the ablest rab-
binic guidance, and there will be
a greater spirit in praying and a
deeper understanding of the values
of our literary and sacred treas-
ures, as well as an appreciation
of the lessons of history. Then we
shall surely fully appreciate the
able work of Rabbi Jules Harlow
and the Rabbinical Assembly.

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r. great and holy father of all mankind.

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for an instant You

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Emptiness would replace it.

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You route Your child Ow world •ver, lustani.

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day
ten

What, really, are we doing to in-
spire the youth, to restore the
spiritual bonds between home and
synagogue, to gain an appreciation
for the great teachings incorporat-
ed in our heritage?

ment, to cleanse you; of all
your sins you shall be cleansed

Rabbi Harlow has incorporated
into his new text references to the
Holocaust, and to Israel. He has
taken into account the experiences
of martyrs of our own time.

The prayers

By Philip
S ► omovitz

A Mahzor of Great Merit . . . Revisions by Means
of Additions in Rabbinical Assembly's Notable
Work That Utilizes FIlstoric Jewish Literary Gems

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Rut You showt , t Your childrcn
11..ith blessing t . ery moment.

Ono 2 again the morning stars appcar.

SingZng a song of love to You.

Once again tip sun bursts forth,

Singing a song of light to You.

Once again angels sing of holiness to You.
Once again souls sing of yearning to You.

And once again grass sings of longing to You.

On, e again birds sing of joy to You,

Once again orphaned nestlings sing of loneliness to You.

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And once again a brook whispers its prayer.

Once again the afflicted pours out his complaint to You.
Once again his soul-prayer splits Your heavens.

One again he trembles in awe of Your glory
And once again he hopefully awaits You.

One lag of Your light and 1 um

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And I on refr•i4heil with the dew of youth.

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