Religious & Cultural Programming & Services
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TYG Guide 2005 11/1/05 10:01 AM Page 67 CHAPTER 6 RELIGIOUS & CULTURAL PROGRAMMING & SERVICES G od spoke to Moses sa ying, Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of I sra el and say to them: You shall be holy, for holy am I, Adonai, your God . — Leviticus 19:1 TYG Guide 2005 11/1/05 10:01 AM Page 69 THE PHILOSOPHY OF A CREATIVE SERVICE What are prayers? Prayer, with its root in antiquity, grew out of the need for people to turn inward as well as outward to connect with the Divine. Jews also view prayer as a time to gather as a community. There are three basic classifications of prayer: praise, petition and thanksgiv- ing, and these three ingredients always comprise a Jewish worship service through the use of blessings, poetry, singing, and meditation. Are the prayers in a service in any particular order? Yes! We should begin our prayers with a proper frame of mind. We warm up with readings, songs or poems. The Barchu is our official call to worship. The first line of the Barchu is literally a command stated by one person to the entire congregation, and the congregation traditionally only recites the second line. The following prayers—Ma’ariv, Ahavat Olam, Shema, V’ahavta and G’ulah—form a tight unit consisting of Creation, Revelation and Redemption. These are the three ways God interacts with us the world: God set the world into motion and now we are partners with God in the ongo- ing task of Creation; God revealed the Torah to us as Jews and now we must embark upon a life of filled with Torah;; and together, God’s and our actions can usher in a better world. Next, the Jewish people as a community approach God through the Amidah. Originally called HaT’fillah (the prayer), this prayer is the central element of the service. The Amidah consists of three opening prayers: Avot v’Imahot, G’vurot and Kedusha. The Avot v’Imahot acknowledges that God has been and is the shield of Jews throughout the generations; the G’vurot praises God’s power in God’s ability to give life to all creatures, heal the sick, and free the captive. The intermediate blessings of the weekday Amidah are petitionary blessings, asking for various things. On Shabbat, these 13 blessings are replaced with one special Shabbat blessing. The final three blessings are thanking God for our lives, God’s miracles and peace. Each individual Jew has the opportunity to approach God through individual silent prayer. Some congregations use this time for each congregant to complete the Amidah on his or her own. We read the Torah on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Some Reform congregations currently read Torah on Friday nights as well. Sometimes one person gives a D’Var Torah (a word of Torah) or a semonette on the Torah reading, while at other times, the prayer leader may leave a short amount of time for small group text-study. Finally, we conclude our praying by praising God. The Aleinu praises God’s glory for establish- ing the Earth. We conclude with the Mourner’s Kaddish which praises God. We have come full cycle as we end our service with songs and readings. If we solely follow this outline, we will have only done half of what is required of us as Jews. We are required not only to follow the fixed verbal order of prayer (this is known as “kevah”), but we are also required to pray with directed attention (known as “kavanah”). Kevah is the value of having a set body of prayers through which there is a structure to our service. If one were to wait UN I O N F O R RE F O R M JU D A I S M • 67 TYG Guide 2005 11/1/05 10:01 AM Page 70 simply for the spirit to move them, prayer might never happen. Kavanah is the value of not being content with the fixed body, but rather insisting that prayer is meaningless unless accompanied with sincerity, enthusiasm and kavanah. Recognizing the danger that prayer would become a meaningless recital of words, Rabbi Aha said: “A new prayer should be said every day.” To pray with real kavanah is one of the hardest things in the world. Often we get hung up on selecting readings and songs, and we begin to think that these things are what determine the quality of the service. This is not so. It is not so much the words one utters, but that which one puts into the words or tunes or silence that determines whether one has really prayed. “Words without wings are only nonsense syllables, but with proper wings, even the silliest nonsense syllables can be eloquent words.” THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF A SERVICE Many postures and movements accompany prayers. Some are traditional and date back thousands of years, while others are more recent innovations. Jews stand during prayer as others might stand before royalty. It is generally accepted by our tradition that we stand for the Barchu, Hallel (psalms of praise), and the Amidah. Many Reform Jews also rise for the Sh’ma, but it may surprise you to learn that not everyone does—this is because Sh’ma is an affirmation, and not a direct address to God. Our tradition also teaches that one must say the Sh’ma with kavanah. Some Jews close or cover their eyes while saying the first line in order to concentrate better. Amidah literally means “standing up,” and is traditionally considered the most important prayer. It is traditional to bow down on the words “Baruch atah” and stand back up on “Adonai,” during the Avot V’Imahot and Hoda’ah. Bowing is a small-scale simulation of falling to the ground during Temple times to prostrate oneself before God. When bowing, one bends the knees, but rises up at the waist up. Although we bow for “Baruch atah Adonai,” there is no traditional basis for bowing at “elohei Avraham, elohei Yitzhak, v’elohei Yaakov,” etc. During the morning K’dushah, we rise up on our tiptoes three times for “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh.” The Kabbalists were the first to suggest that the triple sanctification of God’s name is an indication that one must reach to God with one’s whole body. It is also an imitation of God’s ministering angels. 68 • UN I O N F O R RE F O R M JU D A I S M TYG Guide 2005 11/1/05 10:01 AM Page 71 Some congregations will then sit and read through the remaining sections of the Amidah together. Others will instruct individuals to pray the rest of the Amidah individually—standing until one has completed the Amidah (at Oseh Shalom). During the Torah service, we rise when the Torah is removed from the Ark, returned to the Ark, and when the Torah is raised for Hagbah and G’lilah, as we dress and prepare to put the Torah away. We sit for the Torah reading, in that it imitates Torah study in which a group might sit in a classroom or in a living room. We stand for the Aleinu. The very words of this prayer tell us what to do: “va-anachnu (and we) korim (bend at the knees) u-mish-tachavim (and bow down) u-modim (and give thanks), (we then raise ourselves back up) lifnay melech mal’chay ha-m’lachim ha-kadosh barchu (before the God of Gods, the Holy One, Blessed be God).” We also stand for the Kaddish Yatom, the Mourner’s Kaddish. Traditionally, only those who are in mourning or who are observing a yahrtzeit stand to recite this prayer. Many Reform Jews today stand in order to not single out the mourners and to say Kaddish for those who do not have someone to say Kaddish for them. When praying, it is important to practice the postures with which you feel most comfortable with. Try both traditional and non-traditional postures in order to decide which ones enhance your personal worship experience. THE PROCESS OF COMPILING A SERVICE MEETING #1 This meeting should include the RCVP, service participants and the Youth Advisor. • Decide on a date for the service (if it is not already decided) and confirm with the Temple staff and clergy. • Announce the service to the rest of the youth group and in the temple bulletin at least one month beforehand. • Once you have the date of your service, make sure you have a songleader and plan the music for the service. • Do you want a thematic service? • Themes give great continuity to the service but can be difficult. • Brainstorm with those interested in helping to compile the service, then once you have a theme—stick with it! • Find readings and songs that reflect your theme (for a creative service). • Remember to choose songs that are known throughout the congregation and that are appro- priate for the service (e.g. don’t choose a song welcoming Shabbat if your service is during the week). Also, remember that this is a worship service, not a performance. This is not always the appropriate place for secular songs. UN I O N F O R RE F O R M JU D A I S M • 69 TYG Guide 2005 11/1/05 10:01 AM Page 72 • Do not substitute readings for important prayers (see service outlines). • Let participants choose parts—encourage everyone to take part in the service.