Tefillah 062

87:
We now come to the fifth of the seven benedictions which comprise the Amidah for Shabbat morning (and, indeed, for all the Shabbat Amidot). This benediction is known in the terminology of the sages as Avodah, which means 'worship'. 'Worship', in this context, originally meant the sacrificial ritual that was observed in the Bet Mikdash. Obviously, when the Bet Mikdash was destroyed, in the year 70 CE, 1937 years ago, that form of worship ceased and the 'worship' indicated in the Avodah benediction was the ritual of synagogue and prayer.

88:
The basic theme of this benediction is a plea that the way in which we worship God be acceptable to the Deity. In the traditional version of this benediction there is still reference to the sacrificial cult: the worshipper begs God to

Needless to say that most modern Conservative prayer-books modify this text in one way or another.

89:
The removal of the emphasis of the benediction from a plea to accept the sacrificial cult to a more general request that God accept Israel's worship brought in its wake a complete change in the wording of the concluding b^erakhah of this benediction. In its present form it praises God who will (eventually) restore His Divine Presence (Shekhinah) to Zion (i.e. to the Bet Mikdash in Jerusalem). However, the original wording was different and it praised God "Whom we worship in reverence". This wording was standard in the ancient ritual of Eretz-Israel until it disappeared at the end of the middle ages. This wording has also been preserved in the Ashkenazi rite to this day for occasions when it will be followed by the benediction by the priests. (By tradition, in the diaspora this is only done on festive days; in Israel, where the priestly benediction is standard practice daily, even the Ashkenazi rite retains the modified wording which praises God "Who will restore His Shekhinah to Zion".)

90:
The fact that the Ashkenazi rite (which is the rite used in the overwhelming majority of Conservative congregations all over the world) has preserved a text from the ancient ritual of Eretz-Israel should not surprise us. The "founding fathers" of the original Ashkenazi congregations in Europe had come from – or were descended from people who had come from – Eretz-Israel. The great Jewish revolt against the Romans which came to its inevitable and disastrous conclusion in the year 70 CE did not only involve an enormous number of fatal casualties for the Jews: it also involved the forced deportation of huge numbers of 'prisoners of war' to Italy where they were sold on the slave market. This tragic scenario was played out once more when, in the year 135 CE, the second revolt against the Romans ended even more disastrously than the first, and so many Jewish men were deported to Italy that for several decades it was difficult for women in Eretz-Israel to find a husband.

91:
The Roman army was a ferocious war machine, but in civil life the Roman people were quite liberal in their views. After a while it became apparent to those families who had bought Jewish slaves that these slaves were more of a liability than an asset. The Jews "spend one seventh of their lives doing nothing" (to quote one Roman satirist): their religion forbade them to do any servile work on the Sabbath day – and the Romans were used to various peoples having their quaint religious customs which they usually respected. Furthermore, the Jewish slave would not eat the same food as the rest of the household slaves – again because their religion so demanded. Thus, quite soon, the Romans began to give their Jewish slaves their freedom because they were an economic and a social liability.

92:
More often than not the Jewish freedman would seek his fortune by peddling trinkets to the soldiers in the great Roman encampments in northern Italy. These Jewish peddlers began to follow the Roman legions into the European heartland and gradually settled down wherever there was a substantial and permanent Roman camp. Thus were created the first Jewish communities along the river Rhine, the Danube, and into the centre of Gaul (France). Obviously, these congregations brought with them from Eretz-Israel their prayer-ritual, which slowly developed into the Ashkenazi rite which we know today.

93:
The fifth benediction presents a problem for the vast majority of modern Conservative Jews, who find themselves in varying degrees of discomfort when faced with a prayer which implies the restoration of the sacrificial cult. Siddur Sim Shalom [page 118 at the top] takes a very conservative way out of this dilemma. The Hebrew text of this benediction remains almost unchanged: while there is a plea for the restoration of the cult of the Bet Mikdash the actual reference to 'fire-offerings' has been removed. However, the English (mis)translation asks God to 'restore worship to your sanctuary', leaving the nature of the worship vague and undefined. Siddur Va'ani Tefillati [page 348 at the top] takes this a stage further. It accepts that we cannot know the nature of the ritual which will prevail in a rebuiilt Temple. As Moses said to Pharaoh:

Thus in Siddur Va'ani Tefillati the Hebrew text is modified by the removal of the definite article and the Hebrew text reads, in English translation:

94:
I am well aware that for many of the participants in this study group the issue of the rebuilding of the Bet Mikdash and the restoration of the cultus is a very important topic which should be investigated thoroughly. I beg your patience, however: please let us have the needed thorough investigation when we come to deal with the Musaf (Additional) service, much later on. In the mean time, if you have questions or comments on this topic please send them to me (the address is in the blurb at the end of every shiur): I shall either relate to them in our next shiur or save them for when we reach the Musaf Amidah.

To be continued.