Tefillah 009

21:
We now turn our attention to the selection of passages for 'compulsory study' that can be found in the Masorti siddur, Va'ani Tefillati.

• The first passage offered is from the Torah: Leviticus 19:1-3; 11-18. All too often it is charged that Judaism is a religion of ritual without 'ethical' content. This selection from the Torah emphasizes correct behaviour towards others: parents, the property of others, honest business dealings, the pursuit of justice, the abhorrence of malicious gossip and so forth. And the selected passage ends with the command that according to Rabbi Akiva is 'the great general rule in the Torah': "You shall love your neighbour as yourself".
• Leviticus 19 is so rich in 'ethical' mitzvot that a second selection is offered from the same source: Leviticus 19:1-3; 30-37. This second selection includes mitzvot such as the duty to venerate the aged, to love the convert, to seek equity in commerce and to pursue justice for all.
• The third passage offered is also from the Torah: Deuteronomy 8:7-10; 11:10-12. This passage celebrates the natural glories of the Land of Israel and is clearly intended to remind the Israeli worshipper of the blessings which the Torah ascribes to the land in which he or she is privileged to live.
• The fourth selection continues this same thought. It starts with a quotation from the Torah: Leviticus 20:22, and it then appends to this an excerpt from the halakhic midrash, Sifra [Kedoshim 10]. These passages remind the Israeli worshipper that according to the Torah and the sages the continued presence of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel is directly dependent on there being a just and moral society.

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• The fifth passage offered is also from the Sifra [Kedoshim 10]. This passage is concerned with the attitude that one should have towards the mitzvot:

(The biblical verse referred to is Leviticus 20:26.)

• Next comes a quotation from the Mishnah [Yevamot 1:4] which describes a series of critical halakhic differences between the schools of Hillel and Shammai and which the adherents of these schools accepted with a show of brotherly understanding: a classical example of religious tolerance and pluralism in action.

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• Next comes a passage from the Gemara [Kiddushin 30b] which emphasizes the duty of showing love and respect towards parents.
• The eighth passage offered for selection is also from the Gemara [Sotah 14a] and is one that was also chosen by the editors of the siddur Sim Shalom. It is concerned with the duty of each person to strive for an 'imitation of God' by observing the laws of acts of kindness towards others.

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• Two last passages are offered. Their subject is Shabbat, so presumably they were included so that the worshipper can select an appropriate item to study on Shabbat morning. The first passage is from the Gemara [Shabbat 118b] and contains the well-known teaching that proper observance of Shabbat is a panacea for all sins and that if Israel were to observe just two Shabbatot properly they would immediately be redeemed.
• The last passage for study which is offered is a bold innovation. It is a quotation from the book "Shabbat" by Rabbi Avraham Yehoshu'a Heschel. In this passage Heschel explains that in order to fully appreciate the joy and sanctity of Shabbat one must forsake the usual things that one does on the other weekdays, avoid commerce and so forth.

22:
In both siddurim – Sim Shalom and Va'ani Tefillati – these passages of 'compulsory study' are concluded with Kaddish de-Rabbanan. This and other additional matters will, God willing, be the subject of our next shiur.

23:
Several participants have written to me asking to make available more of the text of the siddur Va'ani Tefillati. Please click here to access the text as far as the passages we have discussed in today's shiur.

To be continued

In Tefillah 008 I commented that Siddur Sim Shalom includes passages for study which teach the superiority of acts of kindness over the sacrificial cult but also includes passages which call for the restoration of that sacrificial cult. I suggested that this juxtaposition was incongruous.

Michael Lewyn writes:

I don't think there's anything wrong with a little incongruity here: the prayer for the Bet Mikdash reminds us that even if lovingkindness is more important than ritual, ritual too has its place.

I respond:

Of course ritual has its place! Are not our acts of worship a series of rituals? But surely one must exercise discretion regarding rituals: not every ritual that was, is appropriate for the here and now. How many Conservative Jews would really want to see the restoration of the sacrificial cult in which animals are slaughtered as an act or worship? I would imagine that they are rather few.