Tefillah 015

11:
As we have seen, the original intention of the sages who crafted our prayer rituals a few millennia ago was that we should recite our prayers in a mood which was not only devout but also as serene as possible. Instead of a sudden transfer from the hustle and bustle of everyday life straight into the Shema and the Amidah they instituted a buffer: for a while before beginning our prayers we should 'get into the mood' by reciting psalms and similar passages of praise – P^esuké d^eZimra. In earlier times, apparently, people had more time available for their devotions (or perhaps there were less distractions). At any rate, people were able to spend quite some time at this 'quiet hour of contemplation'.

12:
The prayer rituals which are so familiar to us today reflect the way things were done in that huge centre of world Jewry, Babylon (Iraq) about 1500 years ago. The Ge'onim in Sura, Pumbedita, Naresh and Mata Meĥasya etc, laid down the ground rules for how the prayers were to be recited and to no small extent what their verbal content should be. For reasons of historical reality it was the Babylonian 'mode' of worship that swept the Jewish world. However, in Eretz-Israel the development of the prayer rituals took a slightly different route. The texts through which the Shema and the Amidah were recited were considerably more compact than the Babylonian version which we have inherited. But P^esuké d^eZimra was much, much more elaborate. On a Shabbat or festival morning the worshippers in Eretz-Israel would recite all the last thirty-one (!) psalms in the psalter; each one of these would be accompanied by some introductory prayers or verses; and afterwards they would recite the Ten Commandments [Deuteronomy 5:1-19] and the Song at the Sea [Exodus 14:30-15:18]. (The prayer traditions of Eretz-Israel died out about 1000 years ago.)

13:
So we can see that however long we might think the Babylonian format of P^esuké d^eZimra might be – the one we use today – it is, in fact, much shorter than it could have been! Nevertheless, for most modern worshippers it seems to be too long and, as we have noted in previous shiurim, in many Conservative congregations it is even further curtailed – which is a pity. The result is that P^esuké d^eZimra is recited at breakneck speed so that we can reach the Shema and the Amidah before the 'average' worshipper may be presumed to have been bored stiff. What does the modern worshipper do who really does want to spend this 'pre-service' segment in a quiet and contemplative mood? The answer – not mine, but that of the poskim [decisors] – is to skip whatever you don't have time to read; and what you do read to read very slowly and carefully "as if counting gold".

14:
When the service is recited so fast that a selection must be made by the contemplative worshipper there are elements of P^esuké d^eZimra that must be recited. They are:

1. Barukh She'Amar [Sim Shalom, page 83; Va'ani Tefillati, page 36];
2. Ashré (Psalm 145) [Sim Shalom, page 96; Va'ani Tefillati, page 49];
3. Nishmat [Sim Shalom, page 104; Va'ani Tefillati, page 325]. As we shall see this latter segment must include the concluding benediction Yishtabaĥ [Sim Shalom, page 106; Va'ani Tefillati, page 328].

15:
Of course, if time allows we should include as many of the other psalms as we can without rushing. In a future shiur we shall briefly mention each of the psalms, so it should eventually be possible for you to select those extra psalms whose content and message particularly appeal to you. It is possible that one day the congregation will recite all these psalms slowly enough for you to be able to read them all at a liesurely pace.

16:
But what if I arrive late? Well, most people do. Here there is a hierarchy of options and one must select the option that most fits the situation. What does the latecomer do? First of all make a note of which point the service has reached. If you think that you can recite a curtailed version of P^esuké d^eZimra so as to be able to conclude that section together with the congregation then that is the preferred option. If you have arrived at a point in the service where you could reach the end of the Reading of the Shema together with the congregation if you omit P^esuké d^eZimra all together then that is the next option. If you have arrived so late that the congregation is about to begin the Amidah or even its repetition then jettison everything that comes before and start joining in with the Amidah; for this is public worship par excellence – which is what you have come for. We shall deal with the Shema and the Amidah in great detail at the appropriate point in our study, including what to do if you missed out on them.

17:
In our next shiur we shall briefly examine the various elements that constitute P^esuké d^eZimra

I have received several more messages concerning prayer-book translations. I am very grateful indeed for these insights. However, I shall not post them here since I think that all has already been said about this that needs to be said.

In Tefillah 012 I mentioned a personal "do-it-yourself" emendation that I had introduced into Alenu: Lately I have replaced this whole sentence with a quotation from the prophet [Micah 4:5]: For every people walks each in the name its own god, and we shall walk in the name of The Lord our God for ever. Arnie Kuzmack disapproves. He writes:

This implies that it was a Conservative innovation to omit the first part of the sentence. As we know, the omission was made under pressure from the civil authorities, beginning around the 15th century, long before there was anything like Conservative Judaism. I am also not sure I like the change. It seems to imply that all other religions are as valid as ours. One could take this position, but it is certainly a radical change. Also, with this change, the "flow" of the prayer is disturbed. The present flow is: it is our duty to praise Hashem, who really is the Creator of the universe, unlike the false gods that other people worship. But we hope for the day when all people will worship the one true God. We begin with the particularistic and end with the universal. But if you make the change you've suggested, the premise no longer applies, so neither does the conclusion.

I respond:

I think that Arnie is referring to the intervention of the Prussian government in this matter in the 18th century, but his point is well taken. But Conservative Judaism has certainly adopted the omission whereas most modern Israeli prayer books have restored it. As far as my own 'innovation' is concerned: I have a different reading of the words of the prophet. I think that what Micah is saying is that 'even though all the other peoples of the earth each follows its own gods, nevertheless we will follow the true God "for it is He who stretched forth the heavens" etc.