Tefillah 080

8:
We have noted how the Musaf (Additional) service became associated with the sacrificial cultus as it was practiced in the Bet Mikdash while it still stood. Before we examine the modern development of this liturgical phenomenon we should perhaps note that this concentration of the Musaf Amidah on the sacrifices that the Torah mandates for all festive or solemn days of the year need not have been the case, and in one case certainly was not. The Mishnah [Rosh ha-Shanah 4:5] describes the Musaf Amidah for Rosh ha-Shanah: the major theme there is the inclusion of special verses for the three subsections of the middle section of that Amidah – the verses for Malkhuyot that describe God's Sovereignty, the verses for Zikhronot which celebrate God's recollections, and the verses for Shofarot which mention the sounding of the Shofar. In the Musaf Amidah for Rosh ha-Shanah to this very day the mention of the sacrifices plays a minor part. (On Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) as well, the concentration on contrition and forgiveness completely overshadows the mention of the sacrifices.)

9:
Most people today find the idea of worshipping God by slaughtering animals and ceremonially incinerating their carcasses to be strange if not repugnant. The orthodox liturgy continues to express the hope and the prayer that "soon, in our days" the Temple will be rebuilt and there Israel's priests shall once again kill the animals that the Torah requires us to kill and offer their carcasses on the altar in Jerusalem. Quite early in the 20th century most Conservative Jews became more and more disquieted about this. Their thinking was (and is) that it is inappropriate to pray for something that one has come to deprecate. However, this disquiet was coupled with another disquiet that was almost just as strong: during the first half of the 20th century Conservative Judaism found it very unnerving to depart from any of the traditional liturgical texts, including that of the Musaf Amidah. This was a litutgical dilemma that demanded a resolution.

10:
The introductory paragraph of the fourth benediction of the Musaf Amidah, Kedushat ha-Yom, used to read:

And there then followed the direct quotation from the Torah which details the additional Sabbath sacrifice:

11:
The resolution of the Conservative dilemma described in #9 above, which dates from many decades ago, was to maintain the traditional text, including the biblical quotation, but, by one minimal change of wording, to remove the whole ceremonial from being a yearning for the future to a remembrance of the past. Thus the introductory paragraph of the fourth benediction of the Musaf Amidah, Kedushat ha-Yom, now read:

12:
However, this emendation was gradually felt to be insufficient. Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals was published in 1998. It offers [Siddur Sim Shalom page 158] a version of the above paragraph which has been further emended and, in addition, an alternative version which removes any mention of the sacrificial cultus at all. The emended version reads as follows:

The colon at the end of the paragraph is followed by the quotation from the Torah. Note that while the sacrificial element remains a memory in this version too, a further emendation has changed the plea for general aliyah to Eretz-Israel to a celebration of God who has now (with the establishment of the State of Israel) made such an aliyah possible (for those who choose to do so). As already mentioned, the paragraph ends with a colon. This is because Siddur Sim Shalom now offers the quotation from Numbers 28:9-10. But the quotation is presented in smaller type, thus, presumably, suggesting that some worshippers may wish to omit it altogether. This omission is presumably based on what Rabbi Yosé was quoted as saying in the previous shiur:

In other words, the details of the sacrifices need not be mentioned.

13:
The alternative version of this prayer offered [Siddur Sim Shalom page 158, beneath the ruled line] reads as follows:

In this version no mention at all is made of sacrifices, either past or future. It is perhaps ironic that the paragraph ends with a (mis)quotation. The original biblical text reads as follows:

14:
Siddur Va'ani Tefillati takes a different tack, and this, God willing, will be the subject of our next shiur.