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B'nei Mitzvah Shabbat Service: Suggested Adaptation Guidelines

by Rabbi Edwin C. Goldberg

Temple Judea • Coral Gables, FL

Hopefully in a few months’ time Reform synagogues will begin using Mishkan T’filah (MT) at their Shabbat services which include b’nei mitzvah. In addition to the general issues surrounding using the new siddur, there are concerns specific to using the siddur with b’nei mitzvah conducting the service and with b’nei mitzvah guests attending the service. The concerns are not hard to imagine, but are worth spelling out.

  1. How can a synagogue best prepare the bar/bat mitzvah to use the siddur comfortably and with ease?
  2. How can the congregation—including perhaps more guests than regulars—use thesiddur in a way that will promote participatory worship?

It is my suggestion that the rules of Occam’s razor be applied, in that we should keep the process as simple as possible, while at the same time taking full advantage of the wonderful resources that MT provides. In practical terms this means that, given the newness of thesiddur, and the relatively complicated structure of the two-page spread, it is advisable to employ Shabbat Morning Service II as the “default” bar/bat mitzvah Shabbat morning service. Its linear set up will enable an easier conducting experience on the part of the bar/bat mitzvah and will engender more congregational participation without too many page number announcements.

Another concern deals with the actual siddur that the b’nei mitzvah will use. Ideally, they can have the edition that does not feature transliteration while the rest of the congregation has the transliteration. If there is a large print version of this siddur (i.e., the edition without transliteration), it would be ideal for student use.

As far as the actual service goes, the linear service affords opportunities for Hebrew and English readings in the Sh’ma and Its Blessings and Amidah rubrics that are similar to Gates of Prayer in format, although different in content. Some of the English readings might even be assigned to bar/bat mitzvah family members. The Birkot Hashar and P’sukei D’zimrahsections are new, and of course will most likely be featured only in part. (It is a nice addition to have the Ashrei in the morning).

I plan to use a large edition non-transliterated version of the Shabbat Morning Service II and write in for the students the announcements they will have to make. In general, I see the format similar to the current Gates of Prayer, with the best addition being the transliteration of all prayers for the congregation.

 
 
 
 

Introducing Mishkan T'filah: An Educational Excursion Down Memory Lane

by Rabbi Richard Winer

Congregation Beth Emek • Pleasanton, CA

What do you do with the boxes of old Union Prayer Book s in the attic? Embrace the opportunity!

We at Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton, California eagerly received our shipment ofMishkan T’filah. Many members of our congregation had participated in opportunities to pilot the new prayer book. We were ready to introduce it but remained sensitive to those who either mourned the retirement of Gates of Prayer or who resisted change in general.

With all the various issues of change in mind, we chose three successive Friday evening services to make our transition to the new prayer boo

Week One
We returned to the old Union Prayer Book . With plenty of notice we asked congregants to come dressed appropriately for a service in the 1940’s. Typically a quite informal congregation, we dressed formally and asked members to behave in a far more formal manner than usual. The music of the service was appropriate to the era, and we followed the custom of a Classical Reform service in the Union Prayer Book . The rabbi did not wear a kippah (or rather yarmulke) and called forward “Mrs. David Phillips” to light our Sabbath (not Shabbat) candles. During the sermon we returned to the present in order to discuss the history of Reform liturgy and how it developed into the Union Prayer Book .

Week Two
This was when it was the most difficult to maintain a straight face as we dragged our polyester out of the closets for a worship experience with Gates of Prayer , 1975. While most of us dressed in the more formal attire we remembered from that period, a few chose to bring out the tie-dye and other 70’s accoutrements. Again, the music was chosen to reflect a 70’s service, instrumentation and all. What made the service most difficult was praying directly from the pages of Gates of Prayer . Rather than printing or buying new books, we had been continuously using the 1975 version of Gates of Prayer . We would update the language as we read, though the text remained the same. Returning to the 1975 language in 2008 was challenging since we had trained ourselves so well to add the matriarchs and degenderize the language. Remembering to read the pages of Gates of Prayer as they were written took great concentration.

The sermon continued the exploration of Reform liturgical evolution and the developments that led to the Gates of Prayer .

Week Three
We returned to the present to culminate our three-week retrospective with the newest Reform offering, Mishkan T’filah. Having just reviewed the older prayer books, we chose passages inMishkan T’filah that most closely resembled their antecedents in the previous volumes. While some of the music for Week Three was contemporary, we also chose music that reflected older traditions. It is not difficult to make choices in Mishkan T’filah that closely follow a service from Gates of Prayer . This reminded our congregants that it does not need to feel like such a significant change.

In sum, over the course of the three weeks we examined the history of Reform liturgy, we experienced about a century of it, and we successfully introduced Mishkan T’filah. We enjoyed the experience thoroughly and decided to shelve the old Union Prayer Book s together with theGates of Prayer in order to dust them all off and return to this wonderful, educational experience every few years.