Workshop #2
Making the Journey from the Gates to the Mishkan
w/ Cantor Chanin Becker-Rosin of Scarsdale Synagogue-Tremont Temple in Scarsdale, NY; Rabbi Edwin Goldberg of Temple Judea in Coral Gables, FL; Diana S. Herman of Temple Emanu-El in Edison, NJ; and Rabbi Sheryl Nosan-Blank of Temple Or Rishon in Orangevale, CA
I was quite eager to attend this workshop as I was recently added to the Ritual Committee at my temple and one of the major things we will be undertaking in coming months is an evaluation of Mishkan T'filah.
So, from my notes:
• it's an opportunity to look at the larger worship picture
• how do you address the differences?
• how do you introduce it appropriately?
• it is important to recognize that we all come w/ our own framework
• do you transition or just jump in and use it?
• offer different opportunities for groups to look at the pages, think and talk through the different options during the service--->get them into the siddur, the prayers, and the thinking
• introduce through chavruta study
• remind people that prayer is about an approach to God, not the book itself
• use familiar melodies to keep people feeling comfortable*
• use niggunim to connect texts
• start out with the linear service option and move to the choices as people become more comfortable with the book
*The example they used was for the morning blessing for the soul (Elohai n'shama....); the cantor (who, by the way, had one of the most striking and rich voices I've ever heard) sang the familiar melody as we either read through the English translation together, then sang along with her, then read the two alternate english readings.
One of the major points brought up is that congregations should probably transition gradually; don't just jump into the new siddur so that you alienate people, but don't resist it just because it is new. I hadn't realized that there were 2 linear services available (Shabbat evening and morning), so I think that will definitely help; the spread format can be difficult to get used to, but after using Mishkan for a number or services at the Biennial I felt quite comfortable with the format. The moderators brought up the point that people will know to turn the page or that the prayer is done because of the final line of Hebrew that comes up (even on the English sections), though I forget the term they used for it.
Someone in the audience asked the question of what do we do with our old siddurim. One of the suggestions was to donate them to a congregation that cannot afford siddurim at all (such as congregations in poor cities/towns/countries, new congregations, etc.). Another suggestion was to contact the families or individuals who purchased a book (or books) and see if they would like them (and also see if they would like to donate to the fund for the new book).
I heard some mumblings from people about how they assumed we'd be getting more concrete ideas about the actual transition, but I thought the dialogue was fairly helpful. And to be honest, I don't think enough congregations have begun using it to have a truly concrete method that will work, in addition to the fact that each congregation is unique.
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After the workshop I sat and chatted with a new acquaintance from Tennessee whose wife is a first-year student at HUC; I hope to keep in touch with them because he had a lot of interesting things to say, both about Mishkan and Reform practice in general.
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Friday evening was, of course, Shabbat services at what SRK referred to as "Beit Jumbo-tron." Coming from a congregation of approx. 250 families, I'm not used to ever being at services with more than 500 people (and that's just HHD), so 5000 people was fairly overwhelming. The 4 of use from my temple just followed SRK like little ducklings through the aisles, trying to stay together, finally getting 5 seats together at the end of two rows.
So, the service itself... it was okay. Everyone told me before I left for the Biennial that Shabbat services would just be so powerful and that "hearing 5000 Jews all saying the Shema at the same time will just take your breath away." And yes, it was pretty cool to be praying with a ton of people who truly wanted to be there and weren't there out of some feeling of obligation. But, truth be told, I attend a small temple for a reason. The intimacy of know most, if not all, of the people around me is much more powerful for me than a large hall of people. But, for the most part I thought it was a decent service. The Sh'lichei Tzibur (service leaders) were pretty decent (Rabbi Donald M. Goor of Temple Judea in Tarzana, CA and Cantor John M. Kaplan of Temple Israel in Memphis, TN) and the music was okay. The feel of it was just... off. I think a lot of it has to do with the large screens, which I totally understand the need for since the room was o large and no seats were raised up; for people who need connect visually to the service leader, the screens are a necessity. That said, people should probably learn how to behave with them a little better for services. Anytime people would see themselves on the screen (if the cameras panned out over the congregation) they would point and wave and generally act like they were on the jumbo-tron at the ballgame.
I'll have more comments about actual worship styles with the Shabbat morning post.
Go here for an interesting article about the mega-church feel of Shabbat at the Biennial (and of Reform practice in general). For some good discussion of this article, go here.
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After services we went to the regional Shabbat dinner; I was a little annoyed because when signing up for the dinner you are asked for food allergies. I have an allergy to most orange foods (it's odd and I don't know really anyone else who has it), probably because of the beta-carotene, but whatever it is I can't eat things like carrots and pumpkin and sweet potatoes. So, I put those allergies down (listing very specific foods, not just "no orange food") and my meal ticket said "Chicken-S," the "s" standing for special. First off, I had to pick the shredded carrots out of my salad. I usually don't like to do this since I seem to always miss some, but I wasn't going to complain because seating wasn't assigned. However, when they were bringing food out they forgot that I needed a special plate and I was given one with a ton of cooked carrots mixed in with the other veggies. I pointed out to my server that my "special" was b/c of an allergy to carrots. So, they took the plate away and then took 20 minutes to bring me a new one, during which time everyone else at my table finished their meals and SRK decided to move things along a bit with the servers; they claimed they need to go all the way back to the kitchen for it, which is why it took so long. However, when they did bring me something, it was the exact same meal, with about 3 fewer carrots. I just didn't eat any vegetables that night because I had a feeling if I didn't take that plate I'd get to eat dinner as everyone else began benching.
My frustration is on 2 levels here: if you are going to ask about food allergies you should actually use the information. Secondly, my food allergy, while not so severe that I was going to have my airway close up just by being in the presence of a carrot, is still an allergy that makes me quite uncomfortable but was obviously not taken seriously by those in charge of the food. Had my allergy been to nuts I can assure you that I would not have received a plate in the first place with the allergy-causing substance on it, and certainly not if I had pointed it out. I have a feeling they were just assuming that I didn't like carrots (which isn't true; I love carrots and hate the fact that I can't eat them).
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After dinner was the Shabbat Song Session, which was pretty awesome. Lots of great singing and lots of energy. Then we headed up to hear the Michelle Citrin and the Josh Nelson Project, both of who were amazing. I highly recommend checking out their music.
Then it was back to the hotel and collapsing into bed.
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