From the Rabbi - October 2002

My Dear Friends,

One aspect of our Congregation about which I am most proud is the varied opportunities and experiences for worship. On any given Friday night, we have a variety of differing liturgies and constituencies: from our monthly family services and Kabbalat Shabbat early services, to our 8:00 "formal" service, we attempt to meet the spiritual needs of a wide variety of individuals.

Like most Reform congregations, we have been using the blue Gates of Prayer as a siddur (prayer book) for most Friday nights and Holidays. Like many of you, I remember when Gates of Prayer was first introduced to our movement in the mid 1970s. At the time, it was considered to be a radical departure from the siddurim that preceded it. From its opening readings, to the variety of liturgical motifs that it provided, it was the perfect symbol of a movement in transition from "Classical Reform" to a more inclusive and traditional style of worship.

But, like all innovations, eventually, the Gates of Prayer lost its newness and it became a symbol of a past era. Issues such as transliteration and translation of prayers, non-gender specific God language and a desire for even more traditional Hebrew have shown the necessity for our movement to create a new siddur. Many congregations - ourselves included - have written their own siddurim to better meet their spiritual needs.

During the past several years, the Liturgy Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), has been working to create a new Reform siddur. Its work is nearing completion. Recently the committee has announced that it will be "beta-testing" versions of a new siddur, entitled Mishkan Tefillah ("Tabernacle of Prayer") in congregations around the country. I am pleased that Congregation Albert will be one of those sites. Very soon, on select Friday nights, we will be using these books in our worship. Part of the process of this testing will be the solicitation of feedback in both formal and informal settings. Congregation Albert will be part of the process of shaping Reform Jewish worship for the next quarter century. I hope that all of you will actively take part in this process.

B'shalom V'yididut,
Rabbi Joseph R. Black

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