Mishkan Tefillah and the 3 R’s
17/07/08 20:50
Mishkan Tefillah and the 3 R’s – Part I
Rabbi Scott Colbert
Temple Emanu-El
July 11, 2008
In examining the theological changes that appear in Mishkan Tefillah we see that the Reform Movement has chosen a path which includes some traditional theological dilemmas which may cause the worshipper to stretch intellectually and spiritually.
The most startling change in the new prayer book is the inclusion of the concept of “t’chiyat hameytim” or in English, resurrection of the dead. Yes, you read correctly. Are you surprised to find that concept in our liturgical theology? You should be!
Let’s look at the history of how Reform Judaism sees resurrection. You need to understand since the first prayer book by Rav Amram came to be in the year c.850 CE, up until the Olath Tamid, the prayer book which was the template for the Union Prayer Book which served Reform Judaism for the first eighty-five years of its existence in America, all Jewish prayer books included a statement of faith about resurrection.
But you say to me, Judaism has no belief in an afterlife and certainly not resurrection.
The answer to that is wrong! The idea of bodily resurrection comes late in the Hebrew Bible. It is not found in the Torah. However, in Ezekiel you have the imagery and metaphor of the Valley of Dry Bones, which refers to the restoration of Israel after exile. Some readers see this as a statement about bodily resurrection. However, you really need to look in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 12: 2-13, it is there, in this rather late book that there is a statement about resurrection: “…And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake…and the Angel said to Daniel, But you, go to the end of all flesh and rest; and stand in your lot at the end of the days….”
Let us look to see how Reform Judaism has historically handled this paragraph in the Amidah.
Looking at the text of the second benediction in the Amidah, the purpose of this prayer was display to the worshipper that as God can grant our petitions. How do we know this? If God is mighty enough to (in the traditional Prayer Book) raise the dead, and in our prayer book give us Eternal Life, then surely God can grant the rest of our petitions, for they are lowly earthly concerns. However, rather then dealing with resurrection head on, the Union Prayer Book concludes the benediction with the words “Who has implanted within us Eternal Life.” This was in keeping with the Pittsburgh Platform of 1895 which rejected the concept of bodily resurrection.
In 1975, the Reform Movement published the Gates of Prayer. Again, the Movement generally rejected the concept of resurrection, but included the concept in one service, the service for Israel Independence Day, why? Using Ezekiel’s vision of the restoration of Israel from a Valley of Dry Bones as a metaphor for the rebirth of the Jewish state, it made logical sense.
But now, in 2008, we see that the Movement, in an effort to be inclusive, makes a theological leap, because with nearly a hundred and fifty years of history, we can look at the text as a metaphor. The CCAR has given the worshipper the option to include this statement in their prayers because they have inserted the word “metim” parenthetically. As a congregation, we will continue to use the words “m’chayei hakol, who gives life to everything.”
I would urge you to consider metaphor when we deal with God. The editor of Mishkan Tefillah, Rabbi Elyse D. Frishman says in regards to this prayer: “If we look at renewable resources as life in continuous regenerative movement, continually dying and renewing itself, it is neither apocalyptic nor absurd. Rather, it is based on the simple observation of the natural world. It gives us awareness that our lives are part of a greater on-going whole.”
Rabbi Scott Colbert
Temple Emanu-El
July 11, 2008
In examining the theological changes that appear in Mishkan Tefillah we see that the Reform Movement has chosen a path which includes some traditional theological dilemmas which may cause the worshipper to stretch intellectually and spiritually.
The most startling change in the new prayer book is the inclusion of the concept of “t’chiyat hameytim” or in English, resurrection of the dead. Yes, you read correctly. Are you surprised to find that concept in our liturgical theology? You should be!
Let’s look at the history of how Reform Judaism sees resurrection. You need to understand since the first prayer book by Rav Amram came to be in the year c.850 CE, up until the Olath Tamid, the prayer book which was the template for the Union Prayer Book which served Reform Judaism for the first eighty-five years of its existence in America, all Jewish prayer books included a statement of faith about resurrection.
But you say to me, Judaism has no belief in an afterlife and certainly not resurrection.
The answer to that is wrong! The idea of bodily resurrection comes late in the Hebrew Bible. It is not found in the Torah. However, in Ezekiel you have the imagery and metaphor of the Valley of Dry Bones, which refers to the restoration of Israel after exile. Some readers see this as a statement about bodily resurrection. However, you really need to look in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 12: 2-13, it is there, in this rather late book that there is a statement about resurrection: “…And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake…and the Angel said to Daniel, But you, go to the end of all flesh and rest; and stand in your lot at the end of the days….”
Let us look to see how Reform Judaism has historically handled this paragraph in the Amidah.
Looking at the text of the second benediction in the Amidah, the purpose of this prayer was display to the worshipper that as God can grant our petitions. How do we know this? If God is mighty enough to (in the traditional Prayer Book) raise the dead, and in our prayer book give us Eternal Life, then surely God can grant the rest of our petitions, for they are lowly earthly concerns. However, rather then dealing with resurrection head on, the Union Prayer Book concludes the benediction with the words “Who has implanted within us Eternal Life.” This was in keeping with the Pittsburgh Platform of 1895 which rejected the concept of bodily resurrection.
In 1975, the Reform Movement published the Gates of Prayer. Again, the Movement generally rejected the concept of resurrection, but included the concept in one service, the service for Israel Independence Day, why? Using Ezekiel’s vision of the restoration of Israel from a Valley of Dry Bones as a metaphor for the rebirth of the Jewish state, it made logical sense.
But now, in 2008, we see that the Movement, in an effort to be inclusive, makes a theological leap, because with nearly a hundred and fifty years of history, we can look at the text as a metaphor. The CCAR has given the worshipper the option to include this statement in their prayers because they have inserted the word “metim” parenthetically. As a congregation, we will continue to use the words “m’chayei hakol, who gives life to everything.”
I would urge you to consider metaphor when we deal with God. The editor of Mishkan Tefillah, Rabbi Elyse D. Frishman says in regards to this prayer: “If we look at renewable resources as life in continuous regenerative movement, continually dying and renewing itself, it is neither apocalyptic nor absurd. Rather, it is based on the simple observation of the natural world. It gives us awareness that our lives are part of a greater on-going whole.”