Yet Another News Story On the New Reform Siddur
Last fall (I think it was last fall) The URJ published its new Siddur called “Mishkan T’filah” which is apparently still making it in to the news, because the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ran a story on it last weekend.
Here is a snippet:
The book, called Mishkan T’filah, hasn’t touched off any fistfights so far. But the liturgical upgrade has generated debate within the Reform community.
It has more Hebrew. It restores the text of a prayer that refers to resurrection, a doctrine once rejected
You can read the rest of it here.
A couple of years back I had a pre-publication version and I thought it was nice in theory but I ended up confused every time I tried using it. However I think my problems had more to do with my lack of experience with Jewish Prayer than with the book it’s self. Anyhow last fall while in Los Vegas I got the chance to try “Mishkan T’filah” out again (this time in a group setting) and I really liked it. I found it well laid out and easy to navigate, it’s one of the most inclusive Jewish prayer book’s I’ve ever seen. Suffice it to say that I am indeed a fan.
For a while I was even toying with the idea of getting a copy for home davening but ultimately decided that I wanted to stick with Sim Shalom and the several other siddurim we already have at home but I have little doubt that at some point I will have a home copy of it.
Are any of you using it (or have you ever) and if so how do you like it compared to Gates of Prayer? As a JBC has it been helpful?
I have used MT a number of times, both at the Biennial, my own temple, and at another local temple. I’m a fan of it, though, like you, I was originally confused with the layout. But, after using it with people who do understand it I found MT much easier to follow. I personally like that while it doesn’t just restore the "resurrection of the dead" line, but rather give people the option to say it or the "who gives life" line; I know a number of people who had huge theological issues with bringing back in the idea of resurrection of the dead, but I’m glad that the editors decided to err on the side of inclusiveness.
I think that as someone newly coming into Judaism MT may be easier to use than Gates of Prayer for the simple reason that it tells you where you are in the service in both Hebrew and English. In addition to that the footnotes will be useful for people who don’t know what’s going on behind the prayers (and even for people who do).
I think the layout is great, giving the service leader a number of options and keeps things fresh. I have heard a couple of people say that it will surely keep 3M in business with the number of sticky notes they need to mark what they are doing for each service. I think that MT will bring people to a more engaged prayer experience; too often it is easy to mumble through the prayers of Gates of Prayer because you know even the English by heart.
The one problem I have with MT is how heavy and cumbersome the full volume is. Luckily they make a version that is 2 volumes: one for Shabbat, and one for Weekdays & Festivals. It makes it much easier to handles, especially if you consider the older congregants who may have a hard time holding such a large book for an hour or more.
I really enjoy MT, which we now use at our shul every week. I love that you get the Hebrew, a transliteration, a traditional translation and 2-3 intepretations of each prayer.
However, I feel like the transliteration is weakening my Hebrew very quickly, because I can just glance at it. But my Hebrew weakening is worth it, because it makes the Hebrew much more accessible to people who are learning.
I’ve really enjoyed MT when compared to GoP and coincidentally my wife and I ordered a home copy just today. We met with our rabbi this morning to plan the Brit Bat for our soon-to-be-here daughter and learned that the temple is ordering copies of MT for it’s members that want one at a greatly discounted price. We jumped at the offer!
I had the chance to use the non-transliterated version in Israel (!) and enjoyed it. When I get my own, I will be sure to get the non-transliterated one, because while I prefer them to help me keep up in a service, on my own, I need to work on my Hebrew. Gates of Prayer has long been frustrating to me because I have a hard time connecting the sections to an Orthodox siddur. However, I am currently working on a study project to work on understanding that. Every time our small choir asks me where a particular song goes in the service I always response, "It depends on which service the rabbi is doing!" Gates of Prayer has 10 different Shabbat PM services! It’s maddening sometimes! I can’t wait until we get MT because then we can all be on the same page but if the service leader wants to read the traditional translation but someone else wants to read an interpretation, they can do so privately. My disappointment in MT, however, is that more traditional insertions were not made, even in parentheses, so that we could see where they fit in and chose to add them back in or not.