So...What Time Did You Finish?
I always find it amusing that everyone’s first question after shul on Rosh Hashana morning is, “what time did you finish?” Then someone typically tries to figure out whose fault it was if the service ended after the ‘accepted hour’. Did the Cantor sing too much, or did the Rabbi speak for too long? Perhaps there is just too much material. Are synagogue services too long?
I am certain that non-Jews who attend our services often wonder why so few people are in shul at 8:45 am when services begin. The parents of children celebrating B’nai Mitzah often ask me at what time they should arrive in shul on the ‘big day’. I always advise them to arrive in shul when services begin at 8:45 am. I also suggest that they inform their non-Jewish guests to arrive at around 10:00 am with the rest of the morning rush. Of course, a devout Christian may question the Jewish absence of punctuality when attending services.
As we approach the High Holiday season it is worth exploring why our services begin so early in the morning and end hours later towards midday. The simple answer to my question begins with another question. What is prayer and why do Jews pray?
After the destruction of the second Temple, sacrifice was replaced with prayer. Since there were additional sacrificial offerings on Shabbat and Yom Tov, we have a musaf (additional) service on Sabbath and Festival mornings which is not recited at other times of the week. Throughout the ages, synagogue services have increased in length because there have been consistent additions with few deletions. As you read through your High Holiday Mahzor you may notice the many footnotes making mention of the composer and date when different piyyutim (hymns) were written and added to our services. Some of our prayers maintain an extremely important role -- the Shema, Kedushah, Amidah, Kaddish and Barechu. Others are less significant, albeit still important, and some are specific to the occasion being observed.
Prayer is a powerful form of expression, and understanding our prayers is what makes them most meaningful. Sometimes my Bar and Bat Mitzvah students ask me why Jews require a minyan in order to pray? My response is simple – you need 5 people for a basketball team, 6 for a hockey team, 9 for a baseball team and 10 for a minyan. There is strength in numbers and davening with a minyan is essential to form the community required to express the most significant of our prayers.
I had an interesting yet cynical conversation with my brother after the Pesach seder this year. He was joking that as we were remembering the plagues brought upon the children of Israel by Pharoah, he was focusing on the modern-age plagues he felt were a part of everyday life today. West Nile virus, SARS, terrorism, suicide bombers, E. coli bacteria, greenhouse gases, anthrax, AIDS, and cancer to name a few. Maybe he is right – and laughing at ourselves is but one way of coping with the realities of the world we live in. Others prefer to turn to prayer.
At Succot, one of the most beautiful prayers chanted near the conclusion of the service is Hoshana. Succot is the only occasion when this powerful tefillah is recited. Hoshana means salvation and during this prayer, all in attendance form a procession and together march around the shul, lulav and etrog in hand. The Ark is opened, and an honoured member of the congregation stands on the bimah holding a Sefer Torah. The melodies of Hoshana are inviting and inspiring and the entire congregation joins together to ask G-d for salvation.
At Succot, Zman Simchateinu, a time of great happiness and joy, we sing Hoshana as a community and turn to G-d for salvation. As we approach this High Holiday season, it is important to gain a better understanding of what it is that we are praying for.
May G-d grant our people and all of humanity salvation so that we can preserve the integrity of the world we live in for generations to come.
Shana Tovah