Mumbling Alienu

It may just be me who rushes out of shul early to run to work - but have you noticed that Alienu doesn't get much respect these days?

Sometimes on Shabbat, people are in a pre-kiddush talking frenzy that causes mourners to have some difficulty hearing the cue to start saying kaddish at the end.  At morning services there are people wrapping their gear up and will only half heartily bow to acknowledge thank you "to the Supreme King of Kings".  I guess this post is a confession that I personally fear that I haven't really been giving Alienu the proper attention.  After all, isn't this the same prayer that is one if the pinnacle moments of the Rosh Hashana Mussaf tefilla? As a child, only the chazzan in our shul actually full out prostrated himself during the repetition, but in Israel (and now I have seen other Diaspora congregations) all daveners will get down on the floor to "bow in worship" with their full bodies to this very prayer.

Granted that Jews do not generally bow a lot in tefilla anymore, especially compared to Muslims, and this may have been strongly influenced by Jewish encounters with Christianity, so shouldn't this mini-bow be very important? The only exceptions to the full bowing (proper prostration) are on the High Holy Days and it is interesting that the same tefilla is precisely chosen to conclude and exclamate our daily prayers.  The prayer's message of acceptance of the yoke of heaven, the majesty of God, and use of full animation to make this point seems sometimes distant from the everyday mumbling of Alienu and tip of the head.

Alienu is a special tefilla, so much so that one is required to join in saying it even one happens to be in the room as the congregation gets to it.  I would humbly list it on the top ten of most well known Jewish prayers, partially due to its exposure and universality, and its tune (so well known that I have seen many an agnostic friend heartfully sing the words when visiting a shul for a family event).

What are you thinking of when you say Alienu?  How do you keep the magic focus in your prayers?

Finding Your Prayer Voice

So I hope that you had a prayerful Rosh Hashana and did not solely measure your davening experience on the time that your service concluded.

One of the big themes that I personally thought about was centered around the shofar and the word "קול" or "voice".  Voice and shofar are often linked in the verses cited in the musaf section and it is pretty obvious to think of voice within the entire concept of prayer.  Even the big there elements that are advised by the liturgy to remove the potential evil decree, "Teshuva, Tefilla, u'Tzedaka - Repentance, Prayer, and Charity", need a voice to enable them.  The Rambam writes that one who repents but has not verbally confessed the sin has done teshuva.   Tefilla is simply a verbal expression of one's inner most desires, whether we move our lips to our silent prayer or sing and scream aloud with the chazan.  Finally, tzedaka - giving charity gives voice to those who are needy and helps balance the burdens within a society.

I think that for parents and educators, our goal is to allow our children to discover their own voice within our value system.  Not to just mimic lessons learned in school or opinions overheard at the dinner table, I want my students to feel an authentic call to daven and know what they need to bring to this moment.  This is a mature goal and I think that a synagogue is a perfect crucible for it.

My diagnosis on why so many young people prefer to hang around outside the shul, on the playground or in the 'groups' is because they do not feel this authentic call to prayer, with or without the traditional liturgy.  It is my prayer for the upcoming year that I can share more resources and successful practices on how to engages this population.  Here's to a great year!

Extra (Musaf) Prayers

The Musaf prayer for the Chagim is a very explicit tefilla.  Perhaps it is because my understanding of the Hebrew is adequate, I find the language of this prayer to be very powerful, acknowledging the special moment that is a Jewish holiday.   "Because of our sins, we have been exiled from our lands...." I think this verse draws a direct link to the purpose of our tefillot in reality lacking a temple to bring a sacrifice.  The tefilla's drawing out of the context allows for a reenactment of the temple service of that Biblical holiday and not only mentions the wish to return to a higher/closer level of worship with language, but evokes the people and spirit of the day. 

Usually I am not into extra prayers; I am of the philosophy that less is indeed more.  There is even an element to the Shabbat Musaf that is routine enough for me that it can pass without exceptional notice.  But I do feel I higher level of enjoyment/simcha when davening on the chagim and wonder if I am the only one.  

חג שמח!