Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Stay in Touch
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

Tradition! Tradition?

11/14/2012

 
At a recent meeting to discuss worship services at Temple Beit HaYam, several congregants requested a "traditional" service on some Friday nights. When I said that I was not sure what they meant and asked for a definition of "traditional," some people seemed surprised. The expression on their faces made me think that they questioned the sincerity of my question. How could a rabbi not know what "traditional" means? 
Picture
I can't blame people for assuming that I knew what they meant. Jews use the word "traditional" all the time as a way to differentiate all that newfangled, modern stuff from the way that Judaism was meant to be. "Traditional" is an icon in Judaism. In an age of rapid change, we often yearn for the Judaism we experienced in days gone by.

The problem, of course, is that we have not all experienced the same bygone days. It turns out that many people in our congregation use the word "traditional" to mean services that are mostly in English, accompanied by art music written from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. A traditional service, by this definition, is also one that is centered around a sermon that reflects on recent events in the world, especially as they effect Israel and the Jewish people. 

Ironically, that is similar to the style of worship I grew up with as a young child at Temple Emanu-El in New York City. It is a style that some people call "Classical Reform" (although, I find that term misleading). Yet, it is not the style that I think about when I think of "traditional" Judaism.

What does the word "traditional" mean to you when it comes to Jewish worship?

For me, and for many others, the word conjures a very different image. I think about the worship services I imagine that my great-gradfather attended: conducted entirely in Hebrew and Aramaic, chanted according to eastern European nusach, with only a brief teaching on the weekly Torah portion, if any sermon at all. 

That is the style of worship that, I think, many Jews think of as "traditional," even if it does not represent the kind of Judaism they would like to practice in their daily life. It is the Judaism people associate with Tevye the milkman as he sings "Tradition!" in Fiddler on the Roof. It is the Judaism that many Jews find romantically appealing in Chabad, even if they have no intention of being traditionally observant themselves. Isn't that odd?

Is my idea of "traditional" correct, and the "traditional" imagined by others wrong? Not at all. We all come from different traditions. Jews whose families originated in Morocco, Italy or Yemen would not be likely to find either the services of Chabad or Reform to fit their ideas about their tradition. And, if I were to wander into their shuls, or the shuls of their youth, I might feel just as disoriented as they would feel in mine.

Even within Reform Judaism there are many different ways to be traditional. As a child in New York City, I was used to services led by a rabbi and cantor dressed in robes, with ornate music performed on an organ, and filled with a sense of majesty magnified by the prose of the liturgy and the grandeur of the architecture. My wife, who grew up in a Reform congregation of the same era, but in central New England, had a very different experience. She attended services filled with contemporary music, mystical sermons and homey potluck dinners. Tradition is where you are from—spiritually, chronologically, geographically and temperamentally.

Is it proper for a congregation to try to meet the needs of people with different traditions, tastes and worship preferences? Of course it is. Our congregation will be offering services once a month that are designed to appeal to people who prefer less Hebrew, more reflection on contemporary issues and events, and a sense of relaxation and peace at the end of a busy week. (I have no idea what to call such a service. Any ideas?) We will continue to offer services at other times that are energetically joyful, contemporary and spiritual. 

The only danger I see in doing this is that we might turn our one congregation into several separate congregations. If we end up with groups of people who attend services of one style, but who never show up to service of any other style, we will know that the experiment has failed. The point at which "my tradition" becomes the only thing that interests me is the point at which I have stopped caring about the community as a whole, and at which I have stopped growing as a Jew. 

My hope is that we will expose more people to different ways of encountering God, finding meaning, and connecting with other Jews. By offering services of different traditions, we can become a congregation that discovers more deeply how to bring joy into Judaism.

Addendum: We have decided that the service featuring melodies familiar to long-time members and a sermon on current issues and events will be called our monthly "Reflective Service." I'm looking forward to the first Reflective Service on Friday, January 18, 2013. If you are in the area, please join us! (11/16/12)


Other Posts on This Topic:
Dragonflies, Sacred Cats and Brisket
Tomato Sauce, Choice, and Jewish Joy
Quentin Chin link
11/14/2012 10:35:15 am

I wish you the most success in this endeavor. I hear people talk about traditional hymns/traditional worship. As a New England congregationalist I'm apt to say that we could go back to early congregational worship. People heard a one-hour sermon followed by a layperson's remarks (almost as long). They would go home for noon dinner and return for an equally long afternoon service. There were no hymnals; hymns, usually psalms, were lined out. I don't mention that in the winter we had no heat.

I think in the end people ask for traditional in that they want a comfortable, familiar service. While that's all well and good, why do we expect being in God's presence to be comfortable and familiar? Worship should make us feel alive and not lulled into familiarity and rote response.

Reb Jeff link
11/14/2012 02:54:25 pm

Oh, Quentin, I love what you ask, "Why do we expect being in God's presence to be comfortable and familiar?" I, too, want services to be challenging and even, sometimes, discomforting. But I also understand the needs of people who come to a service to find some sense of relief from their working lives, for whom the sanctuary is a refuge. I think that needs to be part of the experience as well. There is a great deal of God's presence, too, in things that are comfortable and familiar.

Eli Wettenstein
11/15/2012 11:09:49 am

Rabbi, I enjoy your discussion of the issues and look forward to Trying a new new ways to worship!

Reb Rachel link
11/23/2012 11:10:57 am

This post touches on so many things: what we think "tradition" means (how often have I heard the request to use "the traditional tune" for X, Y, or Z?), what we come to services seeking, the tension between keva and kavanah, fixed form and internal heart. I too have hoped that through offering services which draw on different traditions, I may be able to open some hearts to some of the diverse wonders of Jewish practice. But who knows.


Comments are closed.

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    Purim & COVID-19
    ​The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture