"A New Prayer book Again?!"

Nearly 30 years ago, the Central Conference of American Rabbis changed the face of American Reform Judaism by releasing the experimental edition of the Gates of Prayer, the New Union Prayer book. The decision to publish a new prayer book for the Reform movement was controversial, as generations of Reform Jews, raised on the beloved Union Prayer book, found change both challenging and difficult. Despite the complexity of liturgical change, the Gates of Prayer was a success, and became the standard prayer book for the Reform Movement during the last quarter of the twentieth century.

In 1974, I was an active member of the Temple youth group of my congregation. We were charged with leading some of the services from the pre-publication edition of the Gates of Prayer. The response from the congregation to the new book was often lukewarm, if not outright hostile. The Gates of Prayer was larger and bulkier than the small, comfortable Union Prayer book. The language, though still poetic, was modern and familiar, rather than the more formal "Thees and Thous" of the Union Prayer book. There was more Hebrew, a wider variety of services, and many more prayers and rituals included than in the previous prayer books of Classical Reform Judaism. Slowly but surely, the new book caught on. Congregations made the large financial investment in purchasing the Gates of Prayer, and it has become the standard of our movement today.

And yet…..the Gates of Prayer no longer completely reflects the needs of our changing Reform Jewish community. While the language of the Gates of Prayer is gender-specific, referring to God in exclusively male terms, the majority of Reform Jews today are more sensitive to gender neutral language in our prayer. A generation of Reform Jews who seek more spiritual, intimate and flexible Jewish worship find that the Gates of Prayer no longer meets their worship needs. For the past several years, the Central Conference of American Rabbis Siddur Editorial Committee has been at work creating a new Siddur for Reform Judaism, to be published by 2005.

Temple Beth El has the opportunity to be one of the test sites to pilot the new Siddur! We have obtained copies of the pre-publication draft edition. During the months of January and February, we will use the New Siddur during our Shabbat Evening services, and invite the congregation to assist our Worship Committee in responding and evaluating them. At the conclusion of this process, we will need to make a congregational decision as to whether we will adopt the new prayer book. We invite everyone's input into this exciting process!

James M. Bennett