Dennis Prager

August 10, 2010

Siddur Baseball

By Dennis Prager

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When I was a kid in yeshiva, we played a game during davening (prayer services) called siddur (prayer book) baseball. We mostly played this at Orthodox summer camp during Shabbat services — because it was baseball season, and because Shabbat services were much longer than the daily service.

It was a game that demanded no skill. When it was your turn to bat, you closed the siddur and opened it up to any page. If the first letter on the page was an aleph, you had hit a single; if the was a bet, it was a double; a gimmel meant a triple; and a daled was a home run. Entire rows of kids — we sat on long benches — could be seen opening and closing their siddurim and mumbling something like “man on first, two out.”

We did this because we were bored out of our minds. And remember, we knew what the words meant. We had studied the siddur and Hebrew all our lives.

We were bored for a number of reasons, chief among them being that the davening was so long — usually more than three hours.

According to studies that I have been told about (but cannot confirm), most people are able to pray with meaning for a maximum of one hour. And, indeed, among the monotheistic religions, Jewish services are by far the longest. Christian services are usually an hour and fifteen minutes, and the longest Muslim service is about an hour (including a sermon).

I am convinced that most Orthodox Jews agree with this assessment. First, many Orthodox Jews do not arrive at shul when services begin. Second, while there is less talking than there used to be in Orthodox shuls, there is still a fair amount of talking during services, while others can be seen reading the Chumash (Torah book) or some other religious text. Third, many Orthodox Jews now attend what are called hashkama minyanim, (early) services that are completed in under two hours. One Orthodox synagogue in Manhattan reads the portion of the Torah before davening. And those who attend such services boast of how quickly their minyan gets through the service.

There is, of course, a major problem with getting through the service in two hours. It means davening at such a fast speed that Evelyn Wood, creator of speed-reading courses, would be impressed. Few mortals can pray with kavanah (meaning, proper intent) while reading at a speed that does not allow for reflection.

This problem is apparently worldwide. I remember visiting the major synagogue of Beirut, Lebanon, many years ago and seeing only one sign, which was in Hebrew: “Asur l’daber bish’at hatefilah” — “It is forbidden to speak during services.”

The most obvious solution to this problem is to shorten the length of the service. Which is exactly what many do by speeding up the davening, eliminating the sermon and having little music or singing. But those solutions raise other problems, of which speed-reading the davening is only one. Another is that elimination of a sermon means little or no learning or religious inspiration takes place. And little or no music poses a third problem, given how inspiring music is.

The real answer lies in cutting out some of the prayers. Why, for example, is the Amidah repeated (twice on Shabbat!)?

And if the Shabbat davening is too long, we simply lack the proper word to describe the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. The traditional machzor (holy day prayer book) is replete with piyutim (religious poetry) written in a medieval Hebrew that no Jews I know, including Israelis, understand.

And while we’re considering changes, how about a lot less standing? Most Jews, while standing, are thinking more about when they can sit again than about any prayer they are reciting. I challenge any rabbi who differs to ask his congregation to stand during his next sermon. If standing focuses the mind, why not have the congregation stand during the rabbi’s sermon?

I fully recognize that some Jews love all the prayers, find standing meaningful and regard the length of the prayer service as sublime. But I believe they constitute a minority even among that minority of Jews who regularly attend services. Nor do I believe that all of them find the prayer service particularly inspiring. Rather, they enjoy the familiarity of the service and the camaraderie of fellow Jews (neither of which I in any way disparage).

For all these reasons, my ideal service has much less davening, much more learning and much more music. Speaking solely for myself, I find that studying or teaching the Torah enhances my faith more than prayers do.

I have tried to put my ideals into practice. I have led Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services for the last three years here in Los Angeles, and I am doing so again this year. The 300 people who attend — many of whom have rarely or never attended High Holiday services — seem to respond quite favorably. And my services are not much shorter than others; it is the davening that is shorter.

I do not offer my suggestions as definitive, or even as necessarily original. I am only certain that there is a shul crisis and that the shul service, with its overlong davening, is one reason. Adults do not play siddur baseball; they just don’t attend.

For information on Dennis Prager’s High Holy Days services, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host, columnist, author and public speaker. He can be heard in Los Angeles on KRLA (AM 870) weekdays 9 a.m. to noon. His Web site is dennisprager.com.

A version of this article appeared in print.

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Dennis, come to Israel and lead a sane service like you describe. And what’s wrong with an alternative machzor, which would have more meaning for all of us?

In any event, good on you that you lead such a minyan.

Nettie Feldman, host
Afternoon Schmooze talk show
www.rustymikeradio.com
Blog: www.afternoonschmoozer.com

Comment by nettie feldman on 8/13/10 at 5:53 am

“One Orthodox synagogue in Manhattan reads the portion of the Torah before davening.”
What synagogue is that? 

I recommend the book “Kavvana” by Seth Kadish for another approach to these issues-you might enjoy.

Comment by Yossi on 8/13/10 at 7:21 am

Surprise, surprise.  Reform Judaism figured this out years ago, and eliminated repetitions like musaf, multiple Kaddishes, and repeating the t’filah, to keep the davening to about an hour.  Being able to come at the beginning and to daven as a community rather than every man for himself, coming together only for the open and close of each paragraph—this is what drove me to Reform Judaism.  (The ideology followed.)

Comment by Larry Kaufman on 8/13/10 at 7:30 am

Daniel Sperber has written a book entitled “On Changes in Jewish Liturgy: Options and Limitations” which attempts to address the Halachic mechanism for amending the prayer services.  A link to his book is below.

http://www.urimpublications.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UP&Product_Code=JewishLiturgy&Category_Code=aaa

Comment by David Sher on 8/13/10 at 7:31 am

I understand that Shabbat morning prayers actually bridge about 3 or 4 services. There is a structural integrity to it all. But why must the Kaddish be repeated so many times? And, do we need the Musaf service? I vote in favor of the standing parts. We need the exercise, especially with the long services.

Comment by Shlomo on 8/13/10 at 7:58 am

Everything you say is true, but as they say, your best thoughts were stolen by the ancients. Welcome the Reform movement, Dennis.

Comment by Geoffrey Dennis on 8/13/10 at 11:37 am

Mr. Prager might know that the liberal branches of Judaism have been trying to address this problem for years.  Whatever he may think of their solutions -eliminating some of the liturgy, using the vernacular, etc- he might give them credit for recognizing the problem!

Comment by Sandra Cohen on 8/13/10 at 12:39 pm

Ironically, the Reform movement shortened (streamlined?) its services by abridging Birkot Ha-Shachar, Psukei d’Zimrah, Sh’ma u-virchoteha, Amidah, and eliminating the repetition of the Amidah and recitation of Musaf, reading Torah according to the tri-ennial cycle, e.g., and empahsizing music and sermon or Dvar Torah, yet has the lowest attendance at services of any of the streams.

Comment by Bruce Block on 8/13/10 at 1:57 pm

I guess you must suffer from ADD:  Shul on Shabbos is perhaps an hour of davening, then perhaps a half-hour for a drasha, then less than an hour of lehning, then half a hour tops for Mussaf.  This is too much time for you, once each week?

Comment by Dave Weintraub on 8/15/10 at 6:59 am

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