HMS; 5764-19 Prayer VII: Musaf - The Additional Service

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

February 29, 2004- Number 5764-19

Prayer VII: Musaf - The Additional Service

The structure of all Liturgy in Judaism is based on the ancient order of sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem before the destruction in 70 C.E. Every morning there was a sacrifice of a lamb, and every afternoon, there was a grain offering. When the Temple was destroyed, the sacrifices were discontinued, but the Amida, the standing prayer that makes up one of the two cores of the service, was designated to fill in for this crucial part of the Liturgy. We could not offer up the lambs of our flocks, but we could perform "service of the heart" and the key to that service was the Amida. Sacrifices were a very personal form of prayer. In Hebrew, they were known as "Korbanot" the root of the word implies that we "draw near" to G-d with this service. Korbanot became the way that each individual could use to feel a closeness to G-d. When that form of worship ended with the burning of the Temple on Tisha b’Av, The Amida became our way of drawing close to G-d, and for this reason we still take three steps forward at the beginning of the Amida, to indicate our approaching the throne of the Almighty.
On Shabbat and on Holidays, in addition to the two daily sacrifices, there was also an additional sacrifice in honor of the holy day. There was no petitioning that was part of this sacrifice, it was a communal expression of thanks for the rest that was a vital part of Shabbat and the sacred nature of the holy days. On every holiday where there was an additional sacrifice in honor of the festival, there is an additional Amida that is added to the service. This Amida is called "Musaf" the "Additional" service in honor of the special nature of the day.
The Amida of Musaf begins as any other Amida, with the same three blessings going in and the same three that conclude the series. Instead of a list of petitions in the middle, there is only one blessing, a blessing that declares the day holy. In most Siddurim, the prayers of Musaf are readings about the sacrifices that once were offered by our ancestors. In a Traditional prayer book, the service points to our hope that someday our sacrificial service will once again be performed in Jerusalem, in a rebuild Holy Temple. Back in the 1940's the Conservative movement decided that this was just no longer something that we were hoping for. The Conservative siddur made a small change in the text of the Musaf to lovingly recall the ancient sacrifices, without the hope for them to be restored. This followed the teaching of Rambam in the 11th century, who declared that sacrifices were important to our ancestors, but we had grown spiritually since then and no longer needed such ritual to feel near to G-d.
One can see this growth in the Kedusha of the Shabbat Musaf. The first time we say the Kedusha, before the Shema in the Shacharit service, we are in awe of the chorus in heaven as the angels sing praises to G-d by reciting the threefold "Kadosh" from the book of Isaiah. In the Kedusha of the Shacharit Amida, we have grown in our appreciation of the angelic choir and the text has us join in with the heavenly chorus. Now, as we recite the Kedusha of Musaf, we have grown beyond the chorus of angels. We are ready to offer our own praise to G-d, only in the Kedusha of Musaf do we recite the Shema, affirming what the angels can never affirm, that we choose to praise G-d, that we are able to exercise our free will, a free will that the angels don’t have, that makes our praise that much more precious to G-d. Is it any wonder that all of the great cantorial composers in modern times, have written such rich music for the Musaf. It is here we celebrate our human uniqueness that makes our praise of G-d as original as our Creator.
May think that Musaf is just the final part of the service before the closing prayers, but it is more than just another Amida, it is a celebration of what makes the holiday special and what makes humanity special.

Next week: Prayer VIII: Ashrei, An Original CD by the Composer of the Book of Psalms.

HMS; 5764-18 Prayer VI: Pesuke D’Zimra - Verses of Praise

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

February 16, 2004 - Number 5764-18

Prayer VI: Pesuke D’Zimra - Verses of Praise

If the Birchot HaShachar are the basic prayers that help us start our day, the Pesuke D’zimra, the "Verses of Song" guide us to be able to begin our prayers.
Pesuke D’zimra begins with a blessing, "Baruch SheAmar". This opening blessing begins with one of the most important statements about prayer. It begins "Blessed is the One who spoke and created the world. This first verse sets the stage for all of the liturgy that will follow. It teaches us that words have power, creative power. In ancient days (and to some extent in our day as well) speaking prayers was never enough. Prayer had to be accompanied by some action, usually a sacrifice, in order to be an effective prayer. Words were cheap, one had to be prepared to give up something of value before G-d would pay attention to the desires of the worshiper. This opening verse in Baruch SheAmar teaches us that words do indeed have a power of their own, and the universe can change with just the utterance of prayer. What prayer do we pray? The rest of this blessing is an extended praise of G-d and of G-d’s creation.
What follows is a collection of biblical passages from Chronicles, Psalms, Nehemiah and Exodus. They speak of G-d’s mercy, of how G-d protects Israel from all harm and the kingship of G-d. The Psalms include Psalm 100, the Psalm of Thanksgiving; Ashrei, The ultimate Psalm of praise, and the final four Psalms in the Book of Psalms that focus on praising G-d. We are not sure when people first started reciting biblical passages before the core of the service (The Shema and the Amida) but it apparently was common to recite Psalms before the service and the Psalms recited eventually became part of the service. The Talmud records that Rabbi Jose aspired to recite "Hallel" every day. Since what we call "Hallel" today (Psalms 113-118) is forbidden to be recited except on holy days, the "Hallel" Rabbi Jose is referring to must be Psalms 145-150 which all begin and end with "Hallelujah". Perhaps, at one time the Sages recited all 150 Psalms before they prayed, and eventually it was scaled down to just the last six. Ashrei, (Psalm 145) is sometimes considered an abridgement of the entire book of Psalms.
One of my teachers, Rabbi R. Kimmelman, has noted that the end of the book of Psalms has, as its focus, the praise of G-d in nature. This should not be a surprise since it is often easiest to find G-d in the wonders of the world that surround us. If we are looking for a reason to praise G-d, we need look no further than the sunrise, the beautiful trees and flowers around us, the expanse of the sky and the wonders of the earth all call to us to acclaim the Creator of the Universe.
But G-d in nature is not enough for us to be ready for prayer. Following Psalm 150 a shift begins that takes us out of the realm of "G-d in nature" and into the realm of "G-d in History". Beginning with Abraham the final passages lead us to the ultimate moment of G-d’s interaction with humanity, the crossing of the Sea of Reeds. This was a moment of not just triumph over the army of Pharaoh, but a triumph of G-d in History and it is represented by the "Song of the Sea" from Exodus 15. When we recognize the Awesomeness of G-d in nature and the Awe of G-d acting in History, we have readied ourselves for formal prayer, we are not ready to enter to very core of the service.
Pesuke D’zimra closes with a final blessing. Yishtabach (the sister blessing of the prayer that follows regular Hallel on holidays) listing the many ways we have to praise G-d as our sovereign, because of G-d’s actions in nature and in history, we affirm our allegiance to G-d and with a Hatzi Kaddish, we are now ready to begin our formal prayers beginning with the Borchu.

Next week: Prayer VII: Musaf - The Additional Service.

HMS; 5764-17 Prayer V: Birchot HaShachar

Lessons in Memory of my brother Dale Alan Konigsburg

February 2, 2004 - Number 5764-17

Prayer V: Birchot HaShachar

The first prayer that is recited traditionally, in the morning, is "Modeh Ani" a simple prayer, giving thanks for the rejuvenating power of sleep. Since it does not mention the name of G-d, it can even be recited before one puts on the kipah in the morning.
The first prayer that is recited when entering the synagogue is "Ma Tovu" which is recited while standing in the doorway, with the secular world behind you and the Aron HaKodesh (the Ark) and the Ner Tamid in front of us and the mezuzah at our right hand. The prayer reflects our awe at being in the house of G-d and our discomfort that perhaps we are visiting at the "wrong" time. Ma Tovu assures us that it is always the right time to worship G-d and we can be sure that our faithful G-d will answer.
Adon Olam is a song most people sing at the end of the service. In reality, this is its original home. It has many catchy melodies that were used to keep children interested to the end of the service, but the words belong here, at the beginning. The author of Adon Olam is unknown (some attribute it to Yehuda HaLevy) and it answers the questions "what is G-d and why should we worship this G-d". It speaks to the eternity and reliability of G-d. Note that the name itself, Adon Olam has an ambiguous meaning. It could mean "Lord of the World" or "Lord of all Time" referring to G-d as both ruler of the world and beyond the reach of time.
"Asher Yatzar" is the prayer that thanks G-d for the gift of our body. It describes the body as a tube within a tube and holes within holes. If what is closed should be opened or if what is open should be closed, life would be impossible. Some say this prayer upon leaving the bathroom (we never pray in a bathroom) Others see this a prayer over the miracle of childbirth where what is open must close (the umbilical cord) and what is closed must open (the lungs). This is the essence of the miracle of life. The miracle is that our body works without us having to think about it. For all this we are grateful.
"Elohai Neshama" is the prayer for our soul. This is also an ambiguous prayer since "neshama" could refer to either the soul or to our breath. You can actually read the prayer with either meaning. There are those in Judaism who are not "duality" who do not think that we have two parts, body and soul. The body is simply alive and the breath is what animates it. One who holds either position can still say this prayer. The mark of a good prayer is that it makes it easy for people to believe enough to do the rituals.
In some Siddurim, between the Asher Yatzar and the Elohai Neshama, there are passages from the Torah, the Mishna and the Gemara. This is to make sure that we get in a minimum daily quota of Torah study each morning.
The "Birchot HaShachar" are a list of 14 blessings were most congregations begin their service. Some Rabbis feel that this list originally was meant to be recited as we woke up each morning. The theory was that if we could think about G-d first thing in the morning, we would have G-d on our mind all day. The first blessing is for our alarm clock (the rooster) the next three are the reason we get up in the morning, that we are humans, in G-d’s image, we are Jews and we are free. These are followed by a prayer for opening our eyes, for our blanket, for streatching, sitting up in bed, putting our feet on the floor, for keeping our bodies working while we were sleeping, for walking, for getting dressed, and for putting on our kipah. The final prayer is thanking G-d for restoring our strength wile we slept.
Yehi Ratzon is asking G-d to help us get through the day, and Ribbon Ko Olamim reminds us of our place in the world, not angels to be sure, but wondrous creations none the less. This is followed by a number of passages we can study and the section closes with the Kaddish D. Rabban. Psalm 30 closes this section and is followed by the mourners Kaddish.

Next week: Prayer VI: Psuke D’Zimra- Verses of Praise.