Mishkan T'filah - Our New Prayer Book

Dear Friends,

There is a very famous quotation from Pirke Avot that we often sing as part of the Hakafah, the circuit we do around the congregation as we take out the Torah. We know this quotation from the first three words: "Al Shlosha D'varim, Upon Three Things." The full quotation teaches us that the continued existence of the world depends upon three things. It depends upon the Torah. It depends upon Worship. And it depends upon Acts of Loving-Kindness.

The existence of the world depends upon our study of Torah. But it is not study alone that the rabbis intended. They also understood the need to teach and to do. We actively sustain the world by the actions we take guided by the commandments of the Torah. Indeed, we are taught that we should see ourselves as a living embodiment of Torah so our actions and the way we live our lives can also serve as Torah, instruction, for others whose lives we touch.

The world is also sustained by our Acts of Loving-Kindness. These are actions that go beyond the letter of the law. These are the actions we take to help those in need. The need can be physical, emotional or spiritual. Often times, these acts fall into the category of Tikkun Olam, healing the world. It is easy to see how these actions sustain our world.

Worship also sustains our world. When we gather to pray, we create the bond between ourselves and God in a very unique way. Our worship gives expression to our hopes even as it connects us with those who came before us. We pray for the needs of our community and remind ourselves of our responsibility to act. We also come together and offer comfort to those who are in pain and to those who are in mourning. Our worship gives us the opportunity to enhance the joy of our celebrations, connecting the personal to the communal. Our community becomes stronger because worship helps us strengthen our relationships with one another. The requirement to pray as a Minyan, the minimum quorum of ten, speaks to this power. Worship also strengthens our faith as we remind ourselves that God is the source of all we see, experience and feel in our world.

For several years the Reform Movement of Judaism has been in the process of creating a new prayer book. It is called Mishkan T'filah and it is now in our hands. Mishkan T'filah means Tabernacle of Prayer and is a reference to the portable sanctuary our ancestors made as they journeyed through the Wilderness of Sinai to the Promised Land. The prayer book has the power to remind us of our obligations to sustain this world even as it gives us the tools. Mishkan T'filah is an exciting and dynamic prayer book that builds on the previous books we have used, The Union Prayer Book and Gates of Prayer, and also breaks new ground. The editors of this book have been very careful to embrace our past, take hold of the present and look to the future. A prayer book hopes to be a snapshot of the theology of those who use it. Mishkan T'filah reflects our values of personal autonomy, the essential ethic of Tikkun Olam and the importance of community. The set-up is different than that of previous prayer books. Please see the special insert in this issue of the Covenant, where you can read the introduction by Rabbis Elyse D. Frishman and Peter S. Knobel.

Our congregation will dedicate this new prayer book at our worship service on February 8, 2008. I hope that you will join in this wonderful celebration as we lend our voices, our hearts, our minds and our spirits to the actions that sustain our world and bring blessing into our lives.

- Rabbi Paul F. Cohen, D.Min.

- Re-printed from the January, 2008 Covenant