During a recent class, my Kitah Gimel students received a gift from the religious school, a gift that would have been unthinkable, even shocking, decades ago when I was in the 6th grade of a classical Reform “Sunday School.” Each Kitah Gimel student received a copy of the Journal Edition of the Reform siddur, Mishkan T’filah. The Journal Edition differs from the regular edition of Mishkan T’filah. Both siddurim have the traditional liturgy and English translation and transliteration on the right hand side of the page. However, in the Journal Edition, the left hand side of the page is blank or presents a few guiding questions. Mishkan T’filah: The Journal Edition is meant to be used throughout one’s life as a source of prayers and a repository of personal responses to those prayers, over time. In the introduction to Mishkan T’filah: The Journal Edition, we’re told to “record” our thoughts, “when participating in a service,” and to “share” our “voices…during the service.” The Reform prayerbook in use when I was 12 years old was a small, somber tome called The Union Prayerbook. The Union Prayerbook opened from the left. In its 385 pages of dense print (Hebrew, English, but no transliteration), The Union Prayerbook was absolutely not conducive to recording one’s personal responses to the prayers. The English was of the stiff “Biblical” variety – lots of thees, thous, and thines. Adonai was “Lord,” “Father,” and “King.” In the back of The Union Prayerbook was a list of Torah Portions entitled, “Scriptural Readings for the Sabbath.” I remember sitting on Friday night for what seemed like hours, fiddling with the thin red ribbon bookmark attached to The Union Prayerbook. I have no recollection at all of hearing a Torah Portion read! Regarding my personal response to the prayer service of my youth, words like, “tedious,” “remote,” “inaccessable,” and “lengthy” come to mind. Kitah Gimel 5772 is fortunate. These students have the opportunity of a lifetime to personalize their T’filah experience. I intend to join them. It’s never too late for Jewish learning. The religious school has ordered a copy of Mishkan T’filah: the Journal Edition for me, too. If I need help with my Journal entries, I can go to www.myMTJ.org. Unthinkable!
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