T'filah, davening, Amidah, Sh'ma; all that Jewish prayer.

I feel the week coming on, I really do. But I'm reminded of this week gone past. This week with all the good and bad.

I had a discussion with a good friend who gave some rather insightful advice, but more importantly was struggling herself. She was questioning why prayer was so rigid, citing the old baal t'filah practice of improvising the prayer followed by the chatimah, or last line of the prayer basically.

I must say I agree for the most part. That sort of prayer is ideal in some situations, if and only if the community enjoys that type of prayer and the baal himself is extremely knowledgeable in the prayer he happens to be leading. (Don't bash the he things, that's just the way English works. Could always be a woman. :])

But this weekend was an interesting prayer service experience for me. The NFTY-STR fall kallah, all our little youth groups gathering in one big movement. The premonition came quickly: the cover of our little print out siddur read, "party like a Rock STR...live like a jew!" We do it all the time, but it bothers me. Jew is capitalized. It is a proper noun so grammatically it should be and it is the name of our own people so why do ourselves this discredit? Move on, it's Shabbat, bring it in without conflict please.

Page 4:
Chatsi Kaddish
Barchu
"If we were forced to choose just one, there would be no way to deny that Judaism is the most important intellectual development in human history." - David Gelernter.
Ahavat Olam

Now, I can't imagine too many people even noticed this apart from me. But where was Ma'ariv? Surely that reading has little place replacing a prayer whose chatima involves the coming of night. Surely this self rightous quote does not replace our praise for God. So why there? And where is that prayer? I am reminded of that conversation I had so strongly...baal t'filah be dammed. This seems to have little knowledge involved.

Amidah for the service:
Avot
G'vurot
K'dushat HaShem
Shalom Rav

Four prayer. Four of seven included in our packet. I was perturbed.

And this post just wouldn't be the same without that delicious irony as the cherry on top; the weekend's theme: Pluralism. The study theme.

This especially got me thinking. What is the reasoning behind these alterations, surely there is one. Am I wrong in thinking these prayers should have been included? Am I wrong in believing it's wrong to leave them out? Was it wrong that we were told to Stand before Sh'ma and do what was our custom before the V'ahavtah? Was it wrong that it was printed before Sh'ma that is was the minchag of the temple to stand and hold hands during our holiest of prayers?

So what is pluralism then? Is there a line between tradition and pluralism? If so, where is it? Can a service be a service without these prayers? Is it a part of "pluralism" to leave these parts of the service out? Or, is it too far to leave out prayers for whatever reason?

I am torn, more heavily to one side, but that is irrelevant. What is pluralism?