CARR 192-193 - Central Conference of American Rabbis

Services

QUESTION: Should the reader of a public service face the Ark

while conducting the service, or face the congregation? What is the traditional and the Reform

point of view on this matter? (Rabbi D. Prinz, Teaneck, NJ)ANSWER: In the

traditional synagogue, the reader (rabbi, cantor or layman) of the service faces the Ark both

when the bimah is placed in the center of the synagogue or at the end of the building

nearest the Ark (For a discussion of both possibilities, see W. Jacob, American Reform

Responsa, # 18). However, even in a traditional synagogue, the leaders of the congregation

are often seated facing the congregation with their backs to the Ark (Tur Orah Hayim 150;

Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 150.4). The preacher similarly faces the congregation during

his address. There are, of course, various places in the service during which these leaders would

turn and face the Ark (the amidah, Torah service, etc.) In addition, we should note

that when the priests (kohanim) bless the people they, too, face the

congregation. We should remember that the reader of the service only gradually

achieved his dominant role in the Ashkenazic service. In the Middle Ages, he only led the

service during the amidah, and otherwise simply indicated the conclusion of each

paragraph through slightly louder recital. The service was in the hands of the congregants (I.

Elbogen, Der jüdische Gottesdienst, p. 501). Abraham Gumbiner indicated that a

reader was only necessary for the service because of the piutim (Shulhan Arukh

Orah Hayim 53, #2). The custom of the reader continually facing the congregation,

with perhaps a few exceptions, represents a nineteenth century Reform innovation. As the

Reform synagogues were larger and sought to increase the available seating space, they, as well

as many traditional synagogues, have placed the bimah close to the Ark. This means that

the reader of the service can be understood more readily when he faces the congregation. The

innovation is probably American, but I have been unable to find a source or date for it. In most

Reform, and some Conservative congregations, the rabbi and cantor face the congregation for

the entire service. In other Reform and Conservative congregations, they do so for major

portions of the service, except for those sections during which orientation toward the Ark is

specifically indicated.October 1985