CCAR RESPONSA
Contemporary American Reform Responsa
133. Abbreviating the Service
QUESTION:
What are the minimal prayers to which shabbat or daily service may be abbreviated
when the occasion demands a very abbreviated service? (Rabbi H. Waintrup, Abington,
PA)ANSWER: As we review the simplification of the religious services undertaken
by our Reform forefathers we shall see that they were primarily interested in removing archaic
piyutim which were no longer understood, avoiding repetition, introducing ideological
changes, and substituting vernacular prayers. Sometimes this was accomplished by spreading
the historic liturgy over several services as in the American Union Prayer Book and
Gates of Prayer. The history of our liturgy has been beautifully discussed by Jakob
Petuchowski (Prayerbook Reform in Europe, New York, 1968). The reformers, however,
did not wish to limit the service to the absolute minimum; in fact many added prayers which they
considered appropriate for their age. Let us therefore turn to the basic structure of
Jewish service for guidance; it is simple and consists of the following sections: 1. the
shema and its benedictions (M. Tamid 5; M. Ber. 1; Ber. la
ff); 2. the amidah and and tahanun; the amidah has 18 or 19
benedictions on weekdays and 7 on Shabbat and holidays (M. Ber. 6.3; M.
Taanit 2.2; Ber. 33a; R. H. 32a). 3. On Shabbat, holidays, Monday and
Thursday, a Torah reading is added. 4. The concluding prayer and the
qaddish (Pes. 50a; Sifrei to Deut.306; Ber. 3a). The practice of recital
of the qaddish for all deceased was at first limited to great teachers, but eventually in a
move toward democracy it was recited for everyone (Nachmanides Torat Ha-adam, p.
50; Kol Bo 114; Siddur of Amram Gaon). The outline presented
above is much akin to the briefer services in the Gates of Prayer; they would provide an
adequate minimal service for the occasions you have described.November 1986
If needed, please consult Abbreviations used in CCAR Responsa.