CCAR RESPONSA
New American Reform Responsa
5. A Fixed Service Time
QUESTION: Should Friday evening or other religious services occur only at a fixed time or can they fluctuate according to the needs and desires of the congregation? My congregation would like to have some services on Friday evening at 7:00, others at 8:00 or 8:30. (Allen Roth, New York NY)ANSWER: You are perfectly correct that traditional Judaism demands that worship be conducted at a regular time. The Talmudic injunction to set a “fixed time for services”, as well as the commandment of worshipping with the congregation (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 90.19), refer to the mitzvah of setting aside a definite time each day for prayer and that prayer was to be from the heart (M Pirqei Avot 2.13). Ideally, of course, a person should pray throughout the day (Ber 21a). There has been considerable discussion about the exact times for prayer so the Talmud (Berakhot) began its discussion of prayer with the question, “At what time do we recite the shema.” We learn from the discussion which followed that the morning prayers could be recited from sunrise until one-third of the day has passed. While the afternoon prayer, minhah, may be recited from noon until sunset (Ber 25b; Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 233.1 ff. As a matter of convenience the minhah prayers have often been said just before the evening prayers so that it would not be necessary for the congregation to gather again. The evening services should be conducted any time after three stars appear in the heavens (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 235.1). However, tradition has been lenient with the evening prayers; they may be recited from sunset onward (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 233.1), preferably before midnight, but actually until dawn (Ber 2a; Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 235.3). All of this shows that the tradition had no fixed times for prayers but set them into a general portion of the day. As those segments were determined by sunrise and sunset, the actual time varied seasonally. In an earlier period, when life was governed principally by the beginning and end of the day, this de facto provided a “set time”. Nowadays, of course, when we are governed by clocks, Orthodox services are linked to the beginning and end of day in accordance with stipulated times which change weekly; this has been precisely noted for each time zone. There is, therefore, no obligation in tradition to set a constantly fixed time for a service. We should consider the practical implications of moving the time when the congregation worships and try to avoid confusion. There would be nothing wrong with having one service a month at a different time than the other services, but from a practical point of view it would be wise to fix the schedule and remain with it, i.e. an earlier service on the first or second Friday of each month, etc. Such changes should be made for good and valid reasons, as the inclusion of young children in services, or provisions for a more traditional segment of the community which wishes to worship before sundown.December 1988
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