Jewish Life Digital Edition September 2015

ROSH HASHANAH 5776 the Kiddush Club, and the terrible example it sets for our children. Who would dare leave in the middle of an audience with the president to drink alcohol, lehavdil? The contrasts listed here make our shul attendance seem absurd. Why do it at all if we are going to do it distractedly and impatiently? Wh y spend so much time in a room devoted to prayer if we are going to approach it in such a way as to undermine its very purpose? If we need an outlet for social needs, for catching up with our friends, why can we not do so at another place and time? Why can’t we do what we say we intend to do with the time we have allocated to communal prayer? It seems we have forgotten that minyan is about engaging in a communal endeavor, to stand before G-d together, to join together in prayer, to make it meaningful and effective. One of the problems might be that most of us do not see ourselves as the 12 JEWISH LIFE ■ ISSUE 88 players engaged on the field, but rather as the spectators in the stands. There is nothing particularly wrong with spectators arriving late to a game, talking with friends, drinking beer and leaving early. In the shul sanctuary, however, we should see ourselves as active players, not passive observers. What then can we do? We can start with simple things, like acknowledging the purpose of communal prayer; we can post signs to this effect to Reprinted with permission from Jewish Action, winter 2014 NO ONE IS FORCING US TO ATTEND SHUL. IF WE DO SO, WE OUGHT TO AT LEAST SUBMIT TO ITS STATED PURPOSE OF STANDING BEFORE G-D IN PRAYER. Alan D Krinsky is a writer as well as a senior analyst in the field of healthcare quality improvement. His essays have appeared in the Jewish Press and the Providence Journal, as well as on a number of online sites. He lives with his family in Providence, Rhode Island. PHOTOGRAPH: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM WHY SPEND SO MUCH TIME IN A ROOM DEVOTED TO PRAYER IF WE ARE GOING TO APPROACH IT IN SUCH A WAY AS TO UNDERMINE ITS VERY PURPOSE? IF WE NEED AN OUTLET FOR SOCIAL NEEDS, FOR CATCHING UP WITH OUR FRIENDS, WHY CAN WE NOT DO SO AT ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME? remind ourselves and visitors to our shuls. Maybe we should have classes in tefillah, so that we gain a better sense of the structure and flow of the service. This would help us understand that to enter in the middle of a prayer service is to miss something important, as with a game, lehavdil. We might enact a basic rule that if people need to engage in conversation, they do so in the lobby or some other place outside of the prayer hall, and not insist on holding their conversations inside. And gabbaim will have to take a leading role here and set an example, minimizing or taking outside the sanctuary even talk necessary for the proper flow and functioning of the service. No one is forcing us to attend shul. If we do so, we ought to at least submit to its stated purpose of standing before G-d in prayer. Finally, it might feel awkward and rather foolish, but maybe, just maybe, we should learn a lesson from our sports heroes and mimic how they approach a game. Imagine that even just once, we would arrive, dressed to pray, before the start of the service, and that we would start with a pep talk and a huddle. We would then break the huddle with a rallying cry and go charging into the sanctuary, assembling our team into position, with the quarterback, I mean the chazzan, at the bimah, and start talking with G-d. It sounds so silly that we might never try it, but I wonder that if we did, would it prove so effective that we would do it again and again? JL

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