From The Sublime To The Ridiculous-My Review Of A Siddur Review

Jack Riemer of the Jerusalem Post has written a review of two new Jewish prayer books (siddurim) what have come out. The review of these prayer books is sure to be more interesting that whatever commentary is provided within them. The author begins:

For more than a generation, even modern Orthodox synagogues have used the ArtScroll Prayer Book, and that was a mistake. The ArtScroll is often embarrassing in its literalism, in its fundamentalism and in its ambivalence toward Zionism. And by using the ArtScroll, modern Orthodox synagogues sent a mixed message to their people.

A mistake? Huh? I converted to Judaism in the midst of a huge baal-tsuvah boom. I went to a baal-tsuvah yeshiva. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the Artscroll ridiculed this way-and keep in mind I use a minhag that Artscroll doesn’t support (Sefardic). How much is Koren paying this guy to say this nonsense? Let’s assume the Koren siddur is substantal-even more than Artscroll. That certainly doesn’t negate the signficance of the most important English siddur ever published. The Artscroll doesn’t ignore the State of Israel-the State of Israel ignores Judaism!

Later on he says:

Now, with the Koren Siddur, all these embarrassments have been removed.

This sounds very Reform sneaky! The embarrassing things of the Orthodox Jewish siddur have been removed…Gee-if they added a cross would that be less embarrassing?
He continues:

By printing the Hebrew on the left side, it makes a statement that praying in Hebrew is the norm, and that translations are aids, and not replacements, for the Hebrew.

Everyone who uses an English siddur knows that they are lacking somehow in Hebrew. Please…this statement is utterly gratuitous.

And again:

By including a service for the naming of a newborn girl, it makes a statement about the place of women in our liturgy.

It makes a statement that you have now walked into a Conservative synagogue or an Orthodox one that has been hijacked by the likes of Lerner and his Tikun-thugs.
Here we have our answer:

The second question I have is about the Aleinu prayer. Was it really necessary to add the words: “For they worship vanity and emptiness and pray to a god who cannot save?” We live in an age in which we Jews have felt themselves free enough to protest and object to anti-Jewish statements in the liturgies of our neighbors. Do we really want them to see statements like this in our liturgy?

Now he cuts to the chase-the editing of the Orthodox prayer book. The transition to the Reform. Riemer basically intends on mutilating the Orthodox service, which has roots two thousand years old and wants to stick in some Zion-friendly material. Are there not enough places in the Talmud that speak of the significance of the Land of Israel? If liberal Jews feel Israel is important, why don’t they just move here?

In writing about the “gay siddur” Riemer states:

Some come just because they are Jewish, some come even though they are not. Some come out of a love for Israel. Some Israelis come even though they would never go back home. And some people don’t know why they come.“

We have now gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. From Artscroll to Zion-friendly Koren to Israelis who aren’t “coming home!” This is sneaky ala Silverstein. I have a sneaking suspicion that Silverstein is actually the author here-the kind paranoia of Portnoy thinking that every woman was his mother in disguise!