29
ImagInIng the JewIsh Future
R
abbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ph.D.,
Barbara and Stephen Friedman
Professor of Liturgy, Worship
and Ritual at HUC-JIR, shared a story
with me almost twenty years ago. He
was at a conference of liturgists of all
different faiths, and they decided that
in place of a traditional service they
would all take five minutes of silence.
The Buddhists sat in peaceful medita-
tion, the Christians were deep in prayer,
but for Rabbi Hoffman and the other
Jews…. One Orthodox colleague said
to Larry, “I’ve never been that quiet for
that long in my entire life!”
When we Jews pray, we like to have a
script. We are the People of the Book.
And when we think of worship trans-
formation, what we usually mean is
“
let’s write a new prayerbook!” We have
witnessed a wonderful transformation
in Reform worship through our texts
over the decades:
Union Hymnal, Gates
of Prayer
,
Mishkan T’filah
.
Just the
names alone tell you how much things
have changed in the Reform Movement!
But text is only a means to an end.
Transformative ritual and worship does
not happen in your head, but in your
heart. Jews are very attached to our
words. But too often we focus on the
words at the expense of everything else.
In that vein, as I was anxiously editing
and re-editing this talk, I remembered
what a speech coach taught me last
year – only 7% of my effectiveness will
be about the text. Yes, you heard that
right. 93% of the effect of this talk has
nothing to do with my notes. Remem-
ber that when you are slaving over your
next High Holy Days sermon – 7%!
So what is the rest?
38%
is what I
sound
like. What are my
inflections, my pacing, the animation
in my voice,
my gravitas
.
What about the last 55%? Can you
guess? 55% of it is visual! Instead of
worrying about my notes, apparently
I should have spent more time think-
ing about my shoes.
I found this all pretty unbelievable.
But once I learned this principle, I
could see it everywhere. I was in Chi-
cago officiating at a wedding and while
I hope I said the right words to the
couple, the moment everyone cried,
the truly transformative event, was the
processional. The visual experience of
a young couple leaving their parents
to create a new family said it all.
That same weekend I visited Trinity
United, a large, traditionally African-
American church led by my friend,
the Reverend Otis Moss. I brought
my family with me. My children were
mesmerized. They were singing along.
These folks knew how to do worship!
And it wasn’t the text, which by itself
wasn’t all that inspiring. It was the
Trinity United choir singing “Are you
Ready? Are you Ready? For the Com-
ing of the Lord?” that was definitely
at least 38% of the experience. What
was so moving about the overall experi-
ence was not just this choir in colorful
traditional African dress, or seeing
150
volunteers right at the front of
the room, but watching the authentic,
joyous prayer experience in their smiles
and in their dancing.
I don’t want to diminish the impor-
tance of the text. Text is important,
especially when it can help you get
inside a prayer or ritual. But we need
to start asking questions that help us
get to the emotive and visceral experi-
ence of prayer, such as:
What is the emotional arc and energy
of the service?
W
orsHiP
Rabbi Cantor Angela Warnick Buchdahl ’99, ’01
Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue, New York, NY
watch thE vIdEO:
huc.edu/inauguration/buchdahl