Resolution Adopted by the
CCAR
TWO VERSIONS OF THE
NEW REFORM SIDDUR
Adopted by the
Board of Trustees
Central Conference of American Rabbi
March 26, 2003
WHEREAS, the Central conference of American
Rabbis included in it Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism,
“We affirm the importance of studying Hebrew, the language of Torah
and Jewish liturgy, that we may draw closer to our people’s sacred
texts,” and
WHEREAS, many
of our synagogues are working hard to teach Hebrew to our congregants,
with more children than ever being capable of reading the liturgy and
being comfortable praying in the language of our ancestors, and
WHEREAS, we are striving
to be a Hebrew literate community, and
WHEREAS, we understand that transliteration, while
aiding some, proves to be a crutch and distraction to others, and
WHEREAS, if our schools
begin to use a siddur that is transliterated, the students will
receive the message that mastering Hebrew in the Reform movement is
unnecessary: and the same may be said for adults who are seeking to
connect with Hebrew prayer,
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that as our movement prepares a new
siddur, we publish two versions of the prayer book with the same
pagination, one with transliteration and one that is free of
transliteration.