Two Versions of the New Reform Siddur


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.