Ok, ok, I get the hint :-)

[cellio]

I just got a call from someone at Tree of Life asking if I could lead services this Saturday morning. I've never done that (there, I mean), and when I started asking questions about what parts they do and don't do, she said she'd have to relay those questions to the rabbi. (Turns out she doesn't belong there either; she's just an employee. We ended up talking about how Reform and Conservative services are different, because she goes to Rodef.) I predict two stumbling blocks: the chazan's repetition of the Amidah, and Musaf. (I know that Musaf is mostly just another run-through of the Amidah, but if there's other stuff and it's in Hebrew, it would probably be new to me.)

She called back a bit later to say that they'd found someone else for this time (too many questions too late in the week, I infer), but ok, I get the hint: I'll take a closer look at the morning service in their siddur so I'll have better instincts for answering the question next time.

Not that I'm going to make a habit of this or anything; I love my congregation's morning service, and I'm about to have some leadership opportunities there too. But I'm willing to help in an emergency (when not otherwise committed) -- when, of course, there is by definition little time to prepare.

Comments

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Musaf is different. The first three and last three brachot of the shemenah esrai are the same, but there's a whole long middle portion which talks about the musaf sacrifices in the Temple. I don't know what the Conservative version of that looks like these days, although I can guess they talk about it in the past tense as something that used to be done, as opposed to the Orthodox, which speak of them as something we will do again.

There is also a concluding portion to Musaf. Again, I don't know the Conservative version, but I'm willing to bet it's about the same as the Orthodox - Ein Keloheinu, paragraphs about the insence, the psalm of the day, things like that.

Take the chance to go to the morning service just to see what it's like.