Friday night

[cellio]

At the oneg I received a rather effusive compliment on my torah reading on Rosh Hashana. I'm impressed that this long after the event someone sought me out to praise me. Nifty.

During the service I realized why I have a reaction that I do to one small bit. Our service leaders almost always face the congregation. There are points in the service where one is supposed to bow toward the ark (which is at the back of the bimah); the norm is for the leader to turn around at that point and do so. Someone on our bimah (not my rabbi) sometimes does the bow but doesn't turn around (so bows toward the congregation). This bugs me. I understand why it was happening (the reasons no longer apply but the pattern persists), but it still bugs me.

Last year after the Sh'liach K'hilah program there was a discussion in comments in my journal about which way the chazan faces, though not this particular detail. The article I'd read (that started the discussion) asserted that when the chazan faces the ark (to lead much of the service, not just these bowing bits) it facilitates more private prayer than when he's facing the congregation. That may be true, but it's just part of it.

When the chazan stands in the front of the room, faces the ark, and bows, he is leading us in prayer. He is our representative, our sh'liach tzibur, almost our stand-in, before God. Whose representative is he when he bows toward us?

I had this epiphany Friday night. It is as if the person bowing toward the congregation is representing God in the transaction. And that's just wrong. We do not presume God's participation and response in our prayers.

I don't mind the chazan conducting most of the service facing us; I understand how seeing a back for the entire service could be alienating to some. But there are parts where I'd rather the person turn around and be our representative.

Comments

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I view him as himself when he bows toward you. I guess my analogue is aikido, which has some shinto/spirituality/icon worship built in. At the beginning of class, it is traditional for the sensei to walk out to an already-lined-up class, and bow toward O-Sensei (creator of Aikido), whose portrait hangs at the front of the dojo. There, we are all students before him. Then, sensei turns around and bows, and we bow back: we are his students today. In a way he's got O-Sensei "on his side", but he is also greeting us and inviting us to train with him.

In a congregation, it's like, when the speaker is facing away, he is speaking as a part of but also as leader of the congregation. When he faces, he is speaking for himself, but with his knowledge at his back, and God on his side. To me it's not like he is representing God, just interpreting or guiding; providing a human face so that all may progress together, not filtering or incarnating the Word from on high.

Just my gut feeling.

[cellio]

When it started happening I thought of martial arts too. (I've never been in a dojo, but I've heard of the practice.) And since we don't have a tradition of bowing to each other during worship services, it struck me as odd. I sat next to a gentile visitor once who commented on this custom that seemed very welcoming, and I decided it would be too complicated to set her right.