Liturgy is my absolutely favorite area of Judaica. Our prayers are far more than merely prayers; they speak to us of history, comparative religion, even intrigue…well, as intriguing as worship can be. But one of the most fascinating ideas that comes out of our prayerbooks is found in the Tefillah.

The very first part of it that highlights our patriarchs and matriarchs. We’ve proclaimed the Oneness of God via the Sh’ma. Other civilizations had many deities, but we didn’t. Yet in the Avot/Imahot (Fathers/Mothers) selection we read “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,” and the same format with their wives. Wouldn’t it have been easier just to say, “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” “God of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah”? Why repeat “God of…”?

Well, there are a few instances in the earlier Reform prayerbooks where we have the shorter package, but it isn’t correct. I’m pretty sure (though not absolutely) that my predecessors in the Reform movement knew the right way, choosing to abbreviate for literary reasons. But, of course, I digress.

“God of…” “God of…” “God of…”; and when adding the mothers, “God of…” “God of…” “God of…” and “God of…” indicates that while there is ONE God, we know – “WE” being all the streams of Judaism from way back – that these ancients did not experience the ONE God the same way. How much the more so each one of us? Truly in many ways this is unique in Jewish tradition, unique but well ahead of its time, so to speak.

When I go around the room and ask people to define God there is rarely the same definition even if there are twenty, thirty people present. There might be variations of a theme, i.e. some might believe in a personal God but the degree of the bond is different, but usually there are, as we say, eleven opinions if there are ten Jews in the room! I’ve previously written (in a sermon, that is) that I’m a firm believer in the God of Nature (among other concepts that I find compelling), but then some people kindly indicate that I must be a Native American who’s tied to the earth (you should only know how far from the truth that is! I can’t even grow tomatoes, and from I’ve heard, ANYBODY can grow tomatoes).

Think about it: Abraham and Sarah were the first Hebrews. Their individual understanding of God had to include a great AHAH! Moment; but then there’s their son Isaac who’s about to be slaughtered by his father. Why? Because God told Abraham to do so. And the text says, “God will show us the sacrifice, my son.” Isaac’s AHAH! moment couldn’t have been the same (I’ll take Abraham’s moment). And Jacob? Well, he was told by the “being” whom Jacob defeated, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but ‘Israel,’ meaning ‘One who has striven with God and mortals and survived.’” Jacob’s idea of God might have been closer to his father Isaac’s than his grandfather Abraham’s, but be that as it may, each was most unique, and each had its own consequences.

There’s so much to learn from our liturgy, far more than meets the eye.

(Speaking of Mothers, as we did in yesterday’s humorous offering, here’s the continuation of the one-liners:

- Anything you do can be criticized by your mother – even doing nothing.

- You can’t ‘out mother’ your mother. Don’t even try.

- Never lie to your mother. And if you do, never think you got away with it.

- The harder you try to hide something from your mother, the more she resembles a webcam.

- The older you are, the more you feel like a child around your mother.

- Mother’s way is best. If you don’t believe it, ask her.)