Hebrew, such a central aspect of Jewish worship, remains a stumbling block that prevents many fully taking part in religious services, and the bold step has been taken here of transliterating most of the Shabbat services and some home services in the hope that through this encouragement to participate the further step to learning Hebrew will also follow. The traditional service is expressed in terms of the Jewish people as a collective whole, with our specific values and traditions, our views about God and our relationship to one another. Amidst so much that is stated in terms of ‘we’and ‘us’, it is sometimes difficult to find our individual voice or needs being addressed. The notes that accompany each page, together with a new section on liturgy in the Study Anthology, may go some way to translating the traditional language of prayer into its historical and theological place, but also into more personal understandings. A new section, ‘Reflections on the Shabbat Services and Weekday Amidah ’, offers new approaches to addressing the traditional prayers, particularly for people who have questions about their language or affirmations. A menorah and page number ( f 123 ) beside a prayer or section indicate where such reflections may be found. Life cycle prayers, as well as a similar section in the Study Anthology, may offer other ways of expressing our own individual voice both within and beyond the service. Our growing concern with issues like terrorism, the relationship between different religious communities, the environment, poverty and human rights all need to be addressed within the prayer life of the Jewish community. So in addition to prayers for inclusion in appropriate services, to be found in a new section on Public Prayers and Passages, these issues too are addressed in a section of the Study Anthology. While it is easy now to list the above features of the new Siddur as self–evident, each of them has been introduced after much heart–searching and debate within the Editorial Board, the Assembly of Rabbis, and throughout the congregations, since we have conducted a thorough set of trials of different drafts, more so than in any previous edition. People have responded individually and as congregations, and we have tried to take into account a wide range of views and wishes, many of which are inevitably mutually contradictory. Clearly with such a diverse set of congregations, each with a diverse membership, there is no way that all expectations can be met. Yet it is our hope that everyone who expressed an opinion will feel listened to and will recognize places where their influence has been felt. Where their views have not been fully accepted, it is because we have responded to equally strongly felt needs from others and had to make a fine judgment on what to prioritise. In such an enterprise we may have to settle for a holy compromise, but do so in the knowledge that the sacrifice of our own particular opinion has been in order to help many others.
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