[Avodah] Why is Shul Worship Inherently Attractive

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 10:00:20PM +0200, Arie Folger wrote:
: Thus, according to RMB, the reason many consider shul centered worship
: more fulfilling than home based worship, is that shul centered worship
: is showoff worship.

A bit more baldly put, but basically yes. One nuance I would add to that
is that I'm contrasting it to quiet-behind-the-mechitzah worship as well
as home worship, something you can't really address in the way you cut
this tangent.

In short, my reply will be off topic to your point, because I'm not
looking at shul as showoff, I'm looking at a particular attraction
people have toward shul because it allows a possibility of showing off
that davening at home doesn't have.



I'm making a point about shul-and-rite that isn't addressed by the very
real need to feel part of the crowd. Who was it who said that the todah
was so large with such a small time window so as to force the thankful
person to share his joy as part of a larger community? Not to mention
berov am hadras melekh.

To put it another way, the concept of besokh ami anokhi yosheves includes
besokh ami.

But the person pushing for a place at the bimah, amud or the rabbi's
shtender isn't seeing synagogue as quiet worship. They're defining an
important place in yahadus by it being a prominant place in rite. The
concept of religion=rite feeding into a confusion of important vs
attention-grabbing.

As I said, I'm trying to describe an attitude, not a line of reasoning.
The drive for women to play a greater part in shul (or my love of being
Chazan, back when it didn't hurt my throat, or my love of having a turn
giving the derashah over qiddush) is in contrast to davening at home or
behind the mechitzah for a reason.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "Fortunate indeed, is the man who takes
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