[Avodah] Why is Shul Worship Inherently Attractive

[Chana Luntz]

RMB writes:

> But the person pushing for a place at the bimah, amud or the rabbi's
> shtender isn't seeing synagogue as quiet worship.

But synagogue is not supposed to be quiet worship, and quiet worship is only
one of a number of idealised forms of worship.  We are mourning at the
moment the destruction of the beis hamikdash.  If quiet worship and an
elimination of public roles were the goal, we should be celebrating, because
that is what was achieved.  There is a *lot* more quiet worship and a *lot*
less rite than when the beis hamikdash was standing.

The problem with the person pushing for a place at the bimah or the rabbi's
shtender is not because these do not involve quiet worship.  The problem
with the person pushing is because *pushing* is generally all about *I*, not
about HaShem - and, worship, is supposed to be, to state the obvious, all
about Hashem.

 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.

The attitude is a problem.  But you are then going on to confuse the
attitude with the object. It is the classic alcoholics  attitude.  Not I
cannot handle alcohol the way it should be handled, and that is my problem,
but alcohol is bad - alcohol should be banned.  But just as yiddishkeit does
not say alcohol is bad and should be banned because there are indeed some
people who cannot handle alcohol properly (ever) and some who mishandle it
on occasion.  It says ain simcha ele .. Yayin, and it mandates it as part of
kiddush and kiddushin, etc etc.

> Tir'u baTov!
> -Micha

Regards

Chana