[Mesorah] Lashon Tanach vs. Lashon Hazal

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Micha Berger asked:
> How does someone get a major change to the sound of the
> siddur to get accepted? Doesn't nostalgia kick in and cause
> serious opposition?

Question #2:

Of course nostalgia kicks in. But only among those old enough to have the nostalgia for the old-fashioned ways. And who listens to such old fogies?

Question #1:

Remember the Golden Rule: "He who has the gold, makes the rules."

In our context, all you need to do to change the siddur is to become a popular siddur publisher. ArtScroll decided to go with "umorid hageshem" and "v'sayarev l'fanecha" (among many others) even in Nusach Ashkenaz, and in another few decades no one will ever know there had been another way.

In fairness, I should admit that I pick on ArtScroll because -- to my generation -- they're the new kids on the block. I was raised on Birnbaum, which therefore seems totally normal and standard to me; I'll bet that people older than me can make similar comments about Birnbaum's siddur if they wanted to.

Akiva Miller