The sages of Israel constantly emphasized the importance of uniformity in synagogue service. In order to link the people closely together, they reconciled variant forms of prayer and sought to bring them into harmonious union. The well-known Modim d’Rabbanan, a constituent part of the Shemoneh Esreh, is so named because it consists of variant readings reported by a number of talmudic rabbis.[1] The formula “who healest all creatures and doest wonders” is a combination of two readings.[2] As a compromise between two competing phrasings, אַהֲבָה רַבָּה is used in the morning service and אַהֲבַת עוֹלָם in the evening service.[3] A similar reconciliation was effected between the versions שִׂים שָׁלוֹם and שָׁלוֹם רָב.[4] The purpose of all this co-ordination and unification of the prescribed prayers was to prevent the formation of separate religious factions.
The Siddur should never become a source of contention among any segments of our people. One must not fail to realize that the Siddur is a classic similar to the Bible and the Talmud, to which the terms orthodox, conservative or reform do not apply. No one, of course, has ever attempted to prepare a reform edition of the Bible by removing the so-called “objectionable” expressions from the Torah or the Prophets. Editors of the Siddur should not take liberties with the original, eliminating a phrase here and adding one there, each according to his own beliefs. Such a procedure is liable to breed as many different kinds of public worship as there are synagogues and temples. The danger of rising sects is obvious, sects that are likely to weaken still more our harassed people. The ever-increasing modifications in the text of the Siddur are apt to destroy this unique source book of Judaism, designed for old and young, scholars and laymen.
