Messorah and Royalty

A Yom Kippur Experience at Khal Adath Jeshurun

I had the good fortune to daven at Khal Adath Jeshurun (KAJ Breuers) this past
Yom Kippur (2013); since that time I have debated if I should put my experience in
writing. An article in a local publication convinced me that sharing this experience may
be worthwhile. Although when it comes to minhagim I personally follow Rav Binyomin
Shlomo Hamburger of Machon Moreshes Ashkenaz (MMA- www.moreshesashkenaz.org),
the differences between KAJ and MMA are minimal and generally nothing to be uptight
over.

Being of German-Jewish descent and involved with MMA, I have wanted to attend KAJ
for Yom Kippur for many years and when the opportunity arose I was about as excited
for Yom Kippur as one can be.

As in a typical schul, the paroches, shulchan and sifrei Torah were covered in white. In
addition to these characteristic features, the inside of the aron was also covered in
white, as was the platform (duchan) in front of the aron and the steps leading up to the
platform. Every shtender was covered with a white cloth that says lshana Tovah. This
sets the tone for a very royal configuration.

Supplementing this, most congregants (men, women and children) were dressed in
white. For men, this minimally includes a white yarmulke (or kaepchen a type of
yarmulke that is larger than a contemporary yarmulke but smaller than the old Rabbinic
yarmulkes) and tie. In addition, married men also wear a kittel (or sargenes a type of
kittel which is closed all around and is pulled over the head in the same manner as one
would put on a T-Shirt) and a white-on-white tallis. Single men and boys wear their
regular black striped tallis. Although the general rule in KAJ is that only the Rabbanim
cover their heads with their talleisim, on Yomim Noraim this rule is relaxed. Some
individuals cover their heads at various times while others do not. Hats are not worn in
schul during these days.

Since KAJ follows the old Ashkenaz messorah, teffilas Zakkah, a prayer instituted by
the Chayei Adam (Rabbi Avraham Danzig, 17481820) is not officially recited
(although one can certainly come earlier and say it). The prayers of Shema Koleinu
(until Amareinu Haazinu) and Unesaneh Tokef are similarly not recited. The piyut
(liturgical poem) Unesaneh Tokef was instituted for Rosh Hashanah and was never
accepted among German Jewry for Yom Kippur.

Before Kol Nidrei, the congregation did not don their tallaisim until the Rav and Chazzan
recited the blessing on their tallaisim aloud; the congregation followed suit quietly. A
similar procedure was followed before Baruch Sheomar in the morning.

The piyutim are generally recited according to the intention of the paytan and not
according to the manner they are written in many machzorim. Portions set aside for the
chazzan are recited aloud exclusively by him; those portions set aside for the
congregation to respond with are said aloud exclusively by them. Many of the piyutim
have their own melodies which sets the tone for the chazzan and tzibur for that
particular piece.

Most melodies used in KAJ are, of course, of Western European origin, although many
of the melodies are extremely old. It is possible that some are derivatives from the time
of the second temple. In general, the tunes of German Jewry were composed to the
words of a piyut as opposed to using a random popular song. At times, the
congregation would sing along with the chazzan, although this was not the rule. In
other schuls, when the shliach tzibbur reaches the end of a piyut or various parts of
Shemone Esrei, the tzibur will briefly sing to fill in the pause. This does not exist in KAJ.
Of course many of the tunes were foreign to me, as can be expected. Many of the
kaddaishim have their own special tunes. The chazzanus at KAJ is generally not
operatic as some might imagine; these are skilled baalei teffilah who adhere faithfully to
the messorah during davening and keep the teffilah moving along.

Just about every piyut in the Machzor was recited, which of course takes time.
Additionally, select selichos were recited at every teffilah, including Shacharis, Mussaf
and Mincha. The selichos to be recited are chosen in advance; seven selichos are
recited during each of these three teffilos. It is astounding that so few Ashkenazic
congregations recite selichos as is done in KAJ (and elsewhere) which until about 200
years ago was fairly standard in Europe and still is among non-Ashkenazim. The theme
of Yom Kippur is selicha and kapparah and is the day when the 13 Middos were first
proclaimed it is a shame to go through the day only reciting selichos during Maariv
and Neilah. Due to this grueling schedule, from the time Shacharis begins on Yom Tov
morning through Maariv on Motzaei Yom Tov, there is no break. I thought I would have
a lot of trouble adjusting to a schul with no downtime, and I therefore made sure to take
my own breaks during the day. This, and the fact that the Kehilla adheres to the printed
schedule, allowed me to focus on the teffilah.

The Kohanim went to the duchan three times; Shacharis, Mussaf and Neilah. Each
time they sang a different tune relating to a different part of teffilah. The songs used by
the Kohanim were different than anything I have ever heard and the tunes were
obviously complicated. The singing was extensive even though Yom Kippur was on
Shabbos. The tunes and effect of the birchas kohanim was particularly majestic and
beautiful.

Unlike other schuls, the Kohanim do not leave schul to wash their hands. Two carts are
situated toward the front of the schul, each equipped with a silver pitcher and basin.
The Kohanim line up to have their hands washed.

The Shacharis laining was read with the Yomim Noraim tune which is almost identical to
the one that is used in most Ashkenaz schuls. This is in contrast to Maftir which was
chanted according to the ancient standard trop as practiced by German Jewry.

The Torah, which during the year is wrapped in one wimpel, is wrapped with two
wimpels on all Yomim Tovim. (A wimpel is a cloth used at a babys bris which is later
decorated and wrapped around the Torah instead of the modern gartel. It is then
donated to the schul. Chazal refer to the wimpel as a mitpachas. The mantel, a later
innovation, is placed over the wimple. <Wimpel> or <wimple> is pronounced [vimpel] in
IPA /vmpl/). The first wimpel was wrapped facing outward so one looking can see
some of the words written on it. The second wimpel does not have any words on it. In
KAJ, the wimpels are wrapped from the top down rather than the more common custom
of wrapping the wimpel from the bottom of the Torah to the top.

During Mussaf, korim was done in a different manner than I was used to. The tzibbur
recited the paragraph of Vhakohanim vhaam to themselves and everybody bowed
upon reaching the appropriate words. The Chazzan then sang the entire paragraph
after the congregation had completed their recitation. Before he began, two individuals
approached the amud and pushed it away. These individuals then rolled out a white
carpet in front of the Chazzan. The Chazzan (E. Lasdun) did not bow like many are
used to seeing but rather, to the obvious delight of many, he performed a variation of
pishut raglayim, while keeping his hands at his sides. During this time, he continued to
sing, which is no doubt a difficult feat. This author does not know why full pishut
yadayim vraglayim is not performed.

At the end of each teffilah, the congregation called out, unanimously and in a loud voice,
Yasher Koach!

At the end of Nelilah, the shaimos were recited differently than most congregations.
The Rav recited HaShem hu haElokim, followed by the congregation. The Rav recited it
the first time, followed by the congregation. This responsive recitation continued until
the Rav and tzibur each recited the phrase seven times. Shema Yisroel was recited out
loud one time by the Rav, followed by the congregation, and baruch shaim was said
quietly. This was immediately followed by shofar (one tekiah) and vhu rachum for
Maariv.

The choir in KAJ does not participate in the actual teffilah ever, with the exception of
Hallel. On Yom Kippur, the choir only sings after Maariv (Yigdal and Adon olam), and
when the Torah is taken out and put away at Shacharis and Mincha. The choir adds to
the majestic atmosphere of the davening and probably did not extend the service by
more than a couple of minutes.

Even though it was Yom Kippur, people were friendly and welcoming.

Overall, the entire experience at KAJ had a different feel to it than your standard schul
or yeshiva. In yeshiva, for example, the davening clearly centers around the idea of
viduy. In KAJ, to this author at least, the davening reflected a certain kingliness,
malchus, that is imbued with the ancient messorah of Ashkenaz. This was an
experience that I hope to be able to participate in again.

The author would like to thank Rabbi Yisroel Strauss for reviewing and commenting on
this article.

Daniel Adler is the author of an ongoing lecture series on Rav Samson Raphael
Hirschs, The Nineteen Letters, on OU Torah (http://www.ou.org/torah). The author
can be reached at [email protected]