Article Discussion: Lets Make the Language of Jewish Prayer Inclusive

As a Jewish convert, I completely disagree. The Birchot Ha’shachar blessings (prayer, if you will) are a fundamental part of the Jewish morning worship service. That sentence bears re-reading. It is a Jewish prayer to be read by Jews during a Jewish worship service. As such, why on earth should it be changed to accommodate the sensibilities of a non-Jew attending a Jewish service? Who most likely wouldn’t (and, frankly, shouldn’t) be saying the prayer anyway unless they were on a conversion path to Judaism?

I’m Jewish. I’m thrilled to be Jewish. I feel a deep sense of gratitude about being Jewish. And as a Jew, I have every right to language in the worship service to help me explicitly express that gratitude to God.

I find it surprising that anyone who has been “living Jewishly” for a long time would find the blessing in question to be insulting. If they did, why on earth would they be regularly joining in Jewish worship in the first place?

I have to agree with the others. I’m a born Jew (third generation Reform) and have absolutely no problem with that prayer. Even if it were to be amended to be “of the people Israel,” it means exactly the same thing.