Livre d'Or

This post is totally fascinating to me, as it reveals my America-centrism; I've heard (and used) the term "liberal Judaism" to mean "the opposite of conservative Judaism" (both liberal and conservative with lower-case letters, mind), but I didn't realize there was a branch/denomination of Judaism which calls itself Liberal Judaism. My bad. :-)

Maybe it was my early exposure to American Jewish summer camp, but I've always had a soft spot for (well-played) guitar in services. I can see why it bothers people, though. These days I find organ-playing in services (as is practiced at my parents' temple) bizarre, but it seemed perfectly normal to me when I was small; I guess it's all a question of what one's used to and what flavor of liturgical music one enjoys. For my part, I like a shul where the congregation is expected to sing lustily; if we're doing so over guitar, or if all the little kids have tambourines and no sense of rhythm, or if we're doing it entirely unaccompanied doesn't matter much to me, as long as they let me sing. :-)

I chuckled a little at the bit about the restoration of the Temple. I've actually wrestled with that one quite a bit, and have aligned myself with teachers and thinkers who don't want to see Temple sacrifice restored, but I'm certainly aware that the reading I favor is not the dominant one, historically, and indeed that my reading is just that -- a reading -- not the definitive answer to the question...