Judaism and Hebrew Prayer: New Perspectives on Jewish Liturgical History (review)

Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 227 Reviews dependent on the types of syllable. While more recent studies by Khan and the present reviewer indicate that the Karaite transcriptions reflect numerous different sub-traditions, the aforementioned phenomena are common to them; thus they demand fresh attention by students of Tiberian Hebrew phonology irrespective of the methods they apply. Tapani Harviainen University ofHelsinki P.O.B. 13, FIN-00014 FINLAND JUDAISM AND HEBREW PRAYER: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON JEWISH LITURGICAL HISTORY. By Stefan C. Reif. Pp. xiii + 437. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Cloth, $64.95. The study of Jewish liturgy was one of the focal points in the early Wissenschaft des ludentums movement. Some of the conclusions of this early work helped shape the discipline of modem Jewish studies as we know it. Many of L. Zunz and A. Geiger's investigations included studies in aspects of the development of Jewish worship and the synagogue as part of their attempts to establish the antiquity of Rabbinic Judaism. In the twentieth century these studies continued with I. Elbogen, J. Mann and J. Petuchowski. J. Heinemann's book, Hatefila Bitekufat Hatana-im Vehaamora -im (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1966) and the revised English version, Prayer in the Talmud (R. Sarason, trans. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co., 1977) has been the standard in the field until now. Four different works on Jewish liturgy have most recently been produced. They include studies on: 1. The Geonic period in which the liturgy achieved some measure of standardization; 2. The earliest development of liturgical formulation from biblical bor rowings to the creative efforts in the Tannaitic and Amoraic periods; 3. Medieval innovations based on mystical insights and interpretations; 4. Modern attempts at liturgical creativity. Stefan C. Reif's work, 1udaism and Hebrew Prayer includes all of these areas in one book and investigates and challenges some of the standing assumptions about these areas of liturgical research. Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 228 Reviews Judaism and Hebrew Prayer notes many of the historical and most recent assumptions and controversies, systematically analyzes the elements which have been overlooked in other studies (mysticism, pietism, nonAshkenazic variation, etc.) and (most) remarkably posits its own critical theory based on the author's analyses. The book is a welcome corrective to other Jewish liturgy texts written in the past decade which have fixated upon certain reigning theories without ever re-examining these theories in light of the large corpus of information which has emerged from archaeological data, as well as the Genizah and Qumran studies. Reirs book is also a welcome change in a field presently dominated by complex linguistic analyses, form critical studies and reviews of other scholars' research without any fresh synthesis. It is readable and extremely easy to find information of interest to a vast array of disciplines and scholars in Judaic studies. It could be used by university students as well as religious adult education courses. Stefan C. Reif, a noted Genizah and liturgy researcher at the University of Cambridge, has in his book written the new standard text for the study of Jewish liturgy. This book contains so many elements which are lacking in other works that they are too numerous to mention. Two elements stand out: 1. His opening chapter provides a critical review of Jewish liturgical research from the nineteenth and twentieth century. Instead of just mentioning major works in passing, Reif presents their major theses and flaws in a succinct and well-written style. 2. His fmal chapters on "The Challenge of the Modem World" and "A Background to Current Developments" analyze more than just the modern attempts at liturgical reform by the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist movements, but also address spiritual and social needs and issues which lurk. behind these reforms in the modem period. Biblical scholars, Medievalists, scholars of Jewish mysticism and ethics, Jewish-Christian researchers, students of Ashkenazic and Sephardic liturgy developments, historians, and many others will find significant parts of this book of use in their own research. In short, this book is for all serious students ofJewish studies. Perhaps deservedly so, however, parts of the book seem to be a long response to the new ground breaking theory of E. Fleischer's study entitled...