Monday, July 09, 2007
THE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE ON THE MOTU PROPRIO
Rich Levy at the Celler message board offers a comparison between the Good Friday prayer and a prayer used in Orthodox Judaism: "they thank God for not making one a gentile, a slave or a woman".
The introduction to Birkhot Hashahar (morning blessings) in the Siddur (prayerbook), Ani Tefilati, published by the Masorti Movement and the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, explains that even though in many siddurim negative language was used ("shelo asani goy", who has not made me a Gentile), the positive language suggested by Rabbi Meir is still used today in the Italian communities and was used in some medieval Ashkenazi prayerbooks (siddurim).
Levy uses quotes from the Good Friday prayers prior to the Council and post-Council taken from this article in the National Post website.
Both in this article and in various other places where this topic arises there is reference to the "Good Friday Mass". But there is no Good Friday Mass. In fact that is the one day in the year when the Mass is not offered. Aren't these in fact "Good Friday prayers" which are recited during the services, most likely at noon and/or at 3 p.m.?
I don't remember Good Friday services prior to the Council. In my family the tradition on Good Friday was to spend an hour in church in private prayer before 3 p.m. I did not attend Good Friday services in childhood and so I have no basis of comparison.
