The Va’ani Tefillati liturgy is unique among Conservative prayer books due to its Israeli context, which informs its substance and shapes its message. In 1998, the masorati movement published the first Conservative siddur written in Israel, Va’ani Tefillati. The siddur’s name is based on Psalms 69:14, which asks for an acceptable time for prayer. The Talmud (Berakhot 7b) asks and explains this. The first prayerbook was written down by Rav Amram Gaon in 865 CE as a response to a question from Spain about what prayers a person was allowed to make. The siddur is a conservative document, as it is the classical repository of Jewish memory and faith. For nearly two millennia, the basic form and meaning of the siddur have been a conservative document. It means recognizing Israel’s right to exist and the Jewish people’s claim to a secure homeland. The sensibility that marks the pages of Va’ani Tefillati is a reflection of the Israeli Masorti (Conservative) Movement.
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