Q&A: Saying the Various Sections of the Prayer Service
Saying the Various Sections of the Prayer Service
Question
In an interview with Makor Rishon you said: "Generally speaking, I would give up many parts of the prayer service. It is just a long and unnecessary text that does not speak to anyone. The parts that are truly necessary from a halakhic standpoint, from 'Barkhu' until the end of the Amidah, I say. But during the rest of the prayer service I bring books to the synagogue and read. Those are my most productive hours."
A. According to your approach, the problem is with matters of providence and the like, so there should be no issue with praising the Holy One, Blessed be He, as in Pesukei DeZimra, or with other elements such as reciting the offerings, Tachanun, and so on. Why do you not say those parts?
B. Are those sections really not actually necessary from a halakhic standpoint? I have never looked into it very deeply, but from my limited familiarity, Pesukei DeZimra, Tachanun, and Kedusha DeSidra are fairly necessary halakhically.
Answer
There is no problem at all with praising the Holy One, Blessed be He, nor with giving thanks. And even with requests, I am not sufficiently certain to abolish them. I explained all this at length in the second book of the trilogy. The wearisome length of the prayer service has nothing to do with any of that; it is simply because it is wearisomely long.
As for what is necessary and what is not, the quotation you brought is not accurate (there were several inaccuracies in that interview). Dani Seter discussed this at length in Sidduran Shel Yechidim (search online).