Synagogues that upgrade to newer editions of prayer books often have to bury the old ones. (Adam Jones\/Creative Commons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe donated some to a local shul, but we had to get rid of a lot of them and bury them,\u201d Rabbi Myron Rakowitz told JTA. \u201cIt was difficult because we didn\u2019t just want to throw them out or claim them unusable. We want other people to use them, to give them purpose when we no longer can.\u201d<\/p>\n
What to do with the old books — it’s a\u00a0 growing problem for synagogues across the United States.<\/p>\n
In the last six years, the three major American Jewish denominations have released new prayer books. More than 1,500 synagogues have purchased the books, in some cases making older versions obsolete.<\/p>\n
More than 700 congregations have bought copies of the Reform movement\u2019s new Mishkan T\u2019Filah, and hundreds more are expected to buy. The Conservative movement\u2019s new High Holy Days prayer book, the Lev Shalem Mahzor, has sold nearly 260,000 copies to some 500 congregations since its 2010 release. And over 200,000 copies of the Koren siddur released in 2009 have been purchased by more than 300 Orthodox synagogues.<\/p>\n
The problem isn’t going away. The Reform movement is working on a new High Holy Days prayer book, or machzor, that it expects to release in 2015.<\/p>\n
According to Jewish tradition, prayer books are holy and cannot just be thrown out. Traditionally, they must be placed in a geniza, a repository for holy books awaiting burial. It’s the only religiously acceptable way to dispose of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis problem is just rampant because now is the greatest time for creativity in writing new prayers and liturgy, and it\u2019s going to get worse when the new machzor comes out,\u201d said Rabbi Elaine Zecher of Boston, who is leading a committee working on the new Reform movement prayer book. \u201cBut our solution to bury them shouldn\u2019t be looked at negatively. This is an intentional disposal, not a mindless disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some synagogues have sought alternatives to the burial option. Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego takes its old books and those of several nearby congregations, and mails them to Jewish Prisoner Services International in Seattle. Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, Calif., sent their old prayer books to Hillel chapters throughout the state two years ago when it bought new machzors.<\/p>\n
But finding a new home for all the leftover books, some of them decades old, can be difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur machzorim we\u2019re looking to get rid of now are usable, but they are from the 1940s version,\u201d said Rabbi Philip Scheim of Beth David B\u2019nai Israel Beth Am in Toronto, which is planning to upgrade to the new Lev Shalem machzor this year. \u201cThe English translation is incredibly hard for people to get through.\u201d<\/p>\n
For most synagogues, if the books don\u2019t eventually find a home, to the ground they go. Some buy pricey lots in a Jewish cemetery; others bury them near their synagogue. Sometimes a gravedigger is hired to do the work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really a shame if we have to end up burying our books. They\u2019d be of good use, but we just can\u2019t find anyone to take them in,\u201d said Marjie Cogan of Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle, which has been trying unsuccessfully for years to unload 700 old machzors. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge problem for us because we don\u2019t have the means to store them.”<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not true of Beth Am, a Conservative synagogue in Baltimore. The synagogue\u2019s rabbi, Daniel Burg, says there is space to temporarily store 1,200 books that are no longer used by the congregation. Burg hesitates to bury the books because he feels it would be wasteful.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the one hand, we don\u2019t want to destroy God\u2019s name or have it fade by the books just sitting there,\u201d Burg said. \u201cBut on the other hand, there\u2019s a concept of ba\u2019al tashchit, of not wanting to just waste things. And it\u2019s difficult to just get rid of things that could still have use.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel Freedlander, the vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism, says his movement is confronting the problem of book disposal for at least the third time: first in 1975, when Gates of Prayer replaced the old Union Prayer Book; in 1990, when a new gender-neutral version was released; and again with Mishkan T\u2019Filah.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo weeks pass by without us being contacted by people looking to get rid of their old Jewish books,\u201d Freelander said. \u201cA good majority of them get donated, but we\u2019ve come to terms that many will get buried, and the ceremony can actually be educational for kids. Those books can\u2019t just sit in your attic forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, the congregation gathers each year before Passover to collectively dispose of unused books. A communal prayer is recited, as is the Mourner\u2019s Kaddish, and there\u2019s a moment of reflection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gather together at the synagogue where members bring tattered prayer books and other sacred books that can no longer be used,\u201d Rabbi Debra Robbins said in an email. \u201cWe developed a creative liturgical ceremony for families and members of all ages to participate in together, and we have a special grave site labeled sifre kodesh,\u201d or holy books.<\/p>\n
Zecher noted that Jews have been burying books for centuries to make room for new ones, and the practice will continue to grow as the religion continues to evolve.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might seem wasteful,\u201d Zecher said, \u201cbut like everything we do, it\u2019s with intention.\u201d<\/p>\n
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