10. Larger font is more user friendly! The text is more clear and crisp and in a larger display font than the Gates of Prayer.

9. The double-page spread offers many ways to connect with prayer and with God. The right page will always offer the Hebrew and translation, while the left page offers a variety of readings. Some readings are philosophical while others are more poetic. The idea is that every double page has enough variety for each and every one of us to feel at home in our new Siddur. We can opt to participate with the larger community or meditate on an alternative passage- all while being on the same page!

8. There are no italics! The prayerbook does not distinguish between service leader and congregant, allowing for more opportunities to connect with one another and to pray with intention.

7. No more taking orders from a book! The new siddur has removed all stage directions - when to stand, when to sit. There is now a lot more flexibility to vary the prayer experience than ever before since the creation of formalized, text-based prayer.

6. There is a service roadmap on each page. The margins of each page list the sequence of prayers with the name of the prayer at hand highlighted typographically. As Professor Larry Hoffman explains, "Ritual depends on familiarity with structure--bringing in a birthday cake 'works,' for example, because everyone knows the candles will be blown out afterward. In prayer, too, knowing the flow of the service enhances every moment of it."

5. It is a wonderful tool for outreach. Many of us have experienced a worship service that was stifled or even a bit formulaic. At Temple Sinai, we continue to retool our services with regard to music- music that is at times uplifting, reflective, and awe-inspiring. We finally have a prayerbook that compliments the musical program- and thereby provide a renewed opportunity to invite more people to participate in meaningful worship.

4. Every service is a learner's service! On the bottom of the page, footnotes provide historical and spiritual interpretations of the liturgy, as well as explanations of traditional body movements associated with particular prayers.

3. More Hebrew! Temple Sinai has long been promoting the learning and use of Hebrew, both as a modern language and the language of our ancestral prayer and text. Mishkan T'fillah now provides ample opportunity for those striving to become more comfortable with Hebrew usage to move in that direction.

2. We have many voices in our congregation; now we have many voices in our siddur. In order for a prayerbook to truly succeed, it must be poly-vocal- inviting full participation from a variety of beliefs. The idiomatic readings were selected because they discuss the dominant themes in contemporary Reform Judaism: social justice, feminism, Zionism, distinctiveness, and the challenges of the human experience.

1. The prayerbook reflects the opinions of laity. From the first steps, a 1994 survey of lay leaders and participants in congregations across America concerning prayerbook reform, through the editorial process involving rabbis, cantors, and lay leaders, all the way through the piloting of the various drafts of Mishkan T'fillah in over 300 congregations, this prayerbook reflects the many voices present in Reform congregations throughout our country.