Observation
September 17, 2020
Why Are the High Holy Day Services so Long?
By PhilologosThe liturgy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is full of liturgical poems that stretch the bounds of the Hebrew language and the patience of worshipers.
Why are the High Holy Day services so long?
One answer might be that Jews like to pray, and that there’s no better opportunity for doing so than Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—especially the latter, when there are no holiday meals to get home to and prayers can take your mind off an empty stomach.
A second answer, which doesn’t contradict the first but explains its mechanism, is piyyut.