(2.) Another critic says: “The Synagogue Services are discordant;” that is, the feelings expressed in our prayers have no echo in the hearts of the worshippers. “Education and general progress have so entirely changed the whole life of man that he can no longer be edified by the prayers and method of devotion followed by our forefathers.” Those who assert this, of course, only assert it of themselves, and so far their statement may be accepted as correct. But on examining it more closely we find that there must be something misleading in it. For what is the central idea of the ancient prayers and hymns? The conviction that we address our Heavenly Father, who is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe; who is just, good, and holy; who alone can fulfil the wishes which we utter in our prayers, and “who is near to all those who call upon him in truth.” Does progress of education force us to abandon this principle? Certainly not. Those who do abandon it cannot be said to do so by force of education, for they are found among the educated and uneducated alike; and we should be false to our own Faith if we were to abandon this fundamental principle of our Divine Service. The second of the fundamental Principles of our Faith, though less general than the preceding, is yet equally essential in Judaism, viz., the belief in Revelation, in the Integrity and the Divine origin of the Torah, and the truth of the Divine messages sent through the prophets. The Ritual is replete with references to this belief, and it would amount to a rejection of this essentially Jewish Principle, if we were to expunge such references from the Ritual in order to please a few unbelievers. References to the Sacrificial Service, and especially prayers for its restoration, are disliked by some, who think such restoration undesirable. Let no one pray for a thing against his will; let him whose heart is not with his fellow-worshippers in any of their supplications silently substitute his own prayers for them, but let him not interfere with the devotion of those to whom “the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgments of the Lord true and righteous altogether” (Ps. xix. 9, 10), and who yearn for the opportunity of fulfilling Divine commandments which they cannot observe at present. [166] Prayer, in the true sense of the word, is impossible without the recognition of God as our Master, whom we are willing to serve, and whose commands we desire to do, whether the act implied in them be in other respects agreeable to us or not.