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In the history of Progressive Jewish liturgy, Britain’s Liberal movement has, in spite of its relatively small numbers, played a unique role. For one thing, it has taken cognisance of the liturgical traditions of both of the two main centres of Progressive Judaism: Germany and the United States of America. (Britain’s Reform movement, by contrast, has preferred to do ‘its own thing’, with little reference to what has been done elsewhere.) For another thing, its publication in 1967 of Service of the Heart marked the beginning of a new trend, which has since manifested itself throughout the Progressive Jewish world.

Today, the insight that material objects are an important part of social life is widely recognized in the social and cultural sciences. But how exactly do things affect the microlevel of social interaction? And by which methodological means can their significance for it be explored? Based on a study of Catholic liturgy, an ethnographic approach is developed that allows for systematic investigations into the role material objects play in social situations. Using Erving Goffman's frame analysis as a theoretical tool, it assumes that things are constitutive of social situations while in turn helping participants make sense of these situations. Conversely, the impact of things is considered closely tied to their particular situational involvement. In order to explore the connections between materiality, meaning, and use, I suggest investigating a number of closely related aspects: the contribution of things to the specifics of the situation in question; the bodily practices in which they are involved; the physical environment in which they are embedded; the physical qualities they possess; and the social definitions tied to them.

'And a new spirit I will put within you' salutes John Rayner's contribution to the Liberal liturgies of the United Kingdom over more than forty years. It explains his ethos as a liturgist and quotes from his writings about liturgy as well as some of his original prayers. This is a heartfelt tribute from a devoted disciple to a master liturgist.

The usage of a text within liturgy adds new meanings to the text. This article gives an overview of the understandings of Psalm 92 within its Jewish liturgical usages. The understanding is influenced by the general attitude towards psalms in Jewish liturgy, by popular interpretations in the Midrash (Jewish legends), by Kabbalistic views and by its meaning within halakhah (religious law), but also by the music that is commonly attributed to it within the service. The article shows how a text that originally had no relationship with Shabbat became, thanks to its headline, an important study text about the essence of Shabbat.