category: Prayer
Shalom & Greetings,
I have a question, I really enjoy the prayer melodies at the Chabad synagogue nearby, but I am Sephardic. Is there a problem to pray in the holidays not in my family’s traditional way? My father was not religious and did not raise me going to synagogue. I became religious 4 years ago.
Greetings and blessings!
Regarding your question about the appropriate version of prayer (nusach) for you, since your father is Sephardic, but on the other hand you were not raised to pray or go to shul …
The founder of the Chabad movement, Rabbi Shneur Zalman, compiled the Chabad nusach of the prayers after thoroughly perusing 60 different nuschaot, and then taking the best, after which he worked on refining it for another 20 years. If you had been praying since childhood with a Sephardic version, careful consideration would be required, but since you have only recently begun to pray and are getting used to Chabad nusach, you’re in the best place possible and there’s no need for concern.
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