The apprehension has been expressed in some quarters that the recitation of the Regents Prayer in the Public Schools in the manner in which it was carried out (bare-headed, and limited to only twenty-two words, etc., etc.) might create an erroneous impression among those students who are completely devoid of Jewish knowledge, even of the fundamentals of our faith. Such children might conclude that this prayer and the manner of its expression satisfies all the requirements of our Torah and the Jewish prayer; that it is permissible for Jews to pray bare-headed; that no synagogue attendance is necessary, etc., etc.
In my opinion, however, these apprehensions do not justify at all the elimination of all the positive aspects of the Regents Prayer as enumerated above. To be more exact: The said apprehensions do not at all justify the prevention of scores of thousands of Jewish children from fulfilling the Mitzvoth enumerated above, all the more so since they are basic Mitzvoth.
Needless to add, it is necessary to seek appropriate ways and means to eliminate, or at least reduce, the danger of those apprehensions being materialized. One such solution should be, first and foremost, the enrollment of all Jewish students of the Public Schools into Talmud Torahs, in the post-school hours at least. But regardless of all this, it is a vital necessity that they should pray every day (and in the morning) even if only the Regents Prayer.
