We ask that the congregation please rise... to observe a custom (minhag) that was created for a very specific reason. That reason disappeared over 1000 years ago. So what did the Jews do about that? You guessed it: they maintained the minhag and came up with new reasons for it. That in itself tells us something about the role of minhag in our religious life. And as for those new reasons, do they have anything to teach us? Well, just maybe.