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Subject: Siddur: The Basics of Jewish Prayer
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From: JUICE: Sidney Slivko
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Siddur: The Basics of Jewish Prayer

THE PRAYER BOOK: A WINDOW ON JEWISH THEOLOGY
Instructors: Barbara and Reuven Sutnick

* BEGINNING WITH BLESSINGS *

Up until now we have been involved in an overview study of Jewish
prayer. This has meant discussing prayer in general and looking at the
historical development of the Hebrew prayer book (siddur). From this
point our method will turn to focusing in on specific prayers or groups
of prayers to study them in more detail and discern their meanings.

Let us start with ritual prayer in the form of its most basic building
block: the blessing or "BeRaCHa". There are several types of blessings
in use today. We will look first at the simplest form of beracha, the
one used to express appreciation or praise (in contrast to those that
accompany ritualistic acts). Typically, we see the following six
(Hebrew) word formula:

"BaRuCH ATaH A-DoNai E-LoHeiNu MeLeCH haOLaM..."
"BLESSED ARE YOU LORD, OUR GOD, SOVEREIGN OF THE UNIVERSE, (WHO)....."

For each beracha, the ending is a "fill in the blank". It changes to
accommodate the particular context. (For example, "...who creates the
fruit of the vine"; "...who lifts up the downtrodden"; "...who rebuilds
Jerusalem"; etc.). Many people have been taught to recite certain
blessings by rote, without giving much thought to the heavy statement
they make. Contained in these six opening Hebrew words is a vast amount
of theology, including some curious paradoxes. Let us take a moment to
probe this multi-purpose beracha formula and cut right to its
theological elements.

The first thing we learn when we look at berachot (plural of beracha)
about Jewish theology is that the possibility of direct address from
humans to God is assumed. This, of course, presupposes that such a
thing (mortal, finite humans actually speaking to Immortal, Infinite
God) is possible and even desirable (after all, it could be viewed as
presumptuous, impertinent and even offensive for us to attempt to
address God). The pray-er's (remember, "person at prayer")
subordinate status with respect to the Divine is hinted at in the Hebrew
word BaRuCH ("blessed"), since the same Hebrew root also signifies the
word "knee" (BeReCH). In other words, between the lines of each
beracha, God is figuratively approached "on bended knees".

On the other hand, the pray-er speaks to God in the 2nd person, calling
him "You". Hebrew does not distinguish between intimate and formal
moods, as do romance languages, Yiddish, etc. However, the "You"
addressed with each blessing is that aspect of God that is imminent, a
heartbeat away, even INSIDE the pray-er somewhere. Next, He is called
"our God", referring to the many covenants of mutual allegiance between
God and the people that are recorded in the Bible. Following this, with
the words "King of the universe", we find an enthronement formula: The
Jewish belief in God's continued sovereignty over the entire created
universe, is acknowledged with each beracha. It is noteworthy that the
Hebrew word for universe, OLaM, implies both infinity of TIME and of
SPACE. Thus God's sovereignty is understood to encompass all of this in
the small Hebrew phrase MeLeCH haOLaM.

When we add the ending or "signature" of the beracha, a very
interesting thing happens. The beracha switches from the second to the
third person. (For example: "Blessed are YOU...who brings forth bread
from the earth"; "Blessed are YOU...who hears prayer"; etc.) What are
the implications of this switch? Just as the imminent, approachable,
personal aspect of God is addressed with the opening of the beracha; the
awesome, remote, all-powerful aspect of God is acknowledged when the
beracha changes to the third person.

Thus, the six Hebrew words of the beracha formula, plus the fact that
the signature is always in the third person reveal a significant piece
of Jewish theology: Humans CAN address God; God is at once imminent and
transcendent; and God is the Master of all space and all time. If we
add to these theological musings all the inarticulate emotion that a
person might feel seeing the flash of thunder, hearing terrible news,
smelling a fragrant rose or simply opening one's eyes in the morning
(all traditional occasions for uttering blessings) we round out the idea
of blessing even further. This is also only the beginning. In the
signature of the various berachot (plural of beracha), and the
paragraphs which accompany them we will see the story develop further.
Our next questions are, how did this formula come to be standardized and
where did it come from?

- FORM AND CONTENT -

Although we have established the biblical antecedents for the activity
of prayer in previous Lectures, we will soon see that the specific
formula of blessing we use today has been deliberately changed from the
most common biblical form. As with most well-developed forms of
literature, change of form implies change of content. The rabbis ask
whether a phrase which sounds sort of like a blessing, but deviates from
the six-word opening formula -- Blessed, You, Lord, (our) God, Sovereign
(of), (the) Universe -- a little bit can still really be an official
blessing? Since each of the six words contains significant theological
principles, the absence of one word is not a small thing. This question
also relates to the issue of just how connected today's Jewish prayer is
to biblical prayer (a mode of inquiry pursued in Lectures 2 and 3).

If we check our Bibles, we find something remarkable: there are at
least thirteen cases of "Blessed is God" without the "YOU." (Remember,
"YOU" signifies our turning with a sense of INTIMACY to an imminent
God.) By contrast, there are only two cases in the entire Hebrew Bible
of "Blessed are YOU God", the form we do in fact use today(1)! It is
remarkable that in cannonizing the prayer book, the Rabbis ignored the
statistically popular biblical blessing form and enshrined the less
characteristic form in our ritual. Let us consider two examples. In the
first, Abraham's servant is looking for a bride for Isaac. He is
astounded that God seemed to immediately respond in causing Rebecca to
appear. He says:

Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has
not left my master destitute of His love... (Gen. 24:27)

We see still another example without the "YOU" in the story of Jethro,
Moses' father-in-law. After Jethro hears of the wonderful things done
for the Jews in Egypt, he says:

Blessed is God who saved you from Egypt and from Pharoah.
(Exodus 18:10)

Professor Heinemann (p.55) explains that these are not actually
blessings, but rather "publications of awe" on the part of Abraham's
servant and Jethro, respectively. Confronted by the power and wonder of
the Lord, each one offered his response. Technically, however, they
were not reciting blessings. Heinemann applies this theory to each of
the eleven other biblical cases in which a seeming blessing appears
without the "YOU." (For another more contemporary example, find an
Orthodox Jew in your town and ask him/her how s/he feels. A most
probable answer will be "BaRuCH Ha-SHeM" -- "praised be the Name [of
God]", i.e. "because of the grace of God, I am fine". This person is
not PRAYING in response to your question, but rather acknowledging God's
role in his/her well-being.)

By contrast, the biblical blessings that Heinemann cites which do
contain the "YOU" are:

"Blessed are YOU, God, teach me your statutes"
(Psalms 119:12); and

"...David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said,
Blessed are YOU, Lord, God of Israel our father, forever and ever."
(I Chron. 29:10ff)

So, what really is the big deal about the missing "YOU?" It is a "big
deal", since without it, the pray-er is talking ABOUT God, and NOT TO
God. Although many biblical prayers talked ABOUT God, that is not the
activity to which we are supposed to aspire when we pray. The language
of the siddur directs us to talk TO God, and to retain a sense of
intimacy in doing so. Thus, the rabbis who shaped our prayer book (and
in-so-doing shaped our theology) deemed that it is preferable to insert
a measure of intimacy with God in our blessings, even at the expense of
linking the practice historically with the form used LEAST often in the
Bible. And why should we worry about linking it with the Bible at all?
We do because the Bible is traditionally viewed as our oldest and most
direct set of clues about how to relate to God (refer to Lectures 2 and
3).

But wait a minute! Have you noticed a way in which Psalms 119:12 and I
Chron. 29:10 (our biblical blessings with "YOU") are also PROBLEMATIC
models for us today? They too are missing one of the key words of the
six-word blessing formula. Here's a hint:

Rav says: Any blessing which does not mention God's
Name (the Holy 4-letter Tetragramaton) is not a blessing;
Ravi Yochanan says: Any blessing which does not contain
mention of God's kingship (of the world) is not a blessing.
(Talmud Berachot 40b)

Neither of these last examples from the Bible contain the necessary
mention of God's kingship, "Sovereign of the world." To our utter
astonishment, according to rabbinic tradition, these two blessings (i.e.
the only two biblical blessings that do contain "YOU") do not
technically count as blessings either! Does this mean that no one in
the Bible prayed? Of course they did -- but not in the same way that
Jews do today.

In the final analysis, the six-word fixed blessing formula appears to
be a new creation drawing on a number of biblical elements, but
essentially overriding biblical forms. As early as several centuries
before the destruction of the Second Temple, the Rabbis defined a new
form for the "blessing" which was prayer rather than publication, which
retained both the intimacy of direct address and a respectful distance
in alluding to God's attributes. This new creation acknowledged a
number of biblical elements, but favored none exclusively.

Phrased differently, prayer as we see it in the siddur before us,
simply was not a biblical activity. The definitive prescription of
formal elements that marks the rabbis' contribution to Jewish prayer is
absent in the Bible. The biblical examples we considered were
spontaneous; whereas our liturgy is fixed. Each biblical prayer
contained some but not all elements of the accepted blessing formula;
whereas our liturgy requires that all the critical biblical elements are
represented each time a blessing is recited.

It seems to me that by way of defining formal elements the Rabbis
accomplished two critical innovations: a) the content, message,
intention and religious philosophy of prayer were defined; and b) a new
form of prayer activity was defined. In this new form, verbal piety
could be the result of DISCIPLINE rather than INSPIRATION. What modern
prayer may lack in terms of inspiration it makes up for in terms of
democracy: EVERYONE can play (even the uninspired)! Thus, as a result
of rabbinic innovation, every person who is careful in his/her practice
of prayer, can reach the highest level of religious achievement.

- A "SIMPLE" BLESSING -

It is time to look at the way some of these ideas can be applied to
specific berachot in the siddur. *SIDDUR SEARCH* Near the very
beginning of most siddurim at the start of the weekday morning service
is a list of 14 relatively short berachot. These are called BiRCHoT
haSHaCHaR, or "Morning Blessings". The list begins with "Blessed...who
gives the rooster wisdom to distinguish between light and darkness" and
ends with "Blessed...who gives strength to the weary." *EUREKA!*

Please read through BiRCHoT haSHaCHaR. It can be said that the list is
a slow-motion version of the process of fully regaining consciousness
after a night's sleep: one hears the rooster (or alarm clock) crow;
realizes who one is and is not; begins to "inventory" one's physical
capabilities; stretches; pulls on clothes; etc.

Reciting this list of "Morning Blessings" minimally discourages the
reflective pray-er from taking any of these capabilities for granted.
At the more intense extreme, the pray-er can aspire to the highest level
of religious achievement through these berachot. Let us see how one
example might work. The fifth beracha of Birchot Hashachar is:

Blessed are You Lord, our God, King of the universe, who opens the eyes
of the blind.

Upon opening one's eyes in the morning and evoking this formula, a
person can acknowledge some or all of the following things from the
first moment of cognition in the morning. First, that the resumption of
the ability to see comes from God. That God can be spoken to directly
(even before one brushes one's teeth!). At the same time, as s/he rubs
the sleep from his/her eyes even before morning coffee, the pray-er
verbalizes the utter transcendence of God: even at 6:00 am, God is the
Sovereign of the World. And how is this relevant even at this early
moment in the day, and perhaps even more so? God restores the pray-er's
sight, contends this short prayer, just as He does each morning to all
members of humanity privileged to see another day. To take this a step
further, "sight" can refer not only to the physical ability to see, but
also to that of discerning meaning -- "seeing" in all of its
metaphorical depth of meaning. The highly developed theology expressed
by our tradition's greatest liturgical geniuses, can be arrived at
virtually in our sleep!! (To say nothing of all our own ideas on the
subject.) If the pray-er should remain too lazy, unimaginative,
indifferent or sleepy to add his/her own insights to the prayer--not to
worry! To say the beracha simply as it is--is to say a mouthful!

- OTHER TRADITIONAL BLESSING FORMS -

The six-word (plus ending) blessing formula that we have been talking
about up to now is the briefest form of beracha that can stand on its
own. It is said in acknowledgement of a sensual experience (eating,
drinking, smelling or seeing something special and even hearing certain
types of news) or when acknowledging God's powers (as with BiRCHoT
haSHaCHaR, which we just studied). A second type of beracha has the
shorter form "Blessed are You Lord, our God who..." followed by
something God did/does. This type of beracha is not self-contained but
rather appears at the end of an entire prayer. It is called the
"beracha signiture" of that prayer. (We will study example of these in
Lectures 7 and 8.) A third type of beracha is called "beracha shel
mitzvah -- beracha of a commandment." It is recited just before
performing a commandment, such as lighting Shabbat candles, eating
matzah at the Passover seder, or putting on tefillin. It contains the
added phrase:

"...ASHeR KiDSHanu b'MiTZVotav v'TZiVanu..."
"WHO MADE US HOLY WITH HIS COMMANDMENTS AND COMMANDED US..."

followed by a mention of the specific commandment being done at the
time. The theology behind saying such a beracha is to acknowledge that
one is performing the commandment out of a desire to fulfill God's
will. The pray-er is also praising God for bestowing holiness on the
people through the gift of the commandments (the Torah). Thus the
ordinary act of touching a flaming match to a waiting wick is
transformed by these words into a religious activity or experience. Max
Kadushin, in his book, Worship and Ethics, calls this "normal mysticism"
-- in other words, the combination of blessing + ritual becomes a type
of mystical experience. It is a way of approaching God that even
ordinary people (i.e. non-mystics) can actualize.

* * * * *

All rights reserved.

APPENDIX - BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLASSICAL JEWISH SOURCES

- BIBLE. The full Hebrew Bible, which is composed of three sections:
the TORAH (Five Books of Moses), the PROPHETS (historical and prophetic
works) and the WRITINGS (historical and literary works).

- MIDRASH RABBAH. The major compilation of the homiletic material
compiled on the biblical text during the 3rd - 19th centuries. Includes
BERESHIT RABBAH, AND SHIR HASHIRIM RABBAH, which are quoted from in this
course.

- MISHNA. Literally, "teaching". The early oral tradition, mainly of a
legal and ritual nature, codified in written form by Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi
in Israel at the end of the 2nd century.

- RAMBAM. Initials of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or Maimonides. Born in
Spain in 1135; died in Egypt in 1204. Renowned as the greatest
post-Talmudic authority (after c. 500) on Judaism. In addition to being
a world-famous medical expert, the RAMBAM wrote extensively on Jewish
law, the Mishna and Jewish philosophy. His MiSHNeh ToRah -- HiLCHot
TeFiLa and Guide for the Perplexed are quoted in this course.

- RASHI. Initials of Rabbi Shelomo Yitzhaki (1040-1105), who lived in
France. RASHI remains the leading Bible commentator, with no
traditional edition of the Bible being complete without his glosses.
RASHI's commentary to the Bible was the first Hebrew book to be printed
in 1475. It is referred to in this course.

- SEFER HA-HINUKH. Midevil companion to the Torah, by R. Aharon Ha-Levi
of Barcelona, which defines and elaborates on each mitzvah
(commandment) in the Torah in the order in which they appear in the
Torah.

- TALMUD. (BABYLONIAN) A commentary and discussion of the MISHNA, as
expounded in the academies of Babylonia from the second to the end of
the fifth century. The JERUSALEM TALMUD was finalized a century
earlier. It contains both legal and legendary (midrashic) material,
including numerous biblical references and interpretations. Intensive
study of the Talmud is the major focus of the most traditional Jewish
schools and yeshivas today. Citations will include the page and the
name of the relevant section of Talmud.

MODERN BOOKS ON JEWISH PRAYER

- DONIN, Haim Halevy. TO PRAY AS A JEW. New York, 1980.

- HAMMER, Reuven. ENTERING JEWISH PRAYER. New York: Schocken, 1994.

- HEINEMANN, Yitzhak (1876-1957). Israeli scholar and philosopher born
in Frankfurt. His IYuNei TeFiLah (Hebrew) is referred to in this
course.

- KADUSHIN, Max. WORSHIP AND ETHICS. Evanston, Ill., 1964.

- PETUCHOWSKI, Jacob J. UNDERSTANDING JEWISH PRAYER. New York:Ktav,
1972.

- PLASKOW, Judith. STANDING AGAIN AT SINAI. San Francisco, 1990.

- YAKOBSON, Yissachar. NeTiV BiNa. Tel Aviv, Sinai Publishing: 1978. (in
Hebrew)

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