Subject: Intro to Jewish Prayer
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From: JUICE Administration <juice@virtual.co.il>
Subject: JUICE Prayerbook 1/12
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World Zionist Organization
Student and Academics Department
Jewish University in CyberspacE
juice@wzo.org.il birnbaum@wzo.org.il
http://www.wzo.org.il
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Course: THE PRAYER BOOK: A WINDOW ON JEWISH THEOLOGY
Lecture: 1/12
Lecturer: Barbara Sutnick and Rabbi Reuven Sutnick
WHAT IS PRAYER?
- THE CHALLENGE OF PRAYER-
"We live in an age when it is not fashionable to pray,"
observes Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin in his book To Pray As A
Jew. Perhaps we are too spiritually "arrogant" to pray; for
prayer requires a measure of awe and modesty and a sense of
gratitude for what we have in life. Could it be that modern
man has been so successful in building a wall of sophisticated
civilization around himself that he attributes all that he
sees to his own efficacy and power? Perhaps there are those
who DO appreciate the power of the natural world; yet choose
not to pray because they have difficulty believing in the
existence of a God to listen to prayers? There may be other
individuals who would not consider prayer since they do not
know how to pray. They are not sure what prayer is, and would
not know where to begin. In order to understand why
prayer is so "unfashionable" these days, we must first explore
what prayer is, what the act of praying entails, to what
extent it can be viewed as having "efficacy" and to whom it
might be directed. This is essentially the aim of this
course. It will also be helpful to look at ways that Jews and
others have prayed at different stages of the development of
civilization. In addition, we will think about and study
samples of different kinds of prayers, and various kinds of
mental, physical and emotional states that the person at
prayer might adapt. To this end, we will think about both
spontaneous prayer, and the highly developed fixed prayer
services of the Jewish prayer book. Finally, we will look
into the prayer book, and see how it reflects the deepest
theological ideas and longings of the Jewish people. We will
also see how Jewish prayer has built-in aids for making the
very challenging activity of prayer more "doable", more
effective and more satisfying. Perhaps along the way, some
will find their own voice.
What gets in the way of prayer? Before we turn to the
writings and thoughts of "experts", it will be helpful to
really tune in to this question. To do so, it is best to
consider the question personally. Although I have not yet
really defined prayer, which I will attempt to do as the
course unfolds, everybody has SOME NOTION of what prayer is
AND EVERYBODY HAS DIFFICULTY WITH PRAYER. Even extremely avid
pray-ers ("pray-er" = "person at prayer", for this course) --
people who pray regularly, know what the words mean, and
believe deeply in their message -- have trouble praying from
time to time (maybe even often). Why is that?
- TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF PRAYER -
The Random House College Dictionary defines the verb "to pray"
as follows:
"(1) to make ernest petition to (a person). (2) to offer
devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to (God or an
object of worship). (3) to make petition or entreaty for;
crave. (4) to offer (a prayer). (5) to bring, put, etc.,
by praying. (6) to make entreaty or supplication, as to a
person or for a thing. (7) to offer devout petition,
praise, thanks, etc., to God or to an object of worship.
(8) to enter into spiritual communion with God or an
object of worship through prayer. synonyms: entreat,
supplicate, beg beseech, implore."
To summarize, the concept of the English word prayer includes
either ASKING a person, God or some object of worship for
something, or PRAISING, THANKING or COMMUNING with the Divine.
>From this, we would characterize prayer essentially as
communication -- usually with a Divine Being, but not always.
It can be understood that the communication concerns itself
basically with things the Divine Being gives or does for the
pray-er; or with praiseworthy qualities of the Diety.
We will see that the Hebrew word for praying denotes some
concepts that are different from or additonal to the English
definition. The Hebrew verb "to pray" is lehitPaLeL (please
see the Appendix: "About Transliterations" at the end of this
lesson.) Even though this is not grammar class, a careful
analysis of this Hebrew word is in order. The letter/vowel
combination "le" simply means "to" (i.e. signifies the
infinitive form of the verb). The syllable "hit" is quite
important. It is the signifier of the REFLEXIVE mood in
Hebrew. It some Hebrew verbs, the "hit" lets one know that
the action takes place between or among individuals (e.g.
lehitRAot -- to see each other again). Thus the Hebrew word
for prayer implies communion, as does the English. In some
cases, "hit" makes a verb more intensive -- and intensity is
certainly a feature of prayer. Yet "hit" in Hebrew has an
additional meaning that is not operative in the English word:
it tells us that something about the activity REFLECTS BACK on
the person who does it. Two examples of this use of "hit" in
Hebrew are lehitLaBeSH (to get oneself dressed); lehitAMeTZ
(to strive, exert oneself). In each of these cases, the
person doing the action is doing it to him/herself. This is a
very important clue about one special feature of Jewish
prayer. Jewish prayer can be a very personal exercise. It
can even go so far as being a way to talk to oneself deeply
and refectively (perhaps imagining God "eavesdropping";
perhaps not). Thus to our dictionary definition of prayer, we
must add the conceptual element of internal communication and
reflection to the brew as we attempt to define Jewish prayer.
The root P,L,L contains the basic meaning of the verb
lehitPaLeL (to pray). A look an any good Hebrew/English
dictionary will show that the concepts that this root denotes
go beyond the English words prayer, entreaty and supplication,
to include think, decide, judge, incriminate and even punish.
Thus the Hebrew word for prayer, and similarly the Jewish
concept of prayer, is a much broader one than its English
counterpart. LehitPaLel (to pray) is not only to reach
upwards/outwards to the Diving being; for the Jew it is also
to look inwards. Not only is it to look inwards at one's
dreams, aspirations and desires; but it is also to look
inwards CRITICALLY. To challenge oneself to become a better
person, and to invite Divine participation in this process.
Some spontaneous personal prayers would fit nicely into this
introspection category: "give me strength to be more patient
with these children!" or even "help me to study well and pass
this exam".
Up until this point, we have been alluding largely to the
rather amorphous activity of personal prayer. Jewish prayer,
however, includes much more than that. As anybody who has
ever been to a synagogue knows, Jewish prayer services are
structured, detailed, and lengthy. A few glances at the
translation of the prayer book in the pew, show that there is
little spontaneous outpouring called for; rather all is quite
well-scripted and delineated. There is a leader who is
followed, and line after line of text to recite. This text
has obviously been written by somebody other than the pray-er
in question. How do we reconcile the fact of pre-scripted,
fixed written prayers in Jewish tradition with the value of
inspired outpourings discussed above?
- THE QUEST FOR KAVANAH-
The story is told of the famous rabbi and the bus driver
who arrive in heaven for Judgement at the same moment.
The rabbi is asked to step aside to allow the bus driver
to go right through the Pearly Gates to a luxurious
abode. The rabbi asks the gatekeeper, "how can it be
that I, a rabbi of reknown, must wait here while that
simple bus driver is ushered straight into heaven?" The
reply: "Rabbi, whenever you spoke in the synagogue,
people would fall asleep; whenever he drove his bus,
people would pray!"
It is certainly easier to pray with inspiration when one
perceives that one is in danger. Inspiration during prayer is
called "KaVaNah in Hebrew. "KaVaNah" is an important concept
in Jewish prayer terminology. It cannot really be defined
with one word. Kavanah is the "attention", "focus",
"intensity", and "directedness of the heart" with which prayer
is ideally approached. A person who prays with kavanah fills
his/her words with the full depth of concern and intention
about their meaning. (The opposite extreme would be rote
recitation of written prayers without thinking about what one
is saying.) In cases in which the pray-er is composing
spontaneous, inspired prayers, kavanah is in rather ready
supply; it is both the motivator and the essence of the
prayer. For example a simple "thank God" uttered by a truly
grateful person who escaped calamity is a bona fide prayer
filled with kavanah. The anxious wish of a worried parent for
the speedy recovery of a sick child is another example of a
spontaneous (albeit oft-repeated) prayer that is naturally
filled with kavanah. The joyful exclamations of a nature
lover on a bright sunny morning can also be described as a
prayer with kavanah.
The Rabbis observed that, "prayer without kavanah is like
a body without a soul". The 15th century Rabbi Yitzchak Arama
points out: "it is easy to stand in prayer at a certain time
each day. But if you do not concentrate in your heart, how is
your prayer any different than the mindless chirping of
birds?" [Akedat Yitzhak 58 (3:17a)]
Even the uninitiated would agree that it hardly seems to
be worth the effort to pray unless one is going to invest
one's prayers with kavanah. Yet the many statements in our
tradition encouraging the pray-er to pray with kavanah (and we
have seen only a few) are an indication of just how difficult
this can be. These admonishments about kavanah do not grow
out of the genre of spontaneous, inspired prayers that we have
been discussing. The quest for kavanah stems from the
tendency to read or recite previously conceived, fixed,
written prayers. With fixed prayer, kavanah is much more
difficult to come by.
Several factors work against kavanah in fixed prayer.
The words tend to be complicated, and the concepts lofty and
philosophical. The language of the prayer book, Hebrew, is a
barrier that is difficult (or for many) impossible to cross.
It was found that even poets and scholars of Hebrew literature
dwelling in medieval Spain, wrote prayers in a Hebrew that was
more stilted than that of their counterparts that lived in
Israel and were native speakers. Operating in other than
one's native language inevitably gives a feeling of being one
step removed. When speaking of the regular pray-er, the
numerous familiar repititions of the prayers cause the mind to
wander. In the case of the novice, the service goes by so
quickly that it is difficult enough to find and keep one's
place; let alone think very much about the significance of the
prayers. If the prayer leader's rhythym is different than
that of the pray-er, that also disorients the pray-er and
reduces him/her to a person struggling to keep the place. The
Sabbath morning prayer service, which is the one most well-
attended weekly, often lasts over two-and-a-half hours--an
extremely long time-span for sustaining kavanah! Daily
morning services can also be a full hour in length.
Interestingly, some of the factors which tend to work
against kavanah in some cases, can be an AID to kavanah in
others. Sometimes the memory of a study session which
explored the theological depths of a lofty prayer concept will
serve to enhance the kavanah each time that phrase comes up
again in prayer. The Hebrew language can also be an aid to
kavanah. For all its foreignness, Hebrew, reverberates with
layers of association spanning thousands of years, that open
up additional possibilities of meaning in each prayer. Thus,
a person who has difficulty relating to a prayer as
translated, might be more comfortable with another meaning of
the prayer that is also implied in the Hebrew. For example,
some people find it easier to think of engaging in a process
of self-examination (lehitPaLeL) than of talking to God;
conversely others prefer to think of themselves as pouring out
their heart to God (also lehitPaLeL), rather than looking too
deeply into that heart! Even some people who understand
little or no Hebrew point out that praying in that language
pulls them inarticulately closer to something ancient and
spiritual in ways that are hard to describe. Perhaps praying
in a language one does not comprehend can be likened to
reciting a mantra -- it clears the intellect for the
spiritual/emotional/pre-verbal process that is a part of
prayer. Repititions, also mentioned above as a possible
kavanah barrier, can serve for other people, or at other times
to put the mind into the prayer mode. Finally, the length of
the Sabbath morning service, an obstacle for some, can help
others to achieve greater kavanah. It usually takes time and
a conducive atmosphere to sink one's soul into the prayer
experience. A lengthy section of "warm-up" prayers and
psalms, the addition of melodies to the words, an inspiring
sermon -- all these can serve to increase a person's kavanah;
while they indisputably make the service longer. In upcoming
lectures, we will look at some of the elements of the fixed
prayer service that are designed to enhance kavanah. Before
this, however, the next two lessons will take us back in time.
We will look at the worship patterns of ancient man and at
Jewish prayer during the Second Temple period. This will help
us to understand how the Jewish prayer service developed.
APPENDIX I -- ABOUT TRANSLITERATIONS
Transliterations (i.e. rendering of Hebrew words into
English letters) will be used sparingly in this course, yet
there is some basic information you should have so that those
transliterations will be clear. The meaning of a Hebrew word
is contained in the 2 or 3 consonants that form its ROOT. It
is vocalized with patterns of points and dashes. The vowels
(plus some consonants acting as prefixes or suffixes) help us
understand such things as part of speech, tense, and person.
Throughout this course, Hebrew root letters will be rendered
in upper case letters (capital); vowels, prefixes and suffixes
will be rendered in lower case letters. When transliterating
the Hebrew name of God, I will insert a hyphen to avoid any
semblance of "taking the name of the Lord in vain". (N.B.
Words emphasized by the instructor will also appear in these
lectures in upper case letters.)
APPENDIX II -- BIBLIOGRAPHY
N.B. This bibliography will NOT be repeated with each Lecture.
CLASSICAL JEWISH SOURCES
- MIDRASH RABBAH. The major compilation of the homilatic
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.
- 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.
- HEINEMANN, Yitzhak (1876-1957). Israeli scholar and
philosopher born in Frankfurt. His IYuNei TeFiLah (Hebrew) is
referred to in this course.
- PETUCHOWSKI, Jacob J. UNDERSTANDING JEWISH PRAYER. Ktav, New
York: 1972.
- YAKOBSON, Yissachar. NeTiV BiNa. Tel Aviv, Sinai Publishing:
1978.
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