Experiencing Jewish Prayer

Neurobiology us teaches that without meaning almost nothing is remembered. Add meaning to your Siddur teaching by adding experiences and context. Experiencing Jewish Prayer teaches no Hebrew, that has to happen somewhere else. What this book does is add meaning, context, and builds memories. This experiential book makes the standard liturgy (from all movements) into a meaningful whole. This is a perfect supplement to a different prayer teaching resource. Add it to your liturgy curriculum.

This engaging and informative book provides an introduction to the liturgy of the Siddur--the Jewish prayerbook. More than a "how-to" guide, this resource deals with basic issues for the modern worshiper, the historial compilation of the Siddur, and much more.

A how-to for Jewish spirituality that works. "A spiritual seeker is a person whose soul is awake. In this book I make no assumptions about how much you know about Judaism, what holidays you keep, or whether you believe in God. I want us to start from your soul's experience and carry on from there." --from the Introduction "Virtually anyone remotely affiliated with Judaism should read this book," wrote Publishers Weekly, which listed Jewish with Feeling among its Best Religion Books of the Year. "Without question the best, most readable introduction to Reb Zalman's philosophy of Judaism, it is also the best beginner's guide to Jewish spirituality available today," wrote the Forward, "the perfect book for both the spiritual seeker and the curious skeptic." Taking off from basic questions like "Why be Jewish?" and whether the word God still speaks to us today, Reb Zalman lays out a vision for a whole-person Judaism. This is not only Sinai then but Sinai now, a revelation of the Torah inside and all around us. Complete with many practical suggestions to enrich your own Jewish life, Jewish with Feeling is "a mystical masterpiece filled with spiritual practices and an exciting vision of the future" (Spirituality & Health). Spiritual experience, as Reb Zalman shows, repays every effort we make to acquire it.

Join over fifty Jewish spiritual leaders from all denominations in a candid conversation about the why and how of prayer: how prayer changes us and how to discern a response from God. In this fascinating forum, they share the challenges of prayer, what it means to pray, how to develop your own personal prayer voice, and how to rediscover meaning and God's presence in the traditional Jewish prayer book. Book jacket.

Experience the living taste of prayer in your heart, the deep and gentle glow of prayer in your soul. "Many who live their lives as Jews, even many who pray every day, live on a wrapped and refrigerated version of prayer. We go to synagogue dutifully enough. We rise when we should rise, sit when we should sit. We read and sing along with the cantor and answer 'Amen' in all the right places. We may even rattle through the prayers with ease. We sacrifice vitality for shelf-life, and the neshomeh, the Jewish soul, can taste the difference." —from the Introduction This fresh approach to prayer is for all who wish to appreciate the power of prayer’s poetry and song, jump into its ceremonies and rituals, and join the age-old conversation that Jews have had with God. Reb Zalman, one of the most important Jewish spiritual teachers in contemporary American Judaism, offers you new ways to pray, new channels for communicating with God and new opportunities to open your heart to God’s response. With rare warmth and authenticity, Reb Zalman shows you: How prayer can engage not just spirit, but mind, heart and body Meditations that open the door to kavanah, the focus or intention with which we pray How to understand the underlying “deep structure” of our prayer services How to find and feel at home in a synagogue How to sing and lead niggunim, the simple, wordless tunes that Jews sing to get closer to God and more

A scholarly but readable guide to the history of Jewish prayer from biblical times to the modern period.

More than half (55%) of Americans say they pray every day, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, while 21% say they pray weekly or monthly. But what is the purpose of prayer? Can we cause G-d to change His mind? Is He in need of incessant praise? This course aims to make prayer more personally meaningful by addressing some of the philosophical, emotional, and practical barriers that make it difficult to pray. And by examining the history of how the Jewish prayers developed, as well as the meaning of the most notable prayers, participants will become more comfortable with tapping into Jewish prayer as a means of connection to their heritage.

A first prayer book for young children, with 21 traditional prayers in simple Hebrew, transliteration, and English. Contains blessings for a new day, bounty of our food, Sabbath, and holiday rituals.