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closeOn faith: Learning to pray from a Jewish perspective
Brent Emery
guest columnist
In last month’s column, I began to introduce you to Jewish authors who I believe have great spiritual depth. I did so because many of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ tell me they know very little or nothing about Jewish authors who have commented on the Bible or Biblical themes.
The first two individuals we discussed were Rabbi Chofeitz Chaim (of blessed memory) and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. Both rabbis have written extensively on the use of the tongue and give us incredible insight into using our words to bring healing and repair to a broken world.
If one were to do a search on the use of language in the Bible, one might be surprised at how much the Word of G-d encourages us to choose our words with care.
Today, I would like to introduce you to another Biblical theme that Judaism has written about with great insight -- prayer. In reading the Bible, we hear G-d speak to us. While in prayer, we speak to G-d.
Prayer is essential to a vibrant and meaningful relationship with the Living G-d. The Scripture speaks to us of two major types of prayer -- spontaneous and liturgical.
In spontaneous prayer, an individual speaks from the heart to G-d. In liturgical prayer, an individual recites the prayers of others who have addressed G-d in the past.
Both spontaneous and liturgical prayers have Biblical precedent, so one is not more or less correct than the other. The largest book in the Bible (Psalms) is a collection of liturgical prayers offered to G-d which we can also use as part of our prayers.
These ancient prayers connect us with believers in the past and provide strong theological cords that anchor us to vital spiritual truths.
Within Judaism, there is a major set of prayers known as the “Shemoneh Esrei,” or the “Eighteen Benedictions” (another prayer was added later, but they’re still numbered at 18).
These established prayers are also known as the “Amidah,” which means “standing,” as these prayers are traditionally recited while standing.
These 18 prayers cover a wide range of Biblical topics, which every believer should address whether Jew or Gentile.
Let me be clear that one is not required to recite any prayer. These prayers are voluntary, with no obligation laid on anyone who chooses to ignore them.
I would, however, encourage my Gentile brothers in the faith to explore these prayers, as they have immense spiritual themes that we should all give diligent consideration.
If you would like a copy of the 18 prayers, just e-mail me, I will send it to you for free. For those who wish to learn more about Jewish prayer in general, I recommend the following books and authors.
First, “Entering Jewish Prayer” by Reuven Hammer. Second, “To Pray as a Jew” by Hayim Halevy Donin. Finally, “A Guide to Jewish Prayer” by Adin Steinsaltz.
Each is a great guide to a deeper understanding of Jewish prayer in particular and of Biblical prayer in general. Within traditional Judasim, there is a book known as a siddur, which has many prayers that have been voiced by Jews for centuries.
I encourage my Gentile brothers in Messiah to investigate a siddur and observe the wealth of prayers that one can offer to our G-d throughout the day.
We as Gentiles have much to learn from our Jewish friends who have been praying for several millennia. Allow me an example of what we can learn from our Jewish roots:
Growing up in a Christian home, we always “blessed the food” before we ate. There are two things that are fundamently un-Biblical about our Christian tradition.
First, one does not “bless” food; rather, one blesses the Lord. In both the Bible and Jewish prayer, one does not bless things but rather blesses the Lord.
In fact, many prayers in Judaism begin with the phrase “blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe.”
Secondly, notice that we prayed a blessing before we ate (which is a good thing) but were ignorant that the Hebrew Scripture commands us to offer a blessing “after” we eat (see Deuteronomy 8:10). So when we eat, we should bless G-d beforehand and afterward.
Careful attention to Jewish prayer brings a needed corrective to prayer at meals and brings us in alignment with the Biblical text.
For those who want to pray more, I have one final encouragement: Begin reading and studying the book of Psalms. This ancient prayer book is rich with so many great prayers that have been preserved for us to learn more about ourselves and our G-d.
To help along the way, I recommend the commentary on Psalms by Robert Alter, as it contains an English translation along with footnotes on the intricacies of the Hebrew text.
Get into the Psalms, but more importantly, let the Psalms get into you. The Psalms are the Torah (first five books of Hebrew Scripture) put to poetry, which allows us to learn the ancient truths while praying to the One who created us to dialogue with Him.
The reference of ‘G-d’
Some readers have contacted The Peninsula Gateway curious about Brent Emery’s reference to God in his On Faith column.
The following is an explanation from www.jewfaq.org
“Judaism does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only erasing or defacing a Name of God. However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does not know better ... Normally, we avoid writing the Name by substituting letters or syllables, for example, writing ‘G-d’ instead of ‘God.’ ”