Prayer Is What  We Need
by Velvel “Wally” Spiegler

I was never properly taught to pray; I don’t know if anyone else was either. All I remember is that prayer books would be stuck into my hand with a stern finger pointing to the place. Eventually, I came across a copy of  Rabbi Hayim Donin’s book, “How A Jew Prays” that at least offered a sense of the structure of the prayer service with  some explanation of each prayer. The trouble is that too many of us enter the synagogue without a real sense of what is going on. For some, there doesn’t appear to be any order to the service; it’s almost like one long run-on sentence. The tragedy is that many people simply avoid synagogues. What are we supposed to be doing there? Should we obligingly recite the words of prayer in English? Why recite the unintelligible Hebrew? But mostly, what are we supposed to get out of prayer?

I think an understanding of the nature of Jewish prayer is essential to extract the benefits of prayer. It’s very different than the prayers of other religious traditions who petition God for what they desire; Jews praise and thank God, for what we have received. Jewish prayers are constructed from blessings. Those paragraphs that generally conclude with “Boruch Ata Adonai”, Blessed are you Lord, our God. Some are very short, while others can go on for pages. But the main thrust of these blessings is to praise God, telling of His wonder and His miracles. Establishing a lasting relationship with God is the intent of Jewish prayer. Prayer opens us to receiving God’s blessings from which we develop our sense of trust and faith, the qualities which enable us appreciate the joyous moments as well as withstanding the sorrowful ones. The prayer book is not like a textbook; it offers no information. It is a guide, which enables us to stand in the presence of the magnificent, awe-inspiring God.

The Jewish prayer service from the shortest, probably the minchah (afternoon prayer), to the day long worship at Yom Kippur always begins with one or more preliminary Psalm selections as sort of a warm-up like loosening up before a workout. The Psalms are generally followed by the call to prayer (the Borchu) and a series of blessings of praise that sandwich the Sh’ma,  both before and after.

The interesting feature of the Sh’ma is that it’s the only section of the prayer book is that is directly quoted from the Torah. Its four paragraphs command us in the mitzvot of loving the Lord, our God, the mezuzah (the scroll affixed to doorposts), the tfillin (the morning prayer frontlets) and the tsitzit (the garment fringes). The inclusion of the Sh’ma provide us with a biblical framework for further study. It gives us the opportunity to search for the deeper meanings in the scrolls, within the mezuzah and tfillin.

Following the final blessing after the Sh’ma,, a short kaddish (the prayer that declares our trust in God’s will) paves the way for, the standing prayer, the central prayer in all Jewish liturgy. Usually recited silently, this prayer otherwise known as the Amidah, varies in length and content depending on the occasion (daily, Shabbat, or Festivals).

It’s only in the Amidah that it’s appropriate to petition God, but we don’t plead for our personal desires. We pray for our needs according to God’s will—wisdom, forgiveness, healing, repentence; we become aware of our true needs.  All prayer services follow this basic format and they conclude with several hymns, like Aleinu and Adon Olam, which are comparable to the cool down after aerobic exercise.

And yet, equipped with this background of the prayer service and even an understanding of the literal meaning of the prayers, the essential ingredient that’s still missing is kavannah, a Hebrew term meaning. “to direct the heart”  It also expresses our intention—what we hope our prayer will accomplish, and attention—focusing our awareness on the prayer. Without kavannah prayer gets reduced to an intellectual endeavor which never fulfills its spiritual purpose.

Here’s one way to carry out a workout for the soul.  At key junctures during the prayer service, start by taking a deep breath inward and feel your body relax with each exhalation. Direct the words you recite, whether silently or aloud, inwardly as if talking to your heart. Focus your conscious attention so strongly on the praise and gratitude for God in the text until all extraneous thoughts dissolve and you become one with the Holy One, blessed be He

You can invoke your kavannah at any point during the service that feels right to you. Certain pauses like just prior to the “Borchu” or before the first blessing of the Amidah may be appropriate moments.  As the prayer service proceeds, take quiet moments to feel a deeper connection with yourself, then try to extend that to the congregation, unless you’re praying alone. See if you can expand that feeling to the rest of humanity and ultimately with God.

We have a way of creating barriers against some of our most precious values. Prayer, as one of those values, is a very natural human activity, as natural as any of our innate instincts.  Maybe we block these values in our dedication to the shrine of intellectual excellence. There is, definitely, a growing trend towards returning to our original birthrights, including a return to prayer. In this world of uncertainty, disillusionment and disappointment, we need the tools to fortify ourselves against stormy weather. Prayer was given to us as a way of healing the wounds of the evolving world.  We need to pray more often.