Prayer Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Judaism=== {{Main|Jewish prayer}} [[File:Jewish Canadian soldiers during WWII.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Captain Samuel Cass, a [[rabbi]], conducting the first prayer service celebrated on German territory by Jewish personnel of the [[First Canadian Army]] near [[Kleve|Cleve]], Germany, 18 March 1945]] Observant Jews pray three times a day, [[Shacharit]], [[Mincha]], and [[Ma'ariv]] with lengthier prayers on special days, such as the [[Shabbat]] and [[Jewish holidays]] including [[Musaf]] and the reading of the [[Torah]]. The [[siddur]] is the prayerbook used by Jews all over the world, containing a set order of daily prayers. Jewish prayer is usually described as having two aspects: ''[[kavanah]]'' (intention) and ''keva'' (the ritualistic, structured elements). The most important Jewish prayers are the [[Shema Yisrael]] ("Hear O Israel") and the [[Amidah]] ("the standing prayer"). Communal prayer is preferred over solitary prayer, and a quorum of ten adult males (a ''[[minyan]]'') is considered by [[Orthodox Judaism]] a prerequisite for several communal prayers. [[File:Muro de las Lamentaciones, Jerusalén, 2017.gif|thumb|[[Orthodox Jewish]] men praying in [[Jerusalem]]'s [[Western Wall]]]] There are also many other ritualistic prayers a Jew performs during their day, such as washing before eating bread, washing after one wakes up in the morning, and doing grace after meals. ====Rationalist approach==== In this view, the ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by [[Maimonides]] and the other medieval rationalists. One example of this approach to prayer is noted by Rabbi Steven Weil, who was appointed the Orthodox Union's Executive-Vice President in 2009. He notes that the word "prayer" is a derivative of the Latin "precari", which means "to beg". The Hebrew equivalent "tefilah", however, along with its root "pelel" or its reflexive "l'hitpallel", means the act of self-analysis or self-evaluation.<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.ou.org/torah/article/why_tefilah_doesn |title= Why Tefilah Doesn't Mean Prayer: Redefining our Relationship with G-d |first= Steven |last= Weil<!-- deleted page: |author-link= Steven Weil -->|date= September 14, 2010 |type= video presentation |work= ou.org |publisher= [[Orthodox Union]] }}</ref> This approach is sometimes described as the person praying having a dialogue or conversation with God.<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/862508/jewish/Talking-With-Gd.htm |first= Naftali |last= Silberberg |date= n.d. |title= Jewish Practice " Mitzvahs & Traditions " Prayer " Insights – Talking With G‑d |work= [[Chabad.org]] }}</ref> ====Educational approach==== In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. This has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, [[Yehuda Halevy]], [[Joseph Albo]], [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]], and [[Joseph Dov Soloveitchik]]. This view is expressed by Rabbi [[Nosson Scherman]] in the overview to the [[Artscroll]] Siddur (p. XIII); note that Scherman goes on to also affirm the Kabbalistic view (see below). ====Kabbalistic approach==== [[Kabbalah]] uses a series of ''[[Kavanah|kavanot]]'', directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalists ascribe a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/114937/jewish/The-Kabbalah.htm The Kabbalah of Prayer] on Chabad.org</ref> Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the [[Chassidei Ashkenaz]] (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the [[Isaac Luria|Arizal's]] Kabbalist tradition, [[Moshe Chaim Luzzatto|Ramchal]], most of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hassidism]], the [[Vilna Gaon]], and [[Jacob Emden]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page