Overview

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

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9781683360223

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Reviews

This book is about Davening, the Yiddish word for prayer.Even people who insist that prayer is an intellectual process rather than an emotional, spiritual and religious experience, as demonstrated by Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi in this book, will enjoy reading his book. Also, even non-Jews will enjoy and benefit from the rabbi's views. Why?First, the book is a delight to read. The rabbi tells stories on virtually every page, about himself, Chabad Chasidim and clever and thought provoking parables. Among many other things, the rabbi tells about kavanah, praying with focus, intention and meaning. He shows how to pray from the heart, rather than from the mind. Celebrating the Sabbath or holiday with kavanah, for example, gives the day a richer meaning.He speaks also about the niggun, the melody, the wordless prayer, tunes Hasidim sing to get closer to God. Some have words and some do not. He tells how he used a niggun to get in the mood for prayer and how once he came so close to God by singing a niggun that he felt no need to continue with the formal prayers.He tells about the mystical notion of God and how prayer fits into this notion. He gives readers a traveler's guide through the prayers, during which he describes many prayers and shows readers their inner meaning. He also tells how people can feel at home in Shul, what they should do to feel what they are experiencing and how to get the most out of the experience.--Israel Drazin The Jewish Eye

Author Information

Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi (z""l), the inspiration of the Jewish Renewal movement, is widely recognized as one of the most important Jewish spiritual teachers of our time. Professor at Temple University, he authored many books including Davening: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Prayer, winner of the National Jewish Book Award; First Steps to a New Jewish Spirit: Reb Zalman's Guide to Recapturing the Intimacy & Ecstasy in Your Relationship with God (both Jewish Lights); From Age-ing to Sage-ing and Wrapped in a Holy Flame. Joel Segel, editor of many books on spirituality, is coauthor (with Reb Zalman) of Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice and Davening: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Prayer. Lawrence Kushner, author, lecturer and spiritual leader, is regarded as one of the most creative religious thinkers and writers in America. A commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, he has focused us on spiritual renewal with wisdom and humor. Through his books and lectures, people of every faith and background have found inspiration and new strength for spiritual search and growth. It has been said that some spiritual leaders blend religion and psychology to help us walk better on the ground, but Lawrence Kushner draws on the wisdom of the mystics to help us dance better on the ceiling. Kushner's acclaimed books include I’m God; You’re Not: Observations on Organized Religion & Other Disguises of the Ego; Honey from the Rock: An Easy Introduction to Jewish Mysticism; Invisible Lines of Connection: Sacred Stories of the Ordinary; The Book of Letters: A Mystical Hebrew Alphabet; Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians; and In God’s Hands, an inspiring fable for children, with Gary Schmidt (all Jewish Lights). Kushner served as rabbi at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, Massachusetts, for almost thirty years; he is currently the Emanu-El scholar at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, and an adjunct faculty member at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. He is fascinated by graphic design and computers (designing most of his Jewish Lights books). He enjoys Mozart, hanging around sailboats, and making his granddaughters giggle.

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