Authors: Adin Steinsaltz, Rebecca Toueg
ISBN-13: 9780805211474, ISBN-10: 0805211470
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Date Published: March 2002
Edition: Reprint
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is internationally renowned as the author of a landmark commentary on the Talmud, twenty-two volumes of which have been published in English by Random House. He is also the author of many books of Jewish thought, among them The Thirteen-Petalled Rose and, most recently, Simple Words. Rabbi Steinsaltz lectures throughout the world and has been a resident scholar at both Yale University and the Institute for Advanced Study. He lives in Israel with his family.
One of the world's most famous and respected rabbis has given us the one guide we need to practice Jewish prayer and understand the prayer book.
From the origins and meaning of prayer to a step-by-step explanation of the daily services to the reason you're not supposed to chat with your friends during the service, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz answers many of the questions likely to arise about Jewish prayer. Here are chapters on daily prayer; Sabbath prayer; prayer services for the holidays; the yearly cycle of synagogue Bible readings; the history and make-up of the synagogue; the different prayer rites for Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Yemenites, and other cultural/geographic groupings; the role of the rabbi and the cantor in the synagogue; and the role of music in the service.
The book also contains a glossary, a bibliography, and biographical sketches of the rabbis who were instrumental in creating and ordering the prayers through the ages.
Rabbi Steinsaltz's guide is an essential volume both for the newcomer to Jewish prayer and for those who have been engaged in prayer for years.
Steinsaltz, one of this era's most influential rabbis (Simple Words), turns his attention to prayer, marrying straightforward how-to tips with reflections on the nature and meaning of Jewish prayer. The book opens with a discussion of individual versus communal prayer, with Steinsaltz explaining that although Jewish prayer heavily emphasizes community, there is a place in Judaism for individual prayer. Communal prayer expresses the needs and hopes of the entire nation of Israel, but individuals can and should still pray alone, with or without liturgy, in times of personal need. He also tackles gender. Men and women, he explains, are both obligated to pray (although women are not legally obligated to participate in the thrice-daily minyan). Steinsaltz offers a concise history of the Jewish prayer book, tracing the development of prayers from the Second Temple period to 20th-century prayers commemorating the Holocaust and Israeli Independence Day. In the book's valuable how-to section, he carefully examines weekdays, Sabbaths and holidays, explaining which prayers are said when and why. He introduces readers to "prayer accessories" such as the tallith (prayer shawl) and tefillin (phylacteries). The book concludes with a rousing discussion of Jewish music and its relation to prayer traditions. This guide will help both novices and experienced Jews to deepen their understanding of prayer. One caution: it is decidedly Orthodox in outlook. Non-Orthodox readers will find much of interest, but they will not find discussions of, for example, feminist language for God. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Introduction | xvii | |
Part 1 | Prayer | |
Chapter 1. | The Prayer Book | 3 |
Chapter 2. | The Essence of Prayer | 8 |
Chapter 3. | Individual and Communal Prayer | 14 |
Chapter 4. | Men and Women | 26 |
Chapter 5. | Kavvanah | 34 |
Part 2 | History | |
Chapter 6. | The History of the Siddur | 47 |
Chapter 7. | Prayer Rites | 62 |
Part 3 | The Order of Prayer Services | |
Chapter 8. | Weekday Prayer Services | 83 |
Chapter 9. | Shabbat | 104 |
Chapter 10. | Festivals | 146 |
Chapter 11. | Days of Awe | 177 |
Chapter 12. | Special Days | 213 |
Chapter 13. | Torah Readings | 253 |
Part 4 | The Synagogue and Communal Prayer | |
Chapter 14. | The Synagogue | 285 |
Chapter 15. | The Shaliah Tzibbur | 318 |
Chapter 16. | Prayer Accessories | 332 |
Chapter 17. | The Music of Prayer | 370 |
Appendices | ||
Glossary of Terms | 387 | |
Biographies | 410 | |
Bibliographical Notes | 415 | |
The Jewish Months and the Festivals and Special Days That Occur in Each of Them | 419 | |
Index | 420 |