Pray

Spontaneity and creativity were hallmarks of prayer in the time of the Bible.

Modernity has caused Jews of every ideology to relate differently to the content of their prayers.

The masters of Kabbalah ascribed radically new meaning and importance to traditional practices of prayer.

Selections from two tehines (women's prayers)

Not part of the fixed liturgy, women used these prayers to commemorate special holidays and special times in their lives.

Reconciling the experience of repeatedly praying from an established text with the need for prayer to come from the heart.

While the Shema has been seen as a declaration of absolute monotheism, it has other meanings in its biblical and liturgical contexts.

Music in Jewish worship can be high art or popular song, by solo expression or with group participation.

Overview of Prayer Music and Liturgy. Jewish Prayer Music. Jewish Praying.

Cantors today, as in the past, must balance the demands of tradition with the evolving needs of a community.

Liturgical texts are only the external, observable part of the experience of prayer, which should lift up the soul.

Praying in Hebrew, even in when the language is unfamiliar, can have an emotional impact.