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- The Blessing of the Sun. The “blessing of the sun,” or Birkat Hachamah, is arguably the rarest blessing in all of Judaism, recited only once every 28 years, when — per the Talmud — the sun is at the precise spot in the firmament as it was when it was created.
- Prayer for a Confusing Dream. According to the Talmud, one who has a dream that he does understand should recite a prayer asking for clarity. The prayer is to be said during the time of the Priestly Benediction (typically recited in the Diaspora during the Musaf service for festivals).
- Blessing on Seeing a Wise Man. According to the Shulchan Aruch, the code of Jewish law, one should recite a blessing on seeing a wise man. The text is different depending on whether or not the wise person in question is Jewish.
- Blessing on a Rainbow. Rainbows are deeply symbolic in Judaism. After the flood in Genesis, God says that a rainbow is a remember of his promise never again to destroy the world with a flood.
Jewish prayer (Hebrew: תְּפִילָּה, tefilla; plural תְּפִילּוֹת tefillot; Yiddish: תּפֿלה, romanized: tfile, plural תּפֿלות tfilles; Yinglish: davening / ˈ d ɑː v ən ɪ ŋ / from Yiddish דאַוון davn 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism.
- Relax. You are not the only person: Who doesn’t understand Hebrew. Who wonders what the prayers mean. Who feels funny about all the choreography (bowing, etc.)
- Ask for help. It is OK to ask for help. The first thing you may want to ask for is a prayer book with translations in it, if the one you get is all in Hebrew.
- Don’t worry. If there are English responses, and you are in the right place in the book, mazal tov! But if you are lost, it is OK to let the rest of the congregation take care of responses.
- Let the prayers and music flow. Let the words and the music flow over you. If something is interesting or sticks in your mind, let your mind play with it.
For religious Jews, prayer is an obligation, fulfilled several times daily by reciting a prescribed liturgy containing praise of God, requests, and expressions of appreciation. The texts and practices of prayer, while broadly common to all Jewish communities, vary according to local customs, ethnic origins, and ideologies.
Today, the physical actions listed in this midrash, as well as a number of other body movements, have become an established part of Jewish prayer. Standing. Though many Jewish prayers can be recited while seated, standing is perhaps the most essential physical position of Jewish prayer. When the rabbis of the Talmud refer to prayer, they are ...
- Joshua Rabin
Why Pray? A Variety of Jewish Answers. Jews pray in order to enrich our lives and seek comfort, to connect to the past and to others, to celebrate and develop a sense of the sacred, to serve God and help make ourselves Godlike. By My Jewish Learning
Recommended Programs. Catholic-Jewish relations should be advanced on all levels: clergy and lay, academic and popular, religious and social. A favored instrument is the dialogue, a form of group conversation in which competent participants discuss assigned topics or themes in openness, candor and friendship.
