1. Avoid Technology
2. Connect with Loved Ones
3. Nurture Your Health
4. Get Outside
5. Avoid Commerce
6. Light Candles
7. Drink Wine
8. Eat Bread
9. Find Silence
10. Give Back

Recognizing Our Baggage

Prayer comes in many forms – individual, communal, formal, and spontaneous. And each form is just as important for a mature and vibrant spiritual life.

If so, what keeps us from engaging deeply in Jewish prayer? Why is it so difficult for many people to find liturgy spiritual, moving, and relevant? Much of it has to do with our thinking about prayer, and the baggage we bring into it.

Jewish Prayer Must Be Learned

Firstly, Jewish prayer is not easy. It must be learned. There is no way around it. So for many of us, the learning curve leaves us feeling clumsy and out of place. However, as the saying goes, nothing ever worth having comes easy. Prayer is like riding a bicycle. You may fall a few times, and it may take time before you can remove the training wheels. But once you do, the possibilities are endless. Personally, I have become so familiar with the liturgy that unencumbered by the words, I often find myself drifting back and forth between my spiritual prayer language and the Hebrew. The form is actually similar. We just do not often recognize the connection.

Perceived Dichotomy of "Worship" vs. Liturgy

For many of us, there is also an often subconscious tension between “worship” vs. liturgy. Due to a strong influence from more contemporary Christian forms of worship, we often adopt modes of thinking that consider “true worship” to be of a particular style and genre. However, there is actually no such dichotomy between liturgical and contemporary forms of worship. Especially when one considers that within a Messianic context, most of the “worship songs” are actually taken from the liturgy.

Nostalgia

There are also those who grew up in homes where synagogue attendance was somewhat a regular part of their lives. And yet, spiritual growth can be hindered by nostalgia. For some, the service was dead and why go back to such practices. Or for others, it might ‘feel nice and Jewish,’ but it does not provide deep spiritual meaning. As such, it is often shelved with hot apple pie, potato kugel, or latkes. And there are always those for whom the liturgy is not deeply meaningful because they are caught up in the myth that “it has to be done this way!” They are so enveloped in “doing it right” that they are distracted from engaging liturgy in ways that bring us closer to HaShem.

Lastly, related to the above, there are also those who get caught up in a “Fiddler on the Roof mentality.” For these people, Judaism is not deeply spiritual and moving because they are enamored by the window dressing. They may look, dress, and try to talk like Fiddler on the Roof characters, or like Chasidim, but they do not understand the beauty and richness, as well as the elasticity of Jewish spirituality. They may try to look the part – yet they are also usually the first people who cannot read Hebrew, do not have mezuzot on their doors, or know how to lay Tefillin – all of which are basic and essential components of true Jewish spirituality. They are not fooling anyone. Any real Orthodox Jew would have the basics down before the clothing. There must be foundations to build upon.

Moving Forward

So as we rethink Jewish prayer, let’s also ask ourselves questions. Granted there are many, many ways to make liturgy boring. However, let’s also ask, is the problem the liturgy or us? Is subconscious baggage contributing to my inability to engage G-d through Jewish prayer? If so, let’s work together to move forward. To look deeper at prayer (in all its forms), and reconnect to communal worship through liturgy.

Stay tuned as we continue to discuss Jewish prayer and practical suggestions for rethinking Jewish prayer.

“L’Shanah tovah tikateivu – May you be inscribed for a sweet New Year!”

What do you think about prayer?

Do you envision prayer as participation in a Sacred Drama?

Do you think of the Siddur as an instrument of holiness?

As the High Holidays approach, it is appropriate to think deeper about prayer. For when we pray, we are not just reciting meaningless words, or remembering something that happened in the past. Rather, Jewish prayer is a re-enactment and reliving of sacred events. Through the ritual of prayer we become participants in the Sacred. It is important to think of the Siddur as one would think about a script. Through reenacting these events, we live out the story of the Jewish people, our Covenant with HaShem, and participate with the angels in heavenly worship.

Dancing through History

For example, through the Mi Khamokha section of a prayer service (which comes before the Amidah), we relive our redemption from Egypt and celebrate our crossing of the Red Sea.

Renewing Covenant

The Torah Service as well serves as a reenactment of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Every time the Torah is removed from the ark, we have the opportunity to recommit ourselves to G-d’s covenant, and respond to HaShem’s Torah. As followers of Yeshua, the Torah is also interestingly a perfect reenactment of the life of Yeshua and the essentials of the Gospel message.

According to John 1, Yeshua is the Torah made flesh. The Torah is the symbol of our covenant with HaShem, deepened and permeated through the Living Torah, our Messiah. When we remove the Torah from the ark, it is an illustration of the incarnation. When we process it through the congregation, we each have an opportunity to reach out and take hold of the message. When the Torah is brought to the bimah and read out loud in front of the community, it is a picture of the Gospel message proclaimed before Israel and the nations. And when we raise up the Torah, it is not just a picture of the ascension, but of Yeshua’s words that, “if I be lifted up I will draw all people unto myself (John 12:32).” And lastly, when we close the doors of the ark after putting the Torah away, we are awaiting the second coming, when Mashiach will be revealed once again.

Singing with Angels

One of my favorite parts of the service is the Kedusha during the Amidah, when we rise up on our toes while reciting “Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh … Holy is the L-rd of Hosts, the whole earth is filled with Your glory!” The Kedusha is our participation alongside the angels of heaven worshiping around G-d’s throne. In ancient Jewish understanding, it was believed that angels did not have knees. So in keeping with this ancient practice, we still rise up on our toes with knees locked in imitating the angels in heaven.

According to Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks:

Shaping Theology

However, Jewish prayer (when understood as sacred drama) is more than just a reenactment of defining events. Prayer actually shapes our theology. It establishes the way we think about Torah and shapes our concepts of redemption and salvation.

The Siddur also serves as a guide for preparing the way for Mashiach, and the concept that prayer must lead to action. Repentance (teshuva) is also one of the primary tools the Siddur uses in preparing the way of HaShem. The Siddur also teaches us how to be holy.

In my own personal davening, I often prefer the Conservative Siddur, Sim Shalom, because of its traditional feel, yet intentional deviations of inclusiveness and social consciousness. For example, on pages 8-9, Sim Shalom inserts a passage from the Torah (Parashat Kedoshim) recalling our obligation to be holy:

This recitation reminds us that in Jewish understanding, Holiness is not some mystical state of being that we all hope to attain. Rather, Holiness is a lifestyle. According to Abraham Joshua Heschel:

The Siddur, in so many ways, reminds us of who we really are and what G-d expects from us. Through the Aleinu we remind ourselves that redemption begins with us, and through our concluding morning prayers we anticipate Yimot Ha’Mashiach – the days of Messiah.

Stay tuned next week as we discuss the baggage we often bring to the Siddur which keeps us from experiencing prayer as sacred drama. We will also explore how to shop for a Siddur, and practical suggestions for delving deeper into Jewish prayer.

“L’Shanah Tovah Tikateivu – May you be inscribed for a sweet New Year!”

In a previous post titled Judaism in Crisis, we discussed the dramatic paradigm shift faced by the Jewish community, triggered both by economic collapse and a shift in leadership from the Baby Boomer generation to "millenials."

We've noticed that discussions of the future of Judaism tend toward doom and gloom.

Rabbi Hayim Herring, Executive Director of STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal) recently posted on his blog a response to those who project a dark outlook on the Jewish future:

Herring relates that if Judaism is to move forward, we need to focus on particular goals:

• Empowering younger generations
• Creating Jewish community on a global scale
• Increasing Jewish learning
• Building stronger relationships with Israel
• Creating stronger ties with people of other faiths
• Reaching out to and engaging Jews who are indifferent to Jewish living, and also [reaching out to and engaging] spiritual seekers.

This transition is centered in community. We need to create intentional communities that purposely pursue these goals. This requires that we wholly re-envision the communal structures we have grown comfortable with.

Our particular movement's MO has been to rely almost exclusively on the synagogue as the primary organizer for Jewish communal life. Perhaps this is an assumption that we need to rethink. What would it look like to have Messianic communities that serve as extended families and spiritual homes for Jews who follow Yeshua? Places where people are valued and empowered, where Jewish learning and Jewish life are intentionally cultivated, and people of all ages actively participate in our rituals and traditions? What if our communities were inviting, user-friendly, and open to Jews with little to no previous knowledge of Jewish life?

Even the role of the congregational leader (as we usually understand it to be) needs to be revisited. Perhaps a rabbi should function simply as a spiritual guide, as rabbis functioned in ages past. Only in the last 150 years or so has the position of a rabbi morphed into the multiple hats of pastor, cantor, Torah reader, fundraiser, member of the board, professional Jew, etc. As Jewish literacy has declined, the rabbi's role has evolved. Since the average Jew can no longer lead davening, the rabbi must now lead services. As fewer Jews could lein Torah (read from the Torah), the rabbi also had to read the Torah every week. Hopefully you get the picture.

The idea of going to synagogue to watch the rabbi do everything is actually not very Jewish, in an historic sense. In Orthodox synagogues to this day, any knowledgeable Jew can lead the davening, lein Torah, teach classes, and serve in various lay leadership capacities.

The empowerment of individuals within our shuls will go hand-in-hand with an increase in Jewish education. The more people are able to do, the more they’ll learn, and vice verse.

The times they are a changing. And we’ll need to change with them. The Judaism of the future must be a user-friendly, spiritual Judaism. Open and inclusive, and able to satisfy seekers' deep thirst for spirituality in their daily lives.

We serve a Messiah who was able to take those on the margins and move them to action. May we live and lead as He did.

My wife and I are deeply committed to re-imagining congregational life, developing innovative and creative programming, and planting vibrant spiritual communities. As a skilled community builder, I am often sought as a consultant on congregational life and growth and travel regularly to assist communities going through change, reorganization, and those wanting to incorporate more vibrant and meaningful liturgical worship.

As a result, I am always seeking creative and innovative ideas, and visiting communities that are on the forefront of change. I often share on this blog a number of practical suggestions that can be helpful for your own spiritual community. This is especially true of books that I believe are 'must-reads' for congregational leaders who desire to remain relevant and continue to meet peoples deep-felt spiritual needs.

One such recent book I would consider required reading is, "Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities" by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer.

The Jewish Theological Seminary recently hosted an excellent panel discussion on this book with Rabbi Kaunfer, along with other noted figures Professor Steven Cohen, Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, and moderated by JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen.

The discussion is very important because it presents growing trends within the Jewish community toward a heightened experience of G-d, engaging participatory communities, and meaningful prayer. I highly recommend listening to the panel HERE.

In recent years the Jewish community (primarily younger generations) have been moving away from a Jewish experience dictated only by 'belonging.' For many young Jews, Jewishness is no longer perceived as a given, but rather a choice. You can agree or disagree with this, but one thing is for certain - those Jews who desire to remain involved are not looking for a Judaism that is a secular culture of bagels and lox -but rather Judaism as a Faith (something I raised in my recent paper at the Borough Park Symposium).

Yet, what many young Jews are beginning to realize is that they did not even know they were looking for faith. It turns out what we young Jews are looking to do is what we have always sought to do, to simultaneously connect with G-d and find our place within thirty centuries of Jewish history.

Seems we're still deeply spiritual after all!

Continuing the conversation we started at the UMJC Mid-Year leadership retreat in December, Monique and I recently led a UMJC webinar which is now posted on the UMJC website. (You may need to log-in/create a profile to view the webinar).

The interactive discussion focused on the make-up of the American Jewish Community today, identifying the spiritual needs of three primary generations - Baby Boomers, Gen X'ers, and Millennials - and what these generations are looking for in a spiritual home.

Drawing upon the conviction that Messianic communities should be vibrant spiritual homes for Jewish believers and seekers, we delved into the practicalities of creating welcoming Jewish spiritual environments. We discussed current communal models and methods, explored alternative and emergent models, and presented simple "how-to's" for transforming your congregation into a sacred community for the New American Jew.

The webinar is divided into two parts, separated (and ended) by an interactive panel discussion where attendees could either call or email in their questions. The panelists for the interactive discussion were Nathan Joiner (a rabbinic intern at Ruach Israel in Boston) and Britta Phillips (a Hazan at Beth Emunah in Los Angeles).

Whether you are a leader or a lay-leader within your congregation, we encourage you to watch this webinar for many practical suggestions for how you can transform your congregation into a spiritual and meaningful community.

Thinking in terms of “getting the young people” has too often led to programs that have the potential to fail on at least one of two counts.

On the one hand, people can spot an attempt to “be hip” from a mile away; programs that aren’t organic, that don’t genuinely tap into the zeitgeist and people’s interests will be read as pandering and condescending and are likely to fall flat.

But more than that, even when people show up, the nature of many outreach programs leads me to wonder whether we aren’t operating under a misguided definition of “success.” If people go to an event featuring a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model from Israel and leave tipsy but untransformed Jewishly, is that a success? Will attending a kosher karaoke night make people more moral, kinder, more in touch with themselves, with the Divine, with a stronger sense of meaning to their lives? Will it quench their thirst for the living Torah — the Torah that speaks to their lives, their struggles, their romances and ethical questions, to their financial woes and existential fears?

I would posit that getting butts in chairs — even the butts of a highly desirable demographic — is not the point … as it happens, 20-somethings — like folks in other age groups — crave substance and depth … What most people want, I’ve learned, is the high-octane stuff: to come to a deeper understanding of Jewish spirituality; to talk about the nature of God and the purpose of religion; to find a Jewish connection to the big questions weighing on their hearts, and to create a community in which those questions can be explored together.

-Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is senior Jewish educator at Tufts Hillel and the author of “Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion” (Beacon Press, 2008).