Overview

Loving Prayer is a study guide, to offer new perspectives to refresh your approach and guidance in some of the difficult aspects of prayer. Prayer is, after all, a key part of our ancient spiritual practice, but it's hard for modern Jews to find their way into it. The siddur or prayer book may seem too dense. You may lose interest easily and need a framework that sustains your involvement. You might be already familiar with the prayers, but they have become rote for you - you need some new insights. I've had some of the same experiences. I began learning the prayers with an excitement about learning something new, including learning to read Hebrew at the same time. I struggled to follow the service while enjoying its songs and rhythms. Over time I became more comfortable, and began to experience a period of deep engagement with the prayers. I prayed on my own much of the time. When we had the opportunity to pray with a community, on a holiday or special Shabbat, it was glorious. But that was followed by years of much less attention to prayers, for I was now a working mother with five children. We lived in an active Jewish community but I had so little time, and often just rushed through a few formal prayers. I became interested in Jewish meditation, which helped for a while. Still, over the years my own practice waxed and waned: sometimes I was actively davening every morning, while at other times I was speaking to God less, studying and contemplating more.

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9781935604815

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Reviews

Dr. Frankiel, through concise explanation of structure and meaning, makes Jewish prayer -user friendly.- This work gives the reader the biblical and historical underpinnings of the Shacharit/Morning service, as well as a connection to the mystical approach. This should be an essential volume for the Jewish spiritual seeker, who wishes to both participate in Jewish prayer and draw a sense of inner purpose from personal and communal practice. Cantor Sam Radwine, Cantor Emeritus, Congregation Ner Tamid, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Loving Prayer is a guide written in love - love of prayer and of God and of life in all its manifestations. She takes us on a lucid journey through the 'drama' of daily prayer, conveying its subtle logic and the human passion that informs its language. We learn about its biblical resonances and its historical occasions. Best of all, Frankiel intimates the emotional and spiritual pathways that thread through the arcs of Jewish prayer practice. A splendid guide! Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Ph.D., author of Moses: A Human Life (Yale University Press). Frankiel has done something extraordinary with her Loving Prayer: A Study Guide to Jewish Prayer; she has written at least three books in one. There is the -Study Guide- that helps makes clear the elegant structure of traditional Jewish prayer. What is often a maze for the beginner becomes a journey of depth. Frankiel also teaches us to 'love prayer', to see and be drawn to its inner beauty, its hidden mystical themes and concealed gems, and to devote ourselves to lifelong knowledge of its depths. Further, in communicating her own love of prayer, she teaches how prayer itself can be an act of love and teach us to love. I have read many books on prayer written at many levels; this one I treasure. Rabbi Mordecai Finley, Ph.D., Ohr HaTorah Synagogue / Academy for Jewish Religion, California In Loving Prayer, Dr. Tamar Frankiel takes the readers on a journey through many levels of parallel universes, from the four mystical worlds to the inner world of the person who is at prayer. She presents and analyzes the historical roots and the personal experiences of different people, while drawing skillfully from the fields of sociology, psychology, drama, and music. Dr. Frankiel also identifies for the readers an intricate structure, The Necklace, which, once recognized, can be found in concentric circles, from the smallest paragraphs to the largest compositions of prayer. With all that information and fascinating innate connections, the analysis of the prayer text is crystal-clear and engaging, and constant reference is made to the page numbers of the Koren Siddur, thus making the book not only a theoretical treatise but a practical guide to the world of prayer. Haim Ovadia, Rabbi of Magen David Sephardic Congregation, Rockville, MD Loving Prayer is a gift for both the beginner and the experienced -pray-er.- It is accessible and illuminating, opening hearts and minds to the treasures that unfold in Jewish liturgy. Laura Geller, Rabbi Emerita, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, CA

Author Information

Tamar Frankiel, Ph.D. Professor of Comparative Religion at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California. Dr. Frankiel is a leading teacher and writer about Jewish spiritual practice and is best known for her books The Gift of Kabbalah, an introduction to Jewish mysticism and The Voice of Sarah: Feminine Spirituality and Traditional Judaism.

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