Prayer
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שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, ה’ אֶחָד. וְאָהַבְתָּ, אֵת ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשְׁךָ, וּבְכָל-מְאֹדֶךָ. וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם—עַל-לְבָבֶךָ. וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ.שמע, ישראל: יהוה אלהינו, יהוה אחד. ואהבת, את יהוה אלהיך, בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. והיו הדברים האלה, אשר אנכי מצוך היום על לבבך. ושננתם לבניך, ודברת בם, בשבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך, ובשכבך ובקומך.
Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.
—Deuteronomy (Devarim) 6:4-7
רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי זָהִיר בִּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּבִתְפִילָּה; וּכְשֶׁאַתָּה מִתְפַּלֵל, אַל תַּעַשׂ תְּפִילָּתְךָ קֶבַע—אֶלָּא רַחֲמִים וְתַחֲנוּנִים לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם.רבי שמעון אומר, הוי זהיר בקרית שמע ובתפילה; וכשאתה מתפלל, אל תעש תפילתך קבע אלא תחנונים לפני המקום
Rabbi Shimon said, “Be careful, when reciting the Shema and Amidah. And when you pray, do not make your prayer rigid, but rather compassionate and pleading before God.”
—Pirke Avot (“Ethics of the Fathers”) 2:18
וְהַסֵר כָּל דִבְרֵי הָעוֹלָם מִלִבְּךָ בְּעֵת הַתְּפִלָּה, וְהָכֵן לִבְּךָ לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם בָּרוּךְ הוּא. וְטַהֵר רַעֲיוֹנֶיךָ, וַחֲשֹׁב הַדִּבּוּר קֹדֶם שֶׁתּוֹצִיאֶנּוּ מִפִּיךָ.
וְכֵן תַּעֲשֶֹה כָּל יְמֵי חַיֵּי הֶבְלֶךָ בְּכָל דָּבָר וְדָבָר, וְלֹא תֶחֱטָא. וּבָזֶּה יִהְיוּ דְּבָרֶיךָ וּמַעֲשֶֹיךָ וּמַחְשְׁבוֹתֶיךָ יְשָׁרִים; וּתְפִלָּתְךָ תִּהְיֶה זַכָּה וּבָרָה וּנְקִיָּה, וּמְכֻוֶּנֶת וּמְקֻבֶּלֶת לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים י יז): "תָּכִין לִבָּם – תַּקְשִׁיב אָזְנֶךָ".והסר כל דברי העולם מלבך בעת התפלה, והכן לבך לפני המקום ברוך הוא. וטהר רעיוניך, וחשב הדבור קדם שתוציאנו מפיך. וכן תעשה כל ימי חיי הבלך בכל דבר ודבר, ולא תחטא. ובזה יהיו דבריך ומעשיך ומחשבותיך ישרים; ותפלתך תהיה זכה וברה ונקיה, ומכונת ומקבלת לפני המקום ברוך הוא, שנאמר (תהלים י יז): "תכין לבם – תקשיב אזנך".
Concentrate on your prayers by removing all worldly concerns from your heart. Prepare your heart before Hashem, purify your thoughts and think about what you are going to say. If you follow this in all your daily actions, you will not come to sin. This way everything you do will be proper, and your prayer will be pure, clear, clean, devout and acceptable to Hashem, as it is written (Tehillim 10:17), "When their heart is directed to You, listen to them."
—Nahmanides, Iggeret Ha-Ramban
Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (1194-1270) is also known as Nahmanides or the Ramban. He was a Spanish scholar and one of the greatest Talmudic authorities of the Middle Ages. His many works include commentaries on the Talmud and responsa on Jewish practice. The text above is from a letter he wrote to his son, with the instruction to read it weekly.
Say your prayers with awe and devotion. During the time for prayers, do not stand about and talk of other things. While prayers are being offered to the Creator of the world, hold it a great sin to engage another man in talk about an entirely different matter—shall God Almighty be kept waiting until you have finished your business?
—Glueckel of Hamelin, Memoirs
Glueckel of Hameln (1645-1724) raised 12 children, advised her husband on financial matters, and even ran his business after his death. Her memoirs, which she wrote for her children, provide unique insights into Jewish life and women’s roles in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Let your prayer be a window to Heaven.
When wood burns it is the smoke alone that rises upwards, leaving the grosser elements below. So it is with prayers. The sincere intention alone ascends to heaven.
—The Baal Shem-Tov
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer lived in Eastern Europe from about 1700 to 1760. Better known as the Ba’al Shem-Tov—the “Master of the Good Name”—he founded the Hasidic movement.
Faith is not only in the heart; it should be put into words.
—Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav
To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments. Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living….
Prayer is our attachment to the utmost. Without God in sight, we are like the scattered rungs of a broken ladder. To pray is to become a ladder on which thoughts mount to God to join the movement toward Him which surges unnoticed throughout the entire universe. We do not step out of the world when we pray; we merely see the world in a different setting. The self is not the hub, but the spoke of the revolving wheel. In prayer we shift the center of living from self-consciousness to self-surrender. God is the center toward which all forces tend. He is the source, and we are the flowing of His force, the ebb and flow of His tides….
Prayer takes the mind out of the narrowness of self-interest, and enables us to see the world in the mirror of the holy.
The focus of prayer is not the self. Prayer comes to pass in a complete turning of the heart toward God, toward His goodness and power. It is the momentary disregard of our personal concerns, the absence of self-centered thoughts, which constitute the art of prayer. Feeling becomes prayer in the moment in which we forget ourselves and become aware of God….
—Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man’s Quest for God
Abraham Joshua Heschel was one of the most influential Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. In his writings, he tried to understand the dynamic relationship between individuals and God. His books include Man Is Not Alone (1951), God in Search of Man (1956), Man's Quest for God, (1954), and The Sabbath (1951).
The following photographs connect with the theme of Prayer:
Photograph #10, “Sunrise, Sde Boker”
Photograph #19, “Kabbalat Shabbat”
Photograph #21, “Waiting for Seven Jews”
Photograph #22, “Speak to God”
Photograph #23, “Tisha B’Av”
Photograph #25, “Summer Camp”
Photograph #37, “Kapparot”
Photograph #43, “Bar Mitzvah Boy”