Core Issues in Jewish Prayer

Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
1) Importance of prayer
a. Prayer is a core part of being a religious person
b. Prayer is miraculous
c. The threat of cynicism
2) The study of liturgy: 4 approaches to words of prayer
a. Philological approach – Leopold Zunz (1794-1886)
b. Form-critical approach – Joseph Heinemann (1915-1978)
c. Holistic approach – Larry Hoffman
d. Literary approach
i. Kimelman
ii. R”I bar Yakar and Abudraham
iii. Rabbi Hanina
3) How deal with a prayer text that is difficult?
a. Inadequacy of the philological, form-critical, or holistic approach
b. Strategy #1: Cut
i. Conservative: Ishei Yisrael
ii. Orthodox: Shelo Asani Isha
c. Strategy #2: Rewrite
i. Revisions of Lecha Dodi
ii. Ideological commitment to revision – Mordecai Kaplan and Eugene
Kohn
d. Strategy #3: Reinterpretation
i. Heschel’s call for “a sympathetic prayerbook exegesis”
4) The Literary-Intertext Approach
a. Step 1: Approach the text as poetry. What is strange? What calls for
interpretation?
b. Step 2: Use academic tools to establish parallel texts, notice the linguistic choices
the author made
c. Step 3: Identify the intertext(s)
d. Step 4: Identify hazal’s interpretation of the intertext
e. Step 5: Offer renewed interpretation
5) Havdallah as a case study of the methodology
a. Step 1: ‫ בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה‬...‫ – המבדיל‬who separates between the
seventh day and the six days of work
b. ‫המבדיל צריך שיאמר מעין הבדלות האמורות בתורה‬.
c. Step 2: ‫בין השבת לששת ימי המעשה‬
d. Step 3: Ezekiel 46:1-3 and 44:1-3 as intertexts.
e. Step 4: Rabbinic explanations of the intertexts
i. Mishnah Tamid 3:7
ii. Pirkei DeRebbe Eliezer 50
f. Step 5: Interpretation
i. Master metaphor of a door open or closed
ii. Shifting from cosmos to relationship
iii. R. Yehuda: Peering through the door, prostrating toward YHVH
iv. [R. Abba bar Kahana: God entering in humility]
6) Ending of first blessing of Amidah
a. Step 1: Why just Abraham? What is the image of the shield?
b. Step 3: Intertext: Genesis 15:1-8
c. Step 5: Interpretation – Avraham of doubt
Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
1) “To live without prayer is to live without God, to live without a soul.” (Abraham
Joshua Heschel, Man’s Quest for God, p. 59)
2) “Prayers are unique human cultural extensions of those who pray them,
indistinguishable as prayers, in fact, as long as they are separated from the act of
praying…. Liturgy is not a literary matter in the first place.” (Larry Hoffman, Beyond the
Text, p. 6)
3) “[T]he meaning of the liturgy exists not so much in the liturgical text per se as in the
interaction between the liturgical text and the biblical intertext. Meaning, in the mind of
the reader, takes place between texts rather than within them.” (Reuven Kimelman, “The
Shema’ Liturgy” in Kenishta, Vol. 1 (2001) p. 28)
4) “You should know that the language of
prayer is based on the language of
Scripture. Therefore you will find written
in this commentary on every word a verse
like it or relating to its essence. There are a
few words that did not have a biblical
basis, and therefore I will bring for them a
basis from the Talmud.” – (Abudraham
HaShalem, p. 6)
‫ספר אבודרהם תקון התפלות ועניניהם‬
‫ויש לך לדעת כי לשון התפלה הוא מיוסד על לשון‬
‫המקרא ולכן תמצא כתוב בפי' הזה על כל מלה ומלה‬
‫ ומלות מעטים יש שלא נמצא‬,‫פסוק כמוה או מעניניה‬
.‫להם יסוד במקרא ולכן אביא להם יסוד מהגמרא‬
‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת מגילה דף כה עמוד א‬
5) There was once one who prayed (the
Amidah) before Rabbi Hanina and said:
“The great, mighty, awesome, powerful,
strong, courageous God.”
Rabbi Haninah said to him: Have you
exhausted all the possible praise of your
Master? Were it not that they were written
by Moses in the Torah and affixed by the
Men of the Great Assembly, we would not
even dare to utter those three
[descriptions]! But you go on adding all of
these?! It may be compared to a human
king who had thousands upon thousands of
gold coins, and people praised him for
owning silver. Isn’t that a terrible
degradation of him?
(Babylonian Talmud Megilah 25a)
:‫ אמר‬,‫ההוא דנחית קמיה דרבי חנינא‬
‫האל הגדול הגבור והנורא האדיר והחזק‬
‫ סיימתינהו לשבחיה‬:‫ אמר ליה‬.‫והאמיץ‬
‫ אי לאו‬,‫דמרך? השתא הני תלתא‬
‫דכתבינהו משה באורייתא ואתו כנסת‬
,‫ אנן לא אמרינן להו‬,‫הגדולה ותקנינהו‬
‫ואת אמרת כולי האי? משל לאדם שהיו לו‬
‫ והיו מקלסין‬,‫אלף אלפי אלפים דינרי זהב‬
?‫ לא גנאי הוא לו‬.‫אותו )באלף( דינרי כסף‬
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Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
‫דברים פרק י‬
6) For God your God is the God of gods
and the Lord of lords. The great, mighty,
and awesome God who shows no favor
and takes no bribe; who does justice for the
orphan and widow, and loves the stranger,
providing him with food and clothing You too must love the stranger, for you
were strangers in the Land of Egypt.
(Deuteronomy 10:17-19)
‫יכם הוּא ֱאל ֵֹהי ָה ֱאל ִֹהים‬
ֶ ‫)יז( ִכּי יְ קֹוָק ֱאל ֵֹה‬
‫נּוֹרא‬
ָ ‫ַאדֹנֵי ָה ֲאדֹנִ ים ָה ֵאל ַה ָגּדֹל ַה ִגּבֹּר וְ ַה‬
ֲ‫ו‬
:‫ֲא ֶשׁר לֹא יִ ָשּׂא ָפנִ ים וְ לֹא יִ ַקּח שׁ ַֹחד‬
‫אַל ָמנָה וְ א ֵֹהב גֵּר‬
ְ ְ‫)יח( ע ֶֹשׂה ִמ ְשׁ ַפּט יָתוֹם ו‬
:‫ָל ֶתת לוֹ ֶל ֶחם וְ ִשׂ ְמ ָלה‬
‫יתם‬
ֶ ִ‫ֵרים ֱהי‬
ִ ‫ַא ַה ְב ֶתּם ֶאת ַהגֵּר ִכּי ג‬
ֲ ‫)יט( ו‬
:‫ְבּ ֶא ֶרץ ִמ ְצ ָריִ ם‬
7) “The discussion is declared concluded. The question is now asked:
1) Should the Conference declare that the oath of a Jew, invoking the Name of God, is
binding without any further ceremony?
Unanimous Response: Yes!
2) Does the Conference declare that Kol Nidre is unessential? And will the members of
the Conference, in their spheres of jurisdiction, work for its abolition, already in time for
next Yom Kippur?
Yes!
(Jakob Petuchowski, Prayerbook Reform in Europe, p. 336)
8) “In Retzeh, which is itself a modification of the ancient prayer utilized by the
officiating priests in the Temple, the words Ve’ishei Yisrael could not be reinterpreted.
When these two words are deleted, the prayer becomes a fervent plea for restoration of
the center of our faith to Jerusalem. (ital mine)
(Robert Gordis: “A Jewish Prayer Book for the Modern Age,” Conservative Judaism Vol.
1 (1945), p. 16)
9) “I know of course, that “You have not made me a woman” can be understood in many
different ways. But by its plain meaning, and by the simple smell test, it has the effect
today of justifying our lack of progress, and of affirming for us that women do not
possess the spiritual dignity than men do. In OUR specific time, given OUR specific
challenges, the blessing hurts us. We thus find ourselves today in an halachik “sha’at
hadchak”, an “urgent circumstance”. The sort of circumstance that justifies utilizing an
ingenious halachik stratagem to effectively drop this blessing from our liturgy.” – (R.
Yosef Kanefsky, www.morethodoxy.org, August 8, 2011)
10) ,‫מקדש מלך עיר מלוכה‬
,‫מאז היתה ראש ממלכה‬
,‫והיא עתה תתעטר במלכהּ‬
‫והוא יחמול עליך חמלה‬
,‫ִמ ְקדַּשׁ ֶמ ֶל ְך עִיר מְלוּכָה‬
,‫קֽוּמִי ְצאִי ִמתּוֹ ְך ַה ֲה ֵפכָה‬
,‫שׁבֶת ְבּ ֵע ֶמק ַה ָבּכָא‬
ֶ ‫רַב ָל ְך‬
.‫וְהוּא יַחֲמוֹל ָע ַליְִך ֶח ְמלָה‬
- Alkabetz version (16th c)
-Hemdat Yamim (1731)
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Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
11) Sanctuary of the King, royal city/
From old it was the head of royalty/
Now she is crowned in royalty/
He will show compassion to you.
-Hemdat Yamim (1731)
Sanctuary of the King, royal city/
Rise up, go forth from the upheaval/
Too long have you dwelt in the valley of
tears/ He will show compassion to you.
- Alkabetz version (16th c)
12) “People expect a Jewish prayer book to express what a Jew should believe about
God, Israel and the Torah, and about the meaning of human life and the destiny of
mankind. We must not disappoint them in that expectation. But unless we eliminate from
the traditional text statements of beliefs that are untenable and of desires which we do not
or should not cherish, we mislead the simple and alienate the sophisticated. The simple
will accept the false with the true, to the detriment of their spiritual growth. The
sophisticated will feel that a Jewish service has little value for people of modern
mentality. Rather than leaving such questionable passages to reinterpretation, we should
omit or revise them.”
(Mordechai Kaplan and Eugene Kohn, Introduction to Shabbat Prayer Book (1945), p.
xxiii-xxiv.)
13) “Ideologies designed to exalt the group at the expense of other groups, authoritarian
interpretations of nature and history, all are present in the texts of traditional prayers. The
elimination of such ideas from our liturgical texts is necessary if our worship is to be a
source of personal as well as social self-fulfillment.” (Proceedings of the Rabbinical
Assembly 1953, vol. 17, p. 187)
14) “In advancing some critical remarks, I do not mean chas veshalom to take a superior
attitude. In all honesty, my criticism will be to a considerable degree selfcriticism….“Our services are conducted with pomp and precision. The rendition of the
liturgy is smooth. Everything is present: decorum, voice, ceremony. But one thing is
missing: Life. …Has the temple become a graveyard where prayer is buried?”
(Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly 1953, vol. 17, p. 151)
15) “The motions survive, the emotions have fled. The lips move, but the heart is
unmoved. Unless this apathy to synagogue services is overcome, it will spell the end of
worship among Jews.” (Sabbath Prayer Book, p. xvii)
16) “The problem is not how to revitalize prayer, the problem is how to revitalize
ourselves….Religious movements in our history have often revolved around the problem
of liturgy…To Kabbalah and Hasidism the primary problem was how to pray; to the
modern movements, the primary problem was what to say. What has Hasidism
accomplished? It inspired worship in a vast number of Jews. What have the moderns
accomplished? They have inspired the publication of a vast number of prayerbooks.” –
(Man’s Quest for God, p. 77, 83)
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Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
17) “The traditional rituals must be studied as artistic forms of religious expression,
which in every age need to be re-examined from the point of view of their truth and their
relevance to the spiritual needs and interests of the times. Whatever is merely archaic and
no longer awakens religious thought and emotion, even in those who are familiar with its
traditional meaning, must be discarded.” – (Eugene Kohn, Proceedings of the Rabbinical
Assembly 1953, p. 187)
18) “We must learn how to study the inner life of the words that fill the world of our
prayerbook. Without intense study of their meaning, we feel, indeed, bewildered when
we encounter the multitude of those strange, lofty beings that populate the inner cosmos
of the Jewish spirit. It is not enough to know how to translate Hebrew into English; it is
not enough to have met a word in the dictionary and to have experienced unpleasant
adventures with it in the study of grammar. A word has a soul, and we must learn how to
attain insight into its life….
This is our affliction – we do not know how to look across a word to its meaning. We
forgot how to find the way to the word, how to be on intimate terms with a few passages
in the prayer book. Familiar with all words, we are intimate with none…The same word
may evoke new understanding when read with an open heart….What we need is a
sympathetic prayerbook exegesis.” – (Man’s Quest for God, p. 78, 81, 83)
19) “A biblical locution carrying in its train the almost automatic associations of the
entire biblical passage in which it appears and the entire hermeneutical context in which
it has traditionally been understood to belong, would in its new incarnation cast subtle
and far-ranging effects over all the meanings and significations, both the actual and the
possible, of the new-made poem.” – (Neal Kozodoy, Reading Medieval Love Poetry, AJS
Review 2 (1977), p. 119-120.)
20) Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The
one who separates (recites Havdallah) must
say an aspect of the separations (havdallot)
said in the Torah
(Babylonian Talmud Pesahim 104a)
‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת פסחים דף קד עמוד א‬
‫ המבדיל צריך שיאמר מעין‬:‫אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי‬
.‫הבדלות האמורות בתורה‬
21) Levi said: As long as they are from the
Havdallot (separations) mentioned in the
Torah
(Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 5:2; 9b)
‫תלמוד ירושלמי מסכת ברכות פרק ה דף ט טור ב‬
‫ה"ב‬/
‫לוי אמר ובלבד מאבדלות האמורות בתורה‬
22) He opened and said:
Who separates between holy and profane
Between light and dark
Between Israel and the nations
Between the seventh day and the six days
of work (Bab. Talmud Pesahim 103b)
‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת פסחים דף קג עמוד ב‬
:‫פתח ואמר‬
,‫המבדיל בין קודש לחול‬
,‫בין אור לחשך‬
‫בין ישראל לעמים‬
.‫בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה‬
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Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
23) You have separated
Between darkness and light
Between upper and lower waters
Between sea and dry land
Between impure and pure
Between Shabbat and the six days of work
Between Israel and the nations
As it says: “You shall be holy to Me, for I
YHVH am holy, and I have set you apart
from other peoples to be Mine.” (Lev
20:26)
And it says: “A man may arrange his
thoughts, but what he says depends on
YHVH.” (Prov 16:1)
Blessed….who graces with knowledge
- Ezra Fleischer, Eretz Israel Prayer and
Prayer Rituals, p. 28
Adler 2824, p. 16
‫אתה הבדלת‬
‫בין חושך לאור‬
‫בין המים העליונים לתחתונים‬
‫בין הים ליבשה‬
‫בין הטמא לטהור‬
‫בין השבת לששת ימי המעשה‬
‫בין ישראל לגוים‬
‫יתם ִלי ְקד ִֹשׁים ִכּי ָקדוֹשׁ ֲאנִ י יְ קֹוָק‬
ֶ ִ‫כאמור וִ ְהי‬
ְ ‫ו‬
‫ָאַב ִדּל ֶא ְת ֶכם ִמן ָה ַע ִמּים ִל ְהיוֹת ִלי‬
<‫ונא>מר‬
‫לְאָדָם ַמ ַע ְרכֵי לֵב וּ ֵמיְקֹוָק ַמ ֲענֵה לָשׁוֹן‬
‫ברוך >אתה יי< חונן הדעת‬
‫יחזקאל פרק מו‬
24) Thus has the Lord YHWH proclaimed:
The east gate of the inner court will be
closed, during the six working days but
open on the Sabbath and the new moon. 2.
Having entered through the vestibule of the
gatehouse the prince will stand by the
doorpost, while the priests offer up both his
whole burnt offering and his well-being
offering. He will then bow low on the
threshold of the gatehouse and leave; the
gatehouse, however, will not be closed
until evening. 3. The general population
will [also] bow low before YHWH at the
entrance of that gatehouse on the sabbath
and the new moons. – Ezekiel 46:1-3
(Milgrom/Block translation, unpublished)
‫ימית‬
ִ ִ‫אָמר ֲאדֹנָי יְ קֹוִ ק ַשׁ ַער ֶה ָח ֵצר ַה ְפּנ‬
ַ ‫)א( כֹּה‬
‫וּביוֹם‬
ְ ‫ֲשׂה‬
ֶ ‫ַהפֹּנֶה ָק ִדים יִ ְהיֶה ָסגוּר ֵשׁ ֶשׁת ְי ֵמי ַה ַמּע‬
:‫וּביוֹם ַהח ֶֹדשׁ יִ ָפּ ֵת ַח‬
ְ ‫ַה ַשּׁ ָבּת יִ ָפּ ֵת ַח‬
‫אוּלם ַה ַשּׁ ַער ִמחוּץ וְ ָע ַמד ַעל‬
ָ ‫ָשׂיא ֶדּ ֶר ְך‬
ִ ‫וּבא ַהנּ‬
ָ (‫)ב‬
‫עוֹלתוֹ וְ ֶאת ְשׁ ָל ָמיו‬
ָ ‫ֹהנִ ים ֶאת‬
ֲ ‫ְמזוּזַת ַה ַשּׁ ַער וְ ָעשׂוּ ַהכּ‬
‫ָצא וְ ַה ַשּׁ ַער לֹא יִ ָסּגֵר‬
ָ ‫וְ ִה ְשׁ ַתּ ֲחוָה ַעל ִמ ְפ ַתּן ַה ַשּׁ ַער וְ י‬
:‫ַעד ָה ָע ֶרב‬
‫אָרץ ֶפּ ַתח ַה ַשּׁ ַער ַההוּא ַבּ ַשּׁ ָבּתוֹת‬
ֶ ‫)ג( וְ ִה ְשׁ ַתּ ֲחווּ ַעם ָה‬
‫וּב ֳח ָד ִשׁים ִל ְפנֵי יְ קֹוָק‬
ֶ
‫יחזקאל פרק מד‬
25) Then he led me back by way of the
outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east;
but it was closed. 2. Then YHWH said to
me, This gate will remain closed; it must
not be opened! And no one may go through
it because YHWH, Israel's God, has gone
through it. Therefore, it must remain
closed. 3. But the nāśî, and only the nāśî,
may be seated there to dine before YHWH.
‫ָשׁב א ִֹתי ֶדּ ֶר ְך ַשׁ ַער ַה ִמּ ְק ָדּשׁ ַה ִחיצוֹן ַהפֹּנֶה‬
ֶ ‫)א( ַויּ‬
:‫ָק ִדים וְ הוּא ָסגוּר‬
‫ֹאמר ֵא ַלי יְ קֹוָק ַה ַשּׁ ַער ַהזֶּה ָסגוּר יִ ְהיֶה לֹא‬
ֶ ‫)ב( ַויּ‬
‫יִ ָפּ ֵת ַח וְ ִאישׁ לֹא ָיבֹא בוֹ ִכּי יְ קֹוָק ֱאל ֵֹהי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ָבּא‬
:‫בוֹ וְ ָהיָה ָסגוּר‬
‫ֵשׁב בּוֹ לאכול ֶל ֱא ָכל ֶל ֶחם‬
ֶ ‫ָשׂיא הוּא י‬
ִ ‫ָשׂיא נ‬
ִ ‫)ג( ֶאת ַהנּ‬
:‫ֵצא‬
ֵ ‫וּמ ַדּ ְרכּוֹ י‬
ִ ‫ִל ְפנֵי יְ קֹוָק ִמ ֶדּ ֶר ְך ֻא ָלם ַה ַשּׁ ַער יָבוֹא‬
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Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
He will enter by way of the vestibule to the
gate and exit the same way. – Ezekiel 44:13 (Milgrom/Block translation, unpublished)
26) The great gate had two wickets, one to
the north and one to the south. No one had
ever entered the south one, and concerning
it it is explicitly stated in Ezekiel: “Then
YHWH said to me, This gate will remain
closed; it must not be opened! And no one
may go through it because YHWH, Israel's
God, has gone through it. Therefore, it
must remain closed.” (Mishnah Tamid 3:7)
‫משנה מסכת תמיד פרק ג משנה ז‬
‫ושני פשפשין היו לו לשער הגדול אחד בצפון ואחד‬
‫בדרום שבדרום לא נכנס בו אדם מעולם ועליו הוא‬
‫מפורש על ידי יחזקאל )מ"ד( ויאמר אלי ה' השער‬
‫הזה סגור יהיה לא יפתח ואיש לא יבא בו כי ה' אלהי‬
‫ישראל בא בו והיה סגור‬
27) “Rabbi Yehuda says: On holidays and
Shabbatot, Israel sits there and sees the
doors open in front of them, and knows that
the Shekhina (presence) of God is there, as
it says: “For YHVH the God of Israel came
into it” (Ez. 44:2). Immediately they fall
and prostrate before God, both in the past
and in the future, as it says: “And the
nation (will) prostrate at the opening of that
gate on Shabbatot and holidays.” (Ez
46:3)” – Pirke deRebbe Eliezer ch. 50
‫ "חורב" פרק נ‬- (‫פרקי דרבי אליעזר )היגר‬
‫ר' יהודה אומ' בחדשים ובשבתות ישראל יושבים שם‬
‫ורואין את הדלתות נפתחין מאליהם ויודעין ששכינתו‬
‫ שנ' כי ה' אלהי ישראל בא בו מיד‬,‫של הב"ה שם‬
‫ וכן לשעבר וכן‬,‫כורעים ומשתחוים לפני האלהים‬
‫ שנ' והשתחוו עם הארץ פתח השער ההוא‬,‫לעתיד‬
‫בשבתות ובחדשים‬
28) R. Abba bar Kahana said: Come and
see the humility of the Holy One. It is
written: “Then YHWH said to me, This
gate will remain closed; it must not be
opened!” and “but open on the Sabbath and
the new moon” (Ez 46:1). A flesh and
blood king – it is his honor to enter the
large gate, and not the small one. But the
Holy One enters, in his honor, through the
small gate…
(Tanhuma (Buber) Bereishit 4)
‫מדרש תנחומא )בובר( פרשת בראשית סימן ד‬
,‫אמר ר' אבא בר כהנא בא וראה ענוותו של הקב"ה‬
‫מה כתיב ויאמר )ה' אלי( ]אלי ה'[ השער הזה סגור‬
‫ ]וביום השבת‬,(‫יהיה )ולא( ]לא[ יפתח )יחזקאל מד ב‬
‫ [ מלך‬,(‫ מו‬/‫יחזקאל‬/ ‫יפתח וביום החדש יפתח )שם‬
‫ אבל‬,‫בשר ודם כבודו ליכנס בשער גדול ולא בקטן‬
,‫הקב"ה נכנס בכבודו בשער קטן‬
‫בראשית פרק טו‬
29) After those things, the word of YHVH
came to Avram in a vision, saying: “Don’t
fear, Avraham, I am a shield for you. Your
reward will be very great.” But Avram
said: “Lord, YHVH, what can You give
me, seeing that I shall die childless and the
‫אַב ָרם‬
ְ ‫אַחר ַה ְדּ ָב ִרים ָה ֵא ֶלּה ָהיָה ְד ַבר יְ קֹוָק ֶאל‬
ַ (‫)א‬
‫אַב ָרם אָנ ִֹכי ָמגֵן ָל ְך ְשׂ ָכ ְר ָך‬
ְ ‫ירא‬
ָ ‫ַבּ ַמּ ֲחזֶה ֵלאמֹר אַל ִתּ‬
:‫ַה ְר ֵבּה ְמאֹד‬
ְ ‫ֹאמר‬
ֶ ‫)ב( ַויּ‬
‫אַב ָרם ֲאדֹנָי יֱקֹוִ ק ַמה ִתּ ֶתּן ִלי וְ אָנ ִֹכי‬
6
Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
:‫יעזֶר‬
ֶ ‫יתי הוּא ַדּ ֶמּ ֶשׂק ֱא ִל‬
ִ ‫וּבן ֶמ ֶשׁק ֵבּ‬
ֶ ‫ירי‬
ִ ‫ֲר‬
ִ ‫הוֹל ְך ע‬
ֵ
‫ָרע וְ ִהנֵּה ֶבן‬
ַ ‫ָת ָתּה ז‬
ַ ‫אַב ָרם ֵהן ִלי לֹא נ‬
ְ ‫ֹאמר‬
ֶ ‫)ג( ַויּ‬
:‫יוֹרשׁ א ִֹתי‬
ֵ ‫יתי‬
ִ ‫ֵבּ‬
‫יר ְשׁ ָך זֶה ִכּי‬
ָ ִ‫)ד( וְ ִהנֵּה ְד ַבר יְ קֹוָק ֵא ָליו ֵלאמֹר לֹא י‬
:‫יר ֶשׁ ָך‬
ָ ִ‫יך הוּא י‬
ָ ‫ֵצא ִמ ֵמּ ֶע‬
ֵ ‫ִאם ֲא ֶשׁר י‬
‫ֹאמר ַה ֶבּט נָא ַה ָשּׁ ַמיְ ָמה‬
ֶ ‫חוּצה ַויּ‬
ָ ‫ַיּוֹצא אֹתוֹ ַה‬
ֵ ‫) ה( ו‬
‫ֹאמר לוֹ‬
ֶ ‫תּוּכל ִל ְספֹּר א ָֹתם ַויּ‬
ַ ‫כּוֹכ ִבים ִאם‬
ָ ‫וּספֹר ַה‬
ְ
:‫ַר ֶע ָך‬
ְ ‫כֹּה יִ ְהיֶה ז‬
:‫ַח ְשׁ ֶב ָה לּוֹ ְצ ָד ָקה‬
ְ ‫)ו( וְ ֶה ֱא ִמן ַבּיקֹוָק ַויּ‬
‫יך ֵמאוּר‬
ָ ‫את‬
ִ ‫הוֹצ‬
ֵ ‫ֹאמר ֵא ָליו ֲאנִ י יְ קֹוָק ֲא ֶשׁר‬
ֶ ‫)ז( ַויּ‬
:‫אָרץ ַהזֹּאת ְל ִר ְשׁ ָתּהּ‬
ֶ ‫ַכּ ְשׂ ִדּים ָל ֶתת ְל ָך ֶאת ָה‬
:‫יר ֶשׁנָּה‬
ָ ‫ֹאמר ֲאדֹנָי יֱקֹוִ ק ַבּ ָמּה ֵא ַדע ִכּי ִא‬
ַ ‫)ח( ַויּ‬
one in charge of my household is Damesek
Eliezer?” Avram said: “Since You have
granted me no offspring, my steward will
be my heir.”
The word of YHVH came to him, saying:
“That one shall not be your heir; none but
your very own issue shall be your heir.”.…
Then He said to him: “I am YHVH who
brought you out from Ur Casdim to assign
this land to you as a possession.” And he
said: “Lord YHVH, how shall I know that I
am to possess it?” (Genesis 15:1–8, based
on New Jewish Publication Society
translation).
30) “Words… have fullness and depth, they are multi-dimensional….“To begin to pray is
to confront the word” (Man’s Quest for God, p. 26-27)
31) “The siddur must not be used as a scapegoat. A revision of the prayer book will not
solve the crisis of prayer. What we need is a revision of the soul, a new heart rather than a
new text.” (Man’s Quest for God, p. 83)
7