Jewish prayer services

According to the Talmud (tractate Taanit 2a), prayer is a Biblical command: "'You shall serve God with your whole heart.' (Deuteronomy 11:13) What service is performed with the heart? This is prayer." The prayers are therefore referred to as Avodah sheba-Lev ("service that is in the heart"). The noted rabbi Maimonides likewise categorizes prayer as a Biblical command,^[6] but believed that the number of prayers and their times are not.

The Talmud (tractate Berachoth 26b) gives two reasons why there are three basic prayers:

Each service was instituted parallel to a sacrificial act in the Temple in Jerusalem: the morning Tamid offering, the afternoon Tamid, and the overnight burning of this last offering.
According to one sage, each of the Patriarchs instituted one prayer: Abraham the morning, Isaac the afternoon and Jacob the evening prayers. This view is supported with Biblical quotes indicating that the Patriarchs prayed at the times mentioned. However, even according to this view, the exact times of when the services are held, and moreover the entire concept of a mussaf service, are still based on the sacrifices.

Additional Biblical references suggest that King David and the prophet Daniel prayed three times a day. In Psalms, David states: "Evening, morning and afternoon do I pray and cry, and He will hear my voice" (55:18). As in Daniel: "[...] his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he had done before" (6:11).

Orthodox Judaism regards halakha (Jewish law) as requiring Jewish men to pray three times daily and four times daily on the Sabbath and most Jewish holidays, and five times on Yom Kippur. Orthodox Jewish women are required to pray at least daily, with no specific time requirement, but the system of multiple daily prayer services is regarded as optional.^[7] Conservative Judaism also regards the halakhic system of multiple daily services as mandatory. Since 2002, Conservative Jewish women have been regarded as having undertaken a communal obligation to pray the same prayers at the same times as men, with traditionalist communities and individual women permitted to opt out.^[8] Reform and Reconstructionist congregations do not regard halakha as binding and hence regard appropriate prayer times as matters of personal spiritual decision rather than a matter of religious requirement.

Text and language

According to halakha, all individual prayers and virtually all communal prayers may be said in any language that the person praying understands. For example, the Mishnah mentions that the Shema need not be said in Hebrew^[9] A list of prayers that must be said in Hebrew is given in the Mishna,^[10] and among these only the Priestly Blessing is in use today, as the others are prayers that are to be said only in a Temple in Jerusalem, by a priest, or by a reigning King.

Despite this, the tradition of most Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogues is to use Hebrew (usually Ashkenazi Hebrew) for all except a small number of prayers, including the Kaddish, which had always been in Aramaic, and sermons and instructions, for which the local language is used. In other streams of Judaism there is considerable variability: Sephardic communities may use Ladino or Portuguese for many prayers; Conservative synagogues tend to use the local language to a varying degree; and at some Reform synagogues almost the whole service may be in the local language.

Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer 1:4) relates that until the Babylonian exile, all Jews composed their own prayers. After the exile, however, the sages of the time (united in the Great Assembly) found the ability of the people insufficient to continue the practice, and they composed the main portions of the siddur, such as the Amidah. The origins of modern Jewish prayer were established during the period of the Tannaim, "from their traditions, later committed to writing, we learn that the generation of rabbis active at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E.) gave Jewish prayer its structure and, in outline form at least, its contents."^[11] This liturgy included the twice-daily recitation of the Shema, the Amidah, or Shmoneh Esrei, including 18 blessings recited several times daily, and the public recitation of the Torah in installments.^[11] The oldest prayer books date from the time of the Geonim of Babylonia; "some were composed by respected rabbinic scholars at the request of far-flung communities seeking an authoritative text of the required prayers for daily use, Shabbat, and holidays."^[11]

The language of the prayers, while clearly being from the Second Temple period, often employs Biblical idiom, and according to some authorities it should not contain rabbinic or Mishnaic idiom apart from in the sections of Mishnah that are featured (see Baer).

Over the last two thousand years, the various streams of Jews have resulted in small variations in the traditional liturgy customs among different Jewish communities, with each community having a slightly different Nusach (customary liturgy). The principal difference is between Ashkenazic and Sephardic customs, although there are other communities (e.g. Yemenite Jews), and Hassidic and other communities also have distinct customs, variations, and special prayers. The differences are quite minor compared with the commonalities.

The siddur

The earliest parts of Jewish prayer are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") (Deuteronomy 6:4 et seq), and the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), which are in the Torah. A set of eighteen (currently nineteen) blessings called the Shemoneh Esreh or the Amidah (Hebrew, "standing [prayer]"), is traditionally ascribed to the Great Assembly in the time of Ezra, at the end of the Biblical period.

The name Shemoneh Esreh, literally "eighteen", is an historical anachronism, since it now contains nineteen blessings. It was only near the end of the Second Temple period that the eighteen prayers of the weekday Amidah became standardized. Even at that time their precise wording and order was not yet fixed, and varied from locale to locale. Many modern scholars believe that parts of the Amidah came from the Hebrew apocryphal work Ben Sira.

According to the Talmud, soon after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem a formal version of the Amidah was adopted at a rabbinical council in Yavne, under the leadership of Rabban Gamaliel II and his colleagues. However, the precise wording was still left open. The order, general ideas, opening and closing lines were fixed. Most of the wording was left to the individual reader. It was not until several centuries later that the prayers began to be formally fixed. By the Middle Ages the texts of the prayers were nearly fixed, and in the form in which they are still used today.

The siddur was printed by Soncino in Italy as early as 1486, though a siddur was first mass-distributed only in 1865. The siddur began appearing in the vernacular as early as 1538. The first English translation, by Gamaliel ben Pedahzur (a pseudonym), appeared in London in 1738; a different translation was released in the United States in 1837.^[12]

Readings from the Torah (five books of Moses) and the Nevi'im ("Prophets") form part of the prayer services. To this framework various Jewish sages added, from time to time, various prayers, and, for festivals especially, numerous hymns.

The earliest existing codification of the prayerbook was drawn up by Rav Amram Gaon of Sura, Babylon, about 850 CE. Half a century later Rav Saadia Gaon, also of Sura, composed a siddur, in which the rubrical matter is in Arabic. These were the basis of Simcha ben Samuel's Machzor Vitry (11th century France), which was based on the ideas of his teacher, Rashi. Another formulation of the prayers was that appended by Maimonides to the laws of prayer in his Mishneh Torah: this forms the basis of the Yemenite liturgy, and has had some influence on other rites. From this point forward all Jewish prayerbooks had the same basic order and contents.

Denominational variations

Conservative services generally use the same basic format for services as in Orthodox Judaism with some doctrinal leniencies and some prayers in English. In practice there is wide variation among Conservative congregations. In traditionalist congregations the liturgy can be almost identical to that of Orthodox Judaism, almost entirely in Hebrew (and Aramaic), with a few minor exceptions, including excision of a study session on Temple sacrifices, and modifications of prayers for the restoration of the sacrificial system. In more liberal Conservative synagogues there are greater changes to the service, with up to a third of the service in English; abbreviation or omission of many of the preparatory prayers; and replacement of some traditional prayers with more contemporary forms. There are some changes for doctrinal reasons, including egalitarian language, fewer references to restoring sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem, and an option to eliminate special roles for Kohanim and Levites.

The liturgies of Reform and Reconstructionist are based on traditional elements, but contains language more reflective of liberal belief than the traditional liturgy. Doctrinal revisions generally include revising or omitting references to traditional doctrines such as bodily resurrection, a personal Jewish Messiah, and other elements of traditional Jewish eschatology, Divine revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai, angels, conceptions of reward and punishment, and other personal miraculous and supernatural elements. Services are often from 40% to 90% in the vernacular.

Reform Judaism has made greater alterations to the traditional service in accord with its more liberal theology including dropping references to traditional elements of Jewish eschatology such as a personal Messiah, a bodily resurrection of the dead, and others. The Hebrew portion of the service is substantially abbreviated and modernized and modern prayers substituted for traditional ones. In addition, in keeping with their view that the laws of Shabbat (including a traditional prohibition on playing instruments) are inapplicable to modern circumstances, Reform services often play instrumental or recorded music with prayers on the Jewish Sabbath. All Reform synagogues are Egalitarian with respect to gender roles.

Philosophy of prayer

In Jewish philosophy and in Rabbinic literature, it is noted that the Hebrew verb for prayer—hitpallel התפלל—is in fact the reflexive form of palal פלל, to judge. Thus, "to pray" conveys the notion of "judging oneself":^[13] ultimately, the purpose of prayer—tefilah תפלה—is to transform ourselves [1] [2].

This etymology is consistent with the Jewish conception of Divine simplicity. It is not God that changes through our prayer—Man does not influence God as a defendant influences a human judge who has emotions and is subject to change—rather it is man himself who is changed [3]. It is further consistent with Maimonides' view on Divine Providence. Here, Tefillah is the medium which God gave to man by means of which he can change himself, and thereby establish a new relationship with God—and thus a new destiny for himself in life [4] [5]; see also under Psalms.

The rationalist approach

In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists

The educational approach

In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. This has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, Yehuda Halevy, Joseph Albo, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. This view is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII); note that Scherman goes on to also affirm the Kabbalistic view (see below).

Kabbalistic view

Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) uses a series of kavanot, directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalists ascribes a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation.

This approach has been taken by the Chassidei Ashkenaz (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the Zohar, the Arizal's Kabbalist tradition, the Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon and Jacob Emden.

Methodology and terminology

Terms for praying

Daven is the originally exclusively Eastern Yiddish verb meaning "pray"; it is widely used by Ashkenazic Orthodox Jews. In Yinglish, this has become the Anglicised davening. The origin of the word is obscure, but is thought by some to have come from Middle French divin (short for office divin, Divine service) and by others to be derived from a Slavic word meaning "to give" (давать, davat') . Others claim that it originates from an Aramaic word, "de'avoohon" or "d'avinun", meaning "of their/our forefathers", as the three prayers are said to have been invented by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Western Yiddish, the term for "pray" is oren, a word with clear roots in Romance languages—compare Spanish and Portuguese orar and Latin orare.^[14]

Minyan (Quorum)

Main article: Minyan

Individual prayer is considered acceptable, but prayer with a quorum of ten adults (a minyan) is considered "prayer with the community", and this is the most highly recommended form of prayer. An adult in this context means over the age of 13 (bar mitzvah). Judaism had originally only counted only men in the minyan for formal prayer, on the basis that one does not count someone who is not obligated to participate. The rabbis had exempted women from all time related mitzvot (commandments) due to women in the past being bound up in an endless cycle of pregnancy, birthing and nursing from a very early age. Orthodox Judaism still follows this reasoning and excludes women from the minyan. Since 1973, Conservative congregations have overwhelmingly become egalitarian and count women in the minyan. Today quite a few Conservative congregations even feature Female rabbis and cantors. A very small number of congregations that identify themselves as Conservative have resisted these changes and continue to exclude women from the minyan. Those Reform and Reconstructionist congregations that consider a minyan mandatory for communal prayer, count both men and women for a minyan. In Orthodox Judaism, according to some authorities, women can count in the minyan for certain specific prayers, such as the Birchot HaGomel blessing, which both men and women are obligated to say publicly.

Various sources encourage a congregrant to pray in a fixed place in the synagogue (מקום קבוע, maqom qavua).

Attire

Head covering. In most synagogues, it is considered a sign of respect for male attendees to wear a head covering, either a dress hat or a kippa (skull cap, plural kipot also known by the Yiddish term yarmulke). It is common practice for both Jews and non-Jews who attend a synagogue to wear a head covering.^[15]^[16] Some Conservative synagogues may also encourage (but rarely require) women to cover their heads. Many Reform and Progressive temples do not require people to cover their heads, although individual worshipers, both men and women, may choose to. Many Orthodox and some conservative men wear a head covering throughout their day, even when not attending religious services.
Tallit (prayer shawl) is traditionally worn during all morning services, during Aliyah to the Torah, as well as the Kol Nidre service of Yom Kippur. In Orthodox synagogues they are expected to be worn only by men who are halakhically Jewish and in Conservative synagogues they should be worn only by men and women who are halakhically Jewish. In most Orthodox Ashkenazi synagogues they are worn only by men who are or have been married.^[17]
Tefillin (phylacteries) are a set of small cubic leather boxes painted black, containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. They are tied to the head and arm with leather straps dyed black, and worn only by Jews, during weekday morning prayers. In Orthodox synagogues they are expected to be worn only by men; in Conservative synagogues they are also worn by some women.
Tzeniut (modesty) applies to men and women. When attending Orthodox synagogues, women will likely be expected to wear long sleeves (past the elbows), long skirts (past the knees), a high neckline (to the collar bone), and if married, to cover their hair with a wig, scarf, hat or a combination of the above. For men, short pants or sleeveless shirts are generally regarded as inappropriate. In some Conservative and Reform synagogues the dress code may be more lax, but still respectful.

Daily prayers

Shacharit (morning prayers)

The Shacharit (from shachar, morning light) prayer is recited in the morning. Halacha limits parts of its recitation to the first three (Shema) or four (Amidah) hours of the day, where "hours" are 1/12 of daylight time, making these times dependent on the season.

Various prayers are said upon arising; the tallit katan (a garment with tzitzit) is donned at this time. The tallit (large prayer shawl) is donned before or during the actual prayer service, as are the tefillin (phylacteries); both are accompanied by blessings.

The service starts with the "morning blessings" (birkot ha-shachar), including blessings for the Torah (considered the most important ones). In Orthodox services this is followed by a series of readings from Biblical and rabbinic writings recalling the offerings made in the Temple in Jerusalem. The section concludes with the "Rabbis' Kaddish" (kaddish de-rabbanan).

The next section of morning prayers is called Pesukei D'Zimrah ("verses of praise"), containing several psalms (100 and 145–150), and prayers (such as yehi chevod) made from a tapestry of Biblical verses, followed by the Song at the Sea (Exodus, chapters 14 and 15).

Barechu, the formal public call to prayer, introduces a series of expanded blessings embracing the recitation of the Shema. This is followed by the core of the prayer service, the Amidah or Shemoneh Esreh, a series of 19 blessings. The next part of the service, is Tachanun, supplications, which is omitted on days with a festive character (and by Reform services usually entirely).

On Mondays and Thursdays a Torah reading service is inserted, and a longer version of Tachanun takes place.

Concluding prayers (see U-Ba Le-Tzion) and Aleinu then follow, with the Kaddish of the mourners generally after Aleinu.

Mincha (afternoon prayers)

Mincha or Minha(derived from the flour offering that accompanied each sacrifice) may be recited from half an hour after halachic noontime. This earliest time is referred to as mincha gedola (the "large mincha"). It is, however, preferably recited after mincha ketana (2.5 halachic hours before nightfall^[18]). Ideally, one should complete the prayers before sunset, although many authorities permit reciting Mincha until nightfall.

Sephardim and Italian Jews start the Mincha prayers with Psalm 84 and Korbanot (Numbers 28:1-8), and usually continue with the Pittum hakketoret. The opening section is concluded with Malachi 3:4. Western Ashkenazim recite the Korbanot only.

Ashrei, containing verses from Psalms 84:5, 144:15 and the entire Psalm 145, is recited, immediately followed by Chatzi Kaddish (half-Kaddish) and the Shemoneh Esreh (or Amidah). This is followed by Tachanun, supplications, and then the full Kaddish. Sephardim insert Psalm 67 or 93, followed by the Mourner's Kaddish. After this follows, in most modern rites, the Aleinu. Ashkenazim then conclude with the Mourner's Kaddish. On Tisha B'Av, tallit and tefillin are worn during Mincha. Service leaders often wear a tallit even on normal days, and must wear one during Jewish fast days.

Ma'ariv/Arvit (evening prayers)

Minyan Ma'ariv prayer in a Jaffa Tel Aviv flea-market shop

In many congregations, the afternoon and evening prayers are recited back-to-back on a working day, to save people having to attend synagogue twice.^[19] The Vilna Gaon discouraged this practice, and followers of his set of customs commonly wait until after nightfall to recite Ma'ariv (the name derives from the word "nightfall").^[20]

This service begins with the Barechu, the formal public call to prayer, and Shema Yisrael embraced by two benedictions before and two after. Ashkenazim outside of Israel (except Chabad-Lubavitch and followers of the Vilna Gaon) then add another blessing (Baruch Adonai le-Olam), which is made from a tapestry of biblical verses. (This prayer is also said by Baladi Temanim in and out of Israel.) This is followed by the Half-Kaddish, and the Shemoneh Esreh (Amidah), bracketed with the full Kaddish. Sephardim then say Psalm 121, say the Mourner's Kaddish, and repeat Barechu before concluding with the Aleinu. Ashkenazim, in the diaspora, do neither say Psalm 121 nor repeat Barechu, but conclude with Aleinu followed by the Mourner's Kaddish (in Israel, Ashkenazim do repeat Barcheu after mourner's Kaddish).

Prayer on Shabbat (Sabbath)

Friday night

Shabbat services begin on Friday evening with the weekday Mincha (see above), followed in some communities by the Song of Songs, and then in most communities by the Kabbalat Shabbat, the mystical prelude to Shabbat services composed by 16th century Kabbalists. This Hebrew term literally means "Receiving the Sabbath". In many communities, the piyut Yedid Nefesh introduces the Kabbalat Shabbat prayers.

Kabbalat Shabbat is, except for amongst many Italian and Spanish and Portuguese Jews, composed of six psalms, 95 to 99, and 29, representing the six week-days. Next comes the poem Lekha Dodi. Composed by Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz in the mid-16th century, it is based on the words of the Talmudic sage Hanina: "Come, let us go out to meet the Queen Sabbath" (Talmud Shabbat 119a). Kabbalat Shabbat is concluded by Psalm 92 (the recital of which constitutes men's acceptance of the current Shabbat with all its obligations) and Psalm 93. Many add a study section here, including Bameh Madlikin and Amar rabbi El'azar and the concluding Kaddish deRabbanan and is then followed by the Maariv service; other communities delay the study session until after Maariv. Still other customs add here a passage from the Zohar.

The Shema section of the Friday night service varies in some details from the weekday services—mainly in the different ending of the Hashkivenu prayer and the omission of Baruch Adonai le-Olam prayer in those traditions where this section is otherwise recited. In the Italian rite, there are also different versions of the Ma'ariv 'aravim prayer (beginning asher killah on Friday nights) and the Ahavat 'olam prayer.

Most commemorate the Shabbat at this point with VeShameru (Exodus 31:16-17). The custom to recite the biblical passage at this point has its origins in the Lurianic Kabbalah, and does not appear before the 16th century. It is therefore absent in traditions and prayer books less influenced by the Kabbalah (such as the Yemenite Baladi tradition), or those that opposed adding additional readings to the siddur based upon the Kabbalah (such the Vilna Gaon).

The Amidah on Shabbat is abbreviated, and is read in full once. This is then followed by the hazzan's mini-repetition of the Amidah, Magen Avot, a digest of the seven benedictions. In some Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogues the second chapter of Mishnah tractate Shabbat, Bameh Madlikin, is read at this point, instead of earlier. Kiddush is recited in the synagogue in Ashkenazi and a few Sephardi communities. The service then follows with Aleinu. Most Sephardi and many Ashkenazi synagogues end with the singing of Yigdal, a poetic adaptation of Maimonides' 13 principles of Jewish faith. Other Ashkenazi synagogues end with Adon `olam instead.

Shacharit

Shabbat morning prayers commence as on week-days. Of the hymns, Psalm 100 (Mizmor LeTodah, the psalm for the Thanksgiving offering), is omitted because the todah or Thanksgiving offering could not be offered on Shabbat in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem. Its place is taken in the Ashkenazi tradition by Psalms 19, 34, 90, 91, 135, 136, 33, 92, 93. Sephardic Jews maintain a different order, add several psalms and two religious poems. The Nishmat prayer is recited at the end of the Pesukei D'Zimrah. The blessings before Shema are expanded, and include the hymn El Adon, which is often sung communally.

The fourth intermediary benediction of the Shacharit Amidah begins with Yismach Moshe. The Torah scroll is taken out of the Ark, and the weekly portion is read, followed by the haftarah.

After the Torah reading, three prayers for the community are recited. Two prayers starting with Yekum Purkan, composed in Babylon in Aramaic, are similar to the subsequent Mi sheberakh, a blessing for the leaders and patrons of the synagogue. The Sephardim omit much of the Yekum Purkan. Prayers are then recited (in some communities) for the government of the country, for peace, and for the State of Israel.

After these prayers, Ashrei is repeated and the Torah scroll is returned to the Ark in a procession through the Synagogue. Many congregations allow children to come to the front in order to kiss the scroll as it passes. In many Orthodox communities, the Rabbi (or a learned member of the congregation) delivers a sermon at this point, usually on the topic of the Torah reading. In yeshivot, the sermon is usually delivered on Saturday night.

Mussaf

The Musaf service starts with the silent recitation of the Amidah. It is followed by a second public recitation that includes an additional reading known as the Kedushah. This is followed by the Tikanta Shabbat reading on the holiness of Shabbat, and then by a reading from the biblical Book of Numbers about the sacrifices that used to be performed in the Temple in Jerusalem. Next comes Yismechu, "They shall rejoice in Your sovereignty"; Eloheynu, "Our God and God of our Ancestors, may you be pleased with our rest"; and Retzei, "Be favorable, our God, toward your people Israel and their prayer, and restore services to your Temple."

After the Amidah comes the full Kaddish, followed by Ein ke'eloheinu. In Orthodox Judaism this is followed by a reading from the Talmud on the incense offering called Pittum Haketoreth and daily psalms that used to be recited in the Temple in Jerusalem. These readings are usually omitted by Conservative Jews, and are always omitted by Reform Jews.

The Musaf service culminates with the Rabbi's Kaddish, the Aleinu, and then the Mourner's Kaddish. Some synagogues conclude with the reading of An'im Zemirot, "The Hymn of Glory", Mourner's Kaddish, The psalm of the Day and either Adon Olam or Yigdal.

Mincha

Mincha commences with Ashrei (see above) and the prayer U-Ba Le-Tzion, after which the first section of the next weekly portion is read from the Torah scroll. The Amidah follows the same pattern as the other Shabbat Amidah prayers, with the middle blessing starting Attah Echad.

After Mincha, during the winter Sabbaths (from Sukkot to Passover), Barekhi Nafshi (Psalms 104, 120-134) is recited in some customs. During the summer Sabbaths (from Passover to Rosh Hashanah) chapters from the Avot, one every Sabbath in consecutive order, are recited instead of Barekhi Nafshi.

Ma'ariv

The week-day Ma'ariv is recited on the evening immediately following Shabbat, concluding with Vihi No'am, Ve-Yitten lekha, and Havdalah.

Special observances and circumstances

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

Teshuvah "Return"


Repentance, atonement and higher ascent in Judaism

In the Hebrew Bible

Altars · Korban Temple in Jerusalem Prophecy within the Temple
Aspects

Confession · Atonement Love of God · Awe of God Mystical approach Ethical approach Meditation · Services Torah study Tzedakah · Mitzvot
In the Jewish calendar

Month of Elul · Selichot Rosh Hashanah Shofar · Tashlikh Ten Days of Repentance Kapparot · Mikveh Yom Kippur Sukkot · Simchat Torah Ta'anit · Tisha B'Av Passover · The Omer Shavuot
In contemporary Judaism
Baal Teshuva movement Jewish Renewal

The services for the Days of Awe—Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur—take on a solemn tone as befits these days. Traditional solemn tunes are used in the prayers.

The musaf service on Rosh Hashana has nine blessings; the three middle blessings include biblical verses attesting to sovereignty, remembrance and the shofar, which is sounded 100 times during the service.

Yom Kippur is the only day in the year when there are five prayer services. The evening service, containing the Ma'ariv prayer, is widely known as "Kol Nidrei", the opening declaration made preceding the prayer. During the daytime, shacharit, musaf (which is recited on Shabbat and all festivals) and mincha are followed, as the sun begins to set, by Ne'ila, which is recited just this once a year.

Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot

The services for the three festivals of Pesach ("Passover"), Shavuot ("Feast of Weeks" or "Pentecost"), and Sukkot ("Feast of Tabernacles") are alike, except for interpolated references and readings for each individual festival. The preliminaries and conclusions of the prayers are the same as on Shabbat. The Amidah on these festivals only contains seven benedictions, with Attah Bechartanu as the main one. Hallel (communal recitation of Psalms 113-118) follows.

The Musaf service includes Umi-Penei Hata'enu, with reference to the special festival and Temple sacrifices on the occasion. A blessing on the pulpit ("dukhen") is pronounced by the "kohanim" (Jewish priests) during the Amidah (this occurs daily in Israel and most Sephardic congregations, but only on Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur in Ashkenazic congregations of the diaspora). On week-days and Sabbath the priestly blessing is recited by the hazzan after the Modim ("Thanksgiving") prayer. (American Reform Jews omit the Musaf service.)

Missed prayer

In the event one of the prayers was missed inadvertedly, the Amidah prayer is said twice in the next service — a procedure known as tefillat tashlumin.^[21]

Related customs

Many Jews sway their body back and forth during prayer. This practice (referred to as shoklen in Yiddish) is not mandatory, and in fact the kabbalist Isaac Luria felt that it should not be done. In contrast, the German Medieval authority Maharil (Rabbi Jacob Molin) linked the practice to a statement in the Talmud that the Mishnaic sage Rabbi Akiva would sway so forcefully that he ended up at the other side of the room when praying (Talmud tractate Berachot).

Money for tzedakah (roughly translated as "economic justice") is given during or immediately before the weekday morning and afternoon services in many communities.

Role of women

Jewish women praying by the Western Wall, early 1900s.

Men are obligated to perform public prayer three times a day with additional services on Jewish holidays. According to Jewish law, each prayer must be performed within specific time ranges, based on the time that the communal sacrifice the prayer is named after would have been performed in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem.

According to the Talmud women are generally exempted from obligations that have to be performed at a certain time. Orthodox authorities have generally interpreted this exemption as necessitated by women's family responsibilities which require them to be available at any time and make compliance with time-specific obligations difficult. In accordance with the general exemption from time-bound obligations, most Orthodox authorities have exempted women from performing time-bound prayer.

Orthodox authorities have been careful to note that although women have been exempted from praying at specific fixed times, they are not exempted from the obligation of prayer itself. The 19th century posek Yechiel Michel Epstein, author of the Arukh HaShulkhan, notes: "Even though the rabbis set prayer at fixed times in fixed language, it was not their intention to issue a leniency and exempt women from this ritual act".

Women praying in the Western Wall tunnel at the closest physical point to the Holy of Holies.

Authorities have disagreed on the minimum amount that women's prayer should contain. Many Jews rely on the ruling of the (Ashkenazi) Rabbi Avraham Gombiner in his Magen Avraham commentary on the Shulkhan Arukh,^[22] and more recently the (Sephardi) Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (Yabiah Omer vol. 6, 17), that women are only required to pray once a day, in any form they choose, so long as the prayer contains praise of (brakhot), requests to (bakashot), and thanks of (hodot) God.^[23] In addition, not all Orthodox authorities agree that women are completely exempt from time-bound prayer. The Mishnah Berurah by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, an important code of Ashkenzic Jewish law, holds that the Men of the Great Assembly obligated women to say Shacharit (morning) and Minchah (afternoon) prayer services each day, "just like men". The Mishnah Berurah also states that although women are exempt from reciting the Shema Yisrael, they should nevertheless say it anyway. Nonetheless, even the most liberal Orthodox authorities hold that women cannot count in a minyan for purposes of public prayer.

Throughout Orthodox Judaism, including its most liberal forms, men and women are required to sit in separate sections with a mechitza (partition) separating them. Conservative/Masorti Judaism permits mixed seating (almost universally in the United States, but not in all countries). All Reform and Reconstructionist congregations have mixed seating.

Haredi and much of Modern Orthodox Judaism has a blanket prohibition on women leading public congregational prayers. Conservative Judaism has developed a blanket justification for women leading all or virtually all such prayers, holding that although only obligated individuals can lead prayers and women were not traditionally obligated, Conservative Jewish women in modern times have as a collective whole voluntarily undertaken such an obligation.^[24] Reform and Reconstructionist congregations permit women to perform all prayer roles because they do not regard halakha as binding.

A small liberal wing within Modern Orthodox Judaism, particularly rabbis friendly to the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA), has begun re-examining the role of women in prayers based on an individual, case-by-case look at the historical role of specific prayers and services, doing so within classical halakhic interpretation.

Accepting that where obligation exists only the obligated can lead, this small group has typically made three general arguments for expanded women's roles:

Because women were required to perform certain korbanot (sacrifices) in the Temple in Jerusalem, women today are required to perform, and hence can lead (and can count in the minyan for if required), the specific prayers substituting for these specific sacrifices. Birchat Hagomel falls in this category.
Because certain parts of the service were added after the Talmud defined mandatory services, such prayers are equally voluntary on everyone and hence can be led by women (and no minyan is required). Pseukei D'Zimrah in the morning and Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday nights fall in this category.
In cases where the Talmud indicates that women are generally qualified to lead certain services but do not do so because of the "dignity of the congregation", modern congregations are permitted to waive such dignity if they wish. Torah reading on Shabbat falls in this category. An argument that women are permitted to lead the services removing and replacing the Torah in the Ark on Shabbat extends from their ability to participate in Torah reading then.

A very small number of Modern Orthodox congregations accept some such arguments, but very few Orthodox congregations or authorities accept all or even most of them. Many of those who do not accept this reasoning point to kol isha, the tradition that prohibits a man from hearing a woman other than his wife sing. JOFA refers to congregations generally accepting such arguments as Partnership Minyanim. On Shabbat in a Partnership Minyan, women can typically lead Kabbalat Shabbat, the P'seukei D'Zimrah, the services for removing the Torah from and replacing it to the Ark, and Torah reading, as well as give a D'Var Torah or sermon.

Role of minors

In most divisions of Judaism boys prior to Bar Mitzvah cannot act as a Chazzen for prayer services that contain devarim sheb'kidusha, i.e. Kaddish, Barechu, the amida, etc., or receive an aliya or chant the Torah for the congregation. Since Kabbalat Shabbat is just psalms and does not contain devarim sheb'kidusha, it is possible for a boy under Bar Mitzvah to lead until Barechu of Ma'ariv. Some eastern Jews let a boy under bar mitzvah read the Torah and have an aliyah.^[25]

Notes

↑ Tractate Taanit 2a, in reference to Deuteronomy 11:13: "You shall serve God with your whole heart.
↑ Tractate Berachoth 26b: the morning sacrifice Tamid, the afternoon Tamid, and the overnight burning of the afternoon offering. The latter view is supported with Biblical quotes indicating that the Patriarchs prayed at the times mentioned. However, even according to this view, the exact times of when the services are held, and moreover the entire concept of a mussaf service, are still based on the sacrifices.
↑ Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer 1:4
↑ Reif, Stefan C. (19–23 January 2000). "The Second Temple Period, Qumran Research and Rabbinic Liturgy: Some Contextual and Linguistic Comparisons". Fifth Orion International Symposium LITURGICAL PERSPECTIVES: PRAYER AND POETRY IN LIGHT OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS. The Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature. http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il/symposiums/5th/reif00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
↑ Center for Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania. "Jewish Liturgy: The Siddur and the Mahzor". http://www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/cajs/exhibit1996/Liturgy.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
↑ Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer 1:1.
↑ This view is based on Maimonides' view as above.
↑ Rabbi David Fine, Women and the Minyan, Rabbinical Assembly, 2002.
↑ Berakhot 2:3
↑ Sotah 7:2
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 "Overview: History of Jewish Prayer". http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Prayer/History.shtml?PRRI. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
↑ Power and Politics: Prayer books and resurrection | Jerusalem Post
↑ This interpretation is homiletic rather than scholarly, as it is historically more likely that the root meaning of hitpallel is "to seek judgement for oneself", in other words to present a legal pleading.
↑ "Balashon - Hebrew Language Detective: daven". http://www.balashon.com/2007/01/daven.html. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
↑ International Council of Christians and Jews, Jewish-Christian Relations :: A glossary of terms used in the Christian-Jewish dialogue, "Non-Jewish male visitors to the synagogue are offered skull caps at the entrance and are asked to wear them."
↑ Rabbi Amy R. Scheinerman, What's What?, "Non-Jews who are guests in a synagogue can cover their heads; it is a sign of respect and not at all inappropriate for people who are not Jewish."
↑
- Mordechai Becher, Gateway to Judaism: The What, How, And Why of Jewish Life, Mesorah Publications, 2005, p. 328.
- Joyce Eisenberg, Ellen Scolnic, Dictionary of Jewish Words, Jewish Publication Society, 2006, p. 166.
↑ On another view, before sunset
↑ In strict law, one should only recite Mincha between sunset and nightfall if one recites Arvit after nightfall; conversely one should only recite Arvit between sunset and nightfall if one recites Mincha before sunset; in other words one should not take advantage of both flexibilities at once so as to combine the prayers. The prevailing practice, of doing exactly that, is regarded as an emergency measure. On yet another view, the disputed period is not that between sunset and nightfall but the last seasonally adjusted hour and a quarter before sunset.
↑ One reason for this is that, while the prevailing practice may satisfy the law concerning the timing of Arvit in the sense of the evening Amidah, it means that the evening Shema is recited too early.
↑ Brachot 26a
↑ Shulkhan Arukh section Orach Chayim 106:2
↑ Women's Issues:Women And Prayer When Time is Short, Nishmat
↑ http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19912000/oh_55_1_2002.pdf
↑ Epstein, Morris. All About Jewish Holidays and Customs. Ktav Publishing House, 1959. p. 89

References

To Pray As a Jew, Hayim Halevy Donin, Basic Books (ISBN 0-465-08633-0)
Entering Jewish Prayer, Reuven Hammer (ISBN 0-8052-1022-9)
Kavvana: Directing the Heart in Jewish Prayer, Seth Kadish, Jason Aronson Inc. 1997. ISBN 0-76575-952-7.
Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, Reuven Hammer, The Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Rabbi S. Baer. Siddur Avodath Yisrael (newly researched text with commentary Yachin Lashon), 19th century.
A Guide to Jewish Prayer, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Shocken Books (ISBN 0-8052-4174-4)

External links

Jewish liturgy Jewish Virtual Library.org
Jewish Prayer - Prayer in Judaism Chabad.org
Outline of prayer services Jewfaq.org
GoDaven.com - The Worldwide Minyan Database GoDaven.com
Introduction to Jewish Prayer Aish.com
Siddur.org - a free Transliterated Siddur online Siddur.org
Siddur in PDF

Jewish prayers

List of Jewish prayers and blessings

Shacharit

Preparation	Birkot hashachar · Akeida · Offerings

Pesukei dezimra	Mizmor Shir (Psalm 30) · Barukh she'amar · Songs of thanksgiving · Psalm 100 · Yehi kevod · Hallel (Ashrei · Psalms 146, 147, 148, 149, 150) · Baruch Hashem L'Olam · Vayivarech David · Ata Hu Hashem L'Vadecha · Az Yashir · Yishtabach

Core prayers	Yotzer ohr · Ahava rabbah · Shema · Emet Vayatziv · Amidah · Kedushah

Conclusion	Tachanun · Torah reading^1, 2, 3 · Ashrei · Psalm 20 · Uva letzion · Aleinu · Shir shel yom · Kaddish · Ein Keloheinu⁴

Mincha

Ashrei · Torah reading^1, 5 · Amidah · Kedushah · Tachanun · Aleinu · Kaddish

Maariv

Maariv Aravim · Ahavat Olam · Shema · Emet V'Emunah · Hashkiveinu · Baruch Hashem L'Olam · Half Kaddish · Amidah · Full Kaddish · Aleinu · Mourner's Kaddish

Shabbat / Holiday additions

Psalm 19 · Psalm 34 · Psalm 90 · Psalm 91 · Psalm 135 · Psalm 136 · Psalm 33 · Psalm 92 · Psalm 93 · Nishmat · Shochen Ad · Hallel · Torah reading · Yom Tov Torah readings · Haftarah · Av HaRachamim · Mussaf · Birkat Cohanim⁶ · Anim Zemirot · Tzidkatcha · Al HaNissim

Seasonal additions

Psalm 27 · Avinu Malkeinu · Selichot

Other prayers

Amen · Modeh Ani · Ma Tovu · Adon Olam · Yigdal · Al Netilat Yadayim · Asher Yatzar · Birkat HaMazon · Havdalah · Kiddush Levana · Tefilat HaDerech

¹ On Shabbat. ² On holidays. ³ On Mondays and Thursdays.
⁴ Only on Shabbat and holidays, according to Nusach Ashkenaz in the diaspora. ⁵ On fast days. ⁶ Daily in Israel.

Jewish life

Birth and infancy	Shalom Zachar · Brit milah · Zeved habat · Hebrew name · Pidyon haben

Coming of age	Upsherin · Wimpel · Bar and Bat Mitzvah · Yeshiva · Kollel

Daily life	Ritual washing · Prayers and blessings · Prayer services · Grace after Meals · Honorifics

Marriage	Marriageable age · Jewish wedding · Bashert · Matchmaking · Role of women · Niddah · Mikvah · Tzniut · Divorce

Religious practice	613 commandments · Customs · Torah study (Weekly portion · Daf Yomi) · Holidays · Tzedakah

Religious items	Sefer Torah · Tzitzit · Tallit · Tefillin · Mezuzah · Kippah · Menorah · Shofar · Four Species

Death	Chevra Kadisha · Shiva · Kaddish · Tehillim · Yahrzeit · Yahrzeit candle · Yizkor · Honorifics

Shabbat • שבת

Prayers/Rituals	Baqashot • Haftarah • Kiddush • Jewish services • Lekhah Dodi • Maftir • Seudah Shlishit • Shalom Aleichem • Torah reading • Triennial cycle • Yedid Nefesh • Zemirot

Food	Challah • Cholent • Gefilte fish • Kosher wine • Kugel

Objects	Blech • Challah cover • Shabbat candles

Laws	Biblical Sabbath • Cooking on Shabbat • Driving • Electricity • Eruv • Eruv tavshilin • Eruv techumin • Muktzah • Prohibited activities • Rabbinically prohibited activities • Shabbos goy • Shomer Shabbat

Innovations	Shabbat clock • Shabbat elevator • Shabbat lamp • Shabbat microphone • Shabbat mode • Shabbat module

Special Shabbat	Farbrengen • Shabbat Across America • Shabbaton • Eve of Passover on Shabbat

Motzei Shabbat	Havdalah • Kiddush Levana • Melaveh Malkah

Jewish prayer services

Contents

Origin and History of Jewish Prayer

Biblical origin

Text and language

The siddur

Denominational variations

Philosophy of prayer

The rationalist approach

The educational approach

Kabbalistic view

Methodology and terminology

Terms for praying

Minyan (Quorum)

Attire

Daily prayers

Shacharit (morning prayers)

Mincha (afternoon prayers)

Ma'ariv/Arvit (evening prayers)

Prayer on Shabbat (Sabbath)

Friday night

Shacharit

Mussaf

Mincha

Ma'ariv

Special observances and circumstances

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot

Missed prayer

Related customs

Role of women

Role of minors

See also

Notes

References

External links