- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on May 21, 2017 18:45:10 GMT -8
I was speaking with a brother who who came to MJ from Orthodox Judaism. His knowledge base far exceeds mine. We talked some about the Amidah; and here are the highlights of what I can remember:
Saying this prayer is thought of as an obligation. Since we can no longer bring sacrifces to the Temple, we give the "sacrifice of praise," as it is written-
Jeremiah 17:26 (KJV) And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord.
Jeremiah 33:11 (KJV) The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.
Hebrews 13:15 (KJV) By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
It is also an obligation to the world; for it is by our prayers that the world is healed.
At the beginning, just before we tart the prayer, we should take three steps backwards, then three steps forwards. Visualize while you do this stepping back out of the world with all its cares. Then we step forwards into the presence of HaShem. I tried this today, and it works! So I'll be adding that to my practice.
Different sects do the Amidah 2 and even 3 times a day. We should pray formally at least twice a day, however only one of these really has to be with tefillin. This point could be argued by some, but that was his opinion. And there still should be personal prayer time in the day as well.
edit: sometimes the greatest benefits of prayer come when we do not want to do it. Not just that our prayers will be heard or may be answered; but spiritual benefits. Seeing prayer as an obligation is not a bad thing. Praying because we love Elohim and not because we feel like it does have its rewards.
I also asked him why jews daven; that continual abbreviated bowing most do. He said they like to use their whole body when they pray. I once asked Rabbi Reuel why many prayers are traditionally sung. He told me much the same thing; we use all our faculties when we pray or praise Abishter. More than just rote repetition, we put ourselves into the prayers.
Just a few more thoughts I brught back from the conference.
Dan
Saying this prayer is thought of as an obligation. Since we can no longer bring sacrifces to the Temple, we give the "sacrifice of praise," as it is written-
Jeremiah 17:26 (KJV) And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord.
Jeremiah 33:11 (KJV) The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.
Hebrews 13:15 (KJV) By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
It is also an obligation to the world; for it is by our prayers that the world is healed.
At the beginning, just before we tart the prayer, we should take three steps backwards, then three steps forwards. Visualize while you do this stepping back out of the world with all its cares. Then we step forwards into the presence of HaShem. I tried this today, and it works! So I'll be adding that to my practice.
Different sects do the Amidah 2 and even 3 times a day. We should pray formally at least twice a day, however only one of these really has to be with tefillin. This point could be argued by some, but that was his opinion. And there still should be personal prayer time in the day as well.
edit: sometimes the greatest benefits of prayer come when we do not want to do it. Not just that our prayers will be heard or may be answered; but spiritual benefits. Seeing prayer as an obligation is not a bad thing. Praying because we love Elohim and not because we feel like it does have its rewards.
I also asked him why jews daven; that continual abbreviated bowing most do. He said they like to use their whole body when they pray. I once asked Rabbi Reuel why many prayers are traditionally sung. He told me much the same thing; we use all our faculties when we pray or praise Abishter. More than just rote repetition, we put ourselves into the prayers.
Just a few more thoughts I brught back from the conference.
Dan
