Prayer and the synagogue

In a minute

Jews pray three times a day: in the morning (Shacharit), the afternoon (Minchah) and the evening (Ma'ariv or Arvit). Prayer can be said anywhere, alone or with others, but some of the most important prayers need a minyan, a group of ten adults. The words are gathered in the siddur, the prayer book, whose name means "order". At the heart of every service is the Amidah, the "standing prayer", said silently, facing Jerusalem. The synagogue is a house of prayer, of study and of community, and Jews have built synagogues wherever they have lived for more than two thousand years.

What it is and how it's lived

Three times a day

The three daily prayers are linked to the patriarchs: Abraham "rose early" to pray, Isaac went out "to meditate in the field" towards evening, and Jacob "lighted upon the place" at night; and to the daily offerings in the Temple, which prayer replaced after the Temple was destroyed (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 26b). King David and Daniel are also described praying three times a day:

"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I complain, and moan; And He hath heard my voice." (Psalm 55:18, JPS 1917)

"he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." (Daniel 6:11, JPS 1917)

The shape of a service

Blessings and psalms to wake the heart: morning blessings thank God for sight, for strength, for freedom, for the body that works.
The Shema with its blessings (morning and evening): God as Creator, God who gives the Torah in love, God who redeems.
The Amidah (also called Shemoneh Esreh, "eighteen", for its original eighteen blessings, now nineteen): said standing, feet together, quietly, facing Jerusalem. It has three parts: praise (God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; God who gives life; God who is holy), requests (for understanding, forgiveness, healing, a good year, justice, peace and the coming redemption), and thanks. It ends with a blessing for peace. On Shabbat and festivals the requests are replaced by a blessing for the day.
Torah reading on Monday, Thursday, Shabbat and festivals.
Aleinu, a closing prayer that God's kingdom will be recognised by all, and the Mourner's Kaddish, a praise of God said by those who have lost a parent or close relative.

The minyan

Some prayers, including the Kaddish, the repetition of the Amidah and the public Torah reading, are said only with a minyan of ten (paraphrased; Mishnah, Megillah 4:3; Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 21b). In Orthodox communities the minyan is ten men over bar mitzvah age; in Masorti, Reform and Liberal communities women are counted equally. Praying together expresses the idea that a community stands before God together, and many people go to synagogue every day to make up a minyan so that a mourner can say Kaddish.

Things worn in prayer

Kippah (yarmulke in Yiddish): a small cap, worn as a sign of respect before God. Many Orthodox men wear one all the time; in Progressive synagogues women may wear one too.
Tallit: a prayer shawl with knotted fringes (tzitzit) at its four corners, worn at morning prayer, to "look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD" (Numbers 15:39).
Tefillin (phylacteries): two small black leather boxes containing parchment with the Shema and other passages, bound on the arm and head with leather straps at weekday morning prayer, fulfilling "bind them for a sign upon thy hand" (Deuteronomy 6:8).

The synagogue

A synagogue is called a beit knesset (house of assembly), a shul (Yiddish, "school") or a temple in some Reform communities. Its main features: the ark (aron hakodesh) holding the Torah scrolls, on the wall facing Jerusalem; the eternal light (ner tamid) above it; and the bimah, the raised platform from which the Torah is read. There are no images of God or people in the prayer hall. In Orthodox synagogues men and women sit separately, often with a gallery or screen (mechitzah); in Masorti, Reform and Liberal synagogues families usually sit together. A synagogue is also a place of learning (beit midrash) and of community: classes, celebrations, food banks and support for the bereaved.

Its inner meaning

The rabbis called prayer "the service of the heart" (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Ta'anit 2a, on Deuteronomy 11:13). Its Hebrew name, tefillah, comes from a root linked to judging: prayer is also a time to look honestly at oneself.

The model of prayer is Hannah, who came to the sanctuary longing for a child:

"Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard" (1 Samuel 1:13, JPS 1917)

From her, the Talmud learned that prayer should come from the heart, with the lips moving but quietly (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 31a). That is how the Amidah is said today.

Alongside fixed prayer, Judaism treasures personal words: the Hasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught people to talk to God in their own language, alone, every day (hitbodedut).

Key texts

"The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, To all that call upon Him in truth." (Psalm 145:18, JPS 1917)

Hebrew:

קָרוֹב יְהוָה לְכָל־קֹרְאָיו לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת

(Psalm 145, the Ashrei, is said three times a day; the Talmud says whoever says it daily is assured of the world to come (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 4b).)

"For My house shall be called A house of prayer for all peoples." (Isaiah 56:7, JPS 1917)

"I have set the LORD always before me" (Psalm 16:8, JPS 1917)

"The LORD bless thee, and keep thee; The LORD make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." (Numbers 6:24–26, JPS 1917)

(The Priestly Blessing, said in the Amidah and by parents blessing their children on Friday night.)

Common misunderstandings, answered gently

"Jews only pray in Hebrew." Hebrew is the traditional language of prayer, but the Talmud allows prayer in any language a person understands (paraphrased; Mishnah, Sotah 7:1). Prayer books in Britain print Hebrew and English side by side, and Progressive services use more English.
"The rabbi is a priest." A rabbi is a teacher and scholar of Jewish law, not a go-between with God. Anyone who knows the prayers can lead a service.
"Swaying in prayer is a ritual requirement." Many Jews sway (shuckling) as they pray, to put the whole body into prayer, but it is a custom, not a rule.

Across the movements

Orthodox services are mostly in Hebrew, with men and women seated separately and men leading. Masorti services are mostly in Hebrew, usually with men and women together and equal roles. Reform and Liberal services use more English and often music, with full equality between men and women, and some Progressive prayer books shorten or adapt traditional texts.

Reflection

Hannah's lips moved but her voice could not be heard. What would you say to God if no one else could hear?

In the other traditions

Christianity: Christians pray personally and together, especially in the Lord's Prayer; many keep set hours of prayer, as the apostles "were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1, WEB), and the Psalms are prayed daily in many churches.
Islam: Muslims pray five times a day (salah), facing Makkah, after washing, and pray together at the mosque, especially on Fridays; "Successful indeed are the believers" who are humble in their prayers (Qur'an 23:1–2).

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