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Explorations with Rabbi Goldie Milgram

If prayer services strike you as meaningless collections of Hebrew words and archaic English translations . . . or if you've wondered whether there is a deep structure to the service that might serve your spiritual needs, try the following map. One day it was revealed to me, making my relationship to services before the map similar to what practicing medicine must have felt like before x-rays revealed the human structure.

(I have deliberately not given an exhaustive list of the prayers, just a few helpful post-it notes along the Jewish spiritual path.)

Finding the Prayer of Your Heart

- by Rabbi Goldie Milgram

Many Jews complain of having difficulty finding deep meaning in the traditional prayer service. Many of us were conditioned to accept that for Jews "praying" is accomplished by simply reciting or chanting all the words, preferably in Hebrew. It is helpful and interesting to note that in the Talmud our ancestors worried that writing down their prayers could lead to just such a deadening rote recitation by subsequent generations.

While there is some comfort in repeating that which is familiar, there is deep healing and joy possible from engaging in meaningful Jewish prayer. For example, at the core of each service is a lengthy set of prayers, said while standing, known as the "amidah." While each of the numerous amidah blessings is set in a careful sequence intended to help us find the prayer of our hearts, many find the traditional amidah impenetrable.

For those who grew up without a spiritual view of Judaism, the following may prove to be a helpful, alternative portal to the themes of the amidah and Jewish personal prayer.

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