Introduction / xvii
PART ONE • Prayer
CHAPER 1. The Prayer Book / 3
CHAPTER 2. The Essence of Prayer / 8
CHAPTER 3. Individual and Communal Prayer /
14
The Nature of Communal Prayer / 15
The Communality of Prayer / 18
Individuality of Prayer / 19
The Meaning of Communal Prayer / 22
Individual Prayer Within Communal Prayer / 24
CHAPTER 4. Men and Women / 26
The Commandment to Pray Applies to All / 26
Differences in the Concept of Prayer / 26
Historical Causes / 28
Women’s Prayer Texts / 30
The Women’s Gallery (Ezrat Nashim) / 31
CHAPTER 5. Kavvanah / 34
The Importance of Kavvanah / 34
Levels of Kavvanah / 35
Kavvanah and the Regularity of Prayer / 38
Achieving Kavvanah / 40
PART TWO • History
CHAPTER 6. The History of the Siddur / 47
The Creation of Standard Prayer Texts / 48
Prayer in Mishnaic and Talmudic Times / 51
Liturgical Poets and Devotional Poetry (Piyyut) /
53
Suddurim and Mahzorim / 57
The Influence of the Kabbalah / 58
Recent Generations / 61
CHAPTER 7. Prayer Rites / 62
Antiquity of the Prayer Rites / 63
Justification for the Different Prayer Rites / 64
Prayer Rites Today / 66
Nusaḥ Ashkenaz—The
Ashkenazic Rite / 66
Nusaḥ Sepharad—The
Sephardic (Hasidic) Rite / 69
The Oriental (Sephardic)
Rite / 71
The Yemenite Rite
/ 73
The Italian Rite
/ 75
Extinct Prayer Rites / 77
PART THREE • The Order of Prayer Services
CHAPTER 8. Weekday Prayer Services / 83
Prayer and the Life Cycle / 83
The Daily Prayers / 84
Tikkun Ḥazot
/ 84
The Sharḥarit
Service / 86
The Minḥah Prayer
/ 96
The Ma’ariv (Arvit)
Prayer Service / 98
Shema Upon Retiring to
Bed / 101
CHAPTER 9. Shabbat / 104
The Order of the Shabbat Day / 105
Shabbat Prayer Services / 107
The Friday Minḥah
Prayer / 107
Kabbalat
Shabbat—The Reception of Shabbat / 107
The Shabbat
Ma’ariv Service / 110
The Shaḥarit
Service / 112
Torah
Reading / 114
The Musaf
Service / 115
The Minḥah
Service / 116
The Ma’ariv
Service on Motza’ei Shabbat (“The Conclusion of Shabbat”)
/ 118
The Departure of Shabbat / 119
The Havdalah
Ceremony / 120
After the
Havdalah / 123
Shabbat Meals / 124
The Kiddush of
Shabbat Eve, and the First Shabbat Meal / 126
Preparations for
the Kiddush / 127
Some of the Laws
and Customs of the Kiddush / 128
The Second and
Third Shabbat Meals / 130
Study on Shabbat
Afternoon / 131
Melaveh
Malkah / 132
Special Sabbaths / 133
Shabbat Mervarkhim
/ 133
Shabbat Rosh
Ḥodesh / 134
Shabbat That Falls on
Festival Days / 136
Shabbat Ḥol
ha-Mo’ed / 137
Shabbat of
Ḥanukkah / 139
Shabbat Rosh Ḥodesh on
Ḥanukkah / 140
The Arba Parshiyyot
(“Four Portions”) / 140
Shabbat on Days When
Taḥanun Is Not Recited / 142
Shabbat ha-Gadol
/ 142
Shabbat Teshuvah
(Shuvah) / 143
The Sabbaths of Evil
Dispensation / 144
The Sabbaths of
Comfort / 144
Other Sabbaths
/ 145
CHAPTER 10. Festivals / 146
Festival Days / 146
The Three Pilgrimage Festivals / 147
The Second Days in the Diaspora / 148
Festival Prayers in General / 150
The Ma’ariv
Service / 150
The Shaḥarit
Service / 153
Torah Readings
/ 153
The Musaf Service
/ 154
The Minḥah Service
/ 155
Conclusion of the
Festival / 156
The Pesaḥ Festival / 156
The Beginning of the
Pesaḥ Festival / 156
The Pesaḥ Seder
/ 157
The Shaḥarit
Service / 161
The Musaf Service
/ 162
The Minḥah and the
Ma’ariv Services / 162
The Second Day of Pesaḥ
(in the Diaspora) / 162
The Seventh Day of
Pesaḥ / 163
The Last Day of Pesaḥ
(in the Diaspora) / 164
The Shavu’ot Festival / 165
Shavu’ot Prayer
Services / 166
The Second Day of
Shavu’ot (in the Diaspora) / 168
The Sukkot Festival / 168
Sukkot Prayer
Services / 170
The Second Day of Sukkot
(in the Diaspora) / 171
Shemini Atzeret and
Simḥat Torah / 172
Shemini Atzeret (in the
Diaspora) / 173
Simḥat Torah
/ 174
CHAPTER 11. Days of Awe / 177
Rosh ha-Shanah—The New Year Festival / 178
The Minḥah Service on
Rosh ha-Shanah Eve / 180
The Ma’ariv
Service / 180
Kiddush and the Festive
Meal / 182
The Shaḥarit
Service / 183
Torah Readings
/ 184
Teki’ot—The Blowing of
the Shofar / 185
The Musaf Service
/ 188
The Minḥah Service
/ 192
Tashlikh /
192
The Second Day of Rosh
ha-Shanah / 192
Prayer Services on the
Second Day of Rosh ha-Shanah / 194
Yom Kippur—The Day of Atonement / 195
Yom Kippur Eve
/ 197
Kol Nidrei /
198
The Ma’ariv
Service / 201
The Shaḥarit
Service / 203
Torah Readings
/ 204
The Musaf Service
/ 205
The Minḥah Service
/ 207
The Ne’ilah
Service / 208
Conclusion of the
Festival / 211
CHAPTER 12. Special Days / 213
Rosh Ḥodesh—The New Moon / 213
Ḥol ha-Mo’ed—The Intermediate Days of a Festival /
217
Ḥol ha-Mo’ed of
Pesaḥ / 219
Ḥol ha-Mo’ed of
Sukkot / 220
Ḥosha’na Rabbah
/ 221
Shabbat Ḥol
ha-Mo’ed / 222
Hanukkah / 222
Rosh Ḥodesh During
Hanukkah / 225
Purim / 225
Shushan
Purim / 227
Fast Days / 229
The Ninth of Av
(Tish’ah be-Av) / 229
Memorial Fast
Days / 233
The Twentieth of
Sivan—A Fast Day of Remembrance / 236
Fast Days for
Repentance and Atonement / 237
Other Fixed Fast
Days / 239
Nonfixed Fast
Day / 240
Special Time Perios / 243
The Ten Days of
Repentance / 243
The Month of
Nisan / 244
The Counting of
the Omer / 244
The Three Weeks
(Bein ha-Meitzarim) / 245
The Month of
Elul / 245
Days of Joy / 246
Local Purims
/ 247
Lag ba-Omier—The
Thirty-third Day of the Omer Period / 247
The Day of
Independence and Jerusalem Day / 248
Other Days When
Taḥanun Is Not Recited / 249
CHAPTER 13. Torah Readings / 253
The Cycle of Torah Readings / 254
Taking the Torah Scrolls Out of the Ark / 256
The Order of Calling Up to the Torah / 258
Blessings for the Torah / 260
Torah-Reading Customs / 263
Hagbahah (“Raising”) and Gelilah (“Winding”) of the Torah
Scroll / 265
Returning the Torah Scrools to the Ark / 267
The People Called Up to the Torah Reading / 268
The Torah Scroll / 270
Wrappings and Decorations of the Torah Scroll / 274
The Pointer (Yad) / 276
Cantillation of the Torah Reading (Ta’amei he-Mikra) /
277
Emperor
Accents / 279
King Accents
/ 279
Minister
Accents / 280
PART FOUR • The Synagogue and Communal Prayer
CHAPTER 14. The Synagogue / 285
Ancient Origins of the Synagogue / 285
Ancient Synagogues / 286
Synagogues Outside the City / 287
The Structure of the Synagogue / 288
The Women’s Gallery / 290
Orientation / 290
Synagogue Accessories / 292
The Holy Ark
/ 292
The Bimah
/ 292
Ner Tamid—The
Eternal Light / 293
The Prayers
Lectern / 293
Candles and
Lamps / 294
The Basin
/ 294
Seating
/ 295
Additional
Accessories / 295
Synagogue Architecture / 297
Ornamentation / 298
Small
Synagogues / 300
Minyanim
/ 301
The Shtibel
/ 302
Synagogue Laws / 303
The Synagogue and the Beit Midrash (“House of Study”) /
305
Official Functions and Appointments / 306
Head of the
Synagogue (Rosh ha-Knesset) / 306
Parnas
/ 307
Gabbai
/ 308
Ḥazzan—Cantor / 309
Shammash
/ 309
Ba’al Keriah—Torah
Reader / 310
Meturgeman—Interpreter / 311
The Ten
Batlanim / 312
Rabbi
/ 312
Other Use of the Synagogue / 313
Talmud Torah—Torah
Study School for Children / 214
Communal
Meetings / 315
Weddings and
Circumcision Ceremonies / 316
Beit Din—Religious
Court / 316
Guest House
/ 317
CHAPTER 15. The Shaliaḥ Tzibbur / 318
The Role of the Shaliaḥ Tzibbur and Its Origins /
318
The Ḥazzan / 319
The Shaliaḥ Tzibbur as Emissary to God / 321
Various Demands on the Shaliaḥ Tzibbur / 324
The Choir / 325
Ḥazzan versus Ba’al Tefillah / 328
The Kavvanah of the Shaliaḥ Tzibbur / 329
CHAPTER 16. Prayer Accessories / 332
Prayer Garments / 332
Head Coverings / 333
The Tallit / 336
When and by Whom
the Tallit Is to Be Worn / 337
Significance of
the Tallit and Its Blessing / 339
The Tzitzit
/ 341
Laws and Customs
of the Tzitzit / 342
Making the
Tzitzit / 344
Making the
Tallit / 346
The Tallit Band
(Atarah) / 347
The Tallit
Bag / 348
The Blue Thread
(Tekhelet) / 348
Tefillin / 349
Making the
Tefillin / 351
The Content of the
Commandment of Tefillin / 354
The Manner of
Donning Tefillin / 358
Blessings and
Recitations / 361
Tefillin of
Rabbenu Tam / 363
Some Laws and
Customs of Tefillin / 363
The Prayer Sash / 365
Hand-Held Objects / 366
The Siddur
/ 367
The Arba’ah Minim
(“Four Species”) / 368
CHAPTER 17. The Music of Prayer / 370
Music and
Prayer / 370
Music in the
Temple / 370
The Loss of
Ancient Music / 372
Evolution of
Prayer Music / 373
Melodies of
Oriental Congregations / 374
Ashkenazic
Cantorial Music / 376
New Melodies
/ 378
Styles of Prayer
Music / 381
Musical Expression
in Prayer / 382
Appendices
Glossary of Terms / 387
Biographies / 410
Bibliographical Notes / 415
The Jewish Months and the Festivals and Special Days That Occur in
Each of Them / 419
Index / 420
RABBI ADIN STEINSALTZ is the author of a landmark commentary on the Talmud, as well as many books of Jewish thought. He lives in Israel.
"A practical explanation of Jewish worship from a spiritual slant."
—Detroit Free Press
"Readers familiar with Rabbi Steinsaltz's high level of descriptive
prose, which appeals to people with varying levels of Jewish
knowledge, will find this volume similarly of great interest." —The
Jewish Week
"A practical explanation of Jewish worship from a spiritual slant."
-Detroit Free Press
"Readers familiar with Rabbi Steinsaltz's high level of descriptive
prose, which appeals to people with varying levels of Jewish
knowledge, will find this volume similarly of great interest."
-The Jewish Week
Rabbi Steinsaltz is rightly regarded with some awe as the editor and translator of Random House's 22-volume edition of the Talmud. This new volume, a thorough guide to Jewish prayer, should only enhance his reputation. Steinsaltz is not a radical or even a liberal; some readers will note that he ably describes the traditions that separate women from men in prayer without recommending any change therein. Yet his guide is the most intelligent and complete resource on Jewish prayerDand perhaps on Judaism itselfDdirected at an English-speaking audience in many years. The Guide addresses the history and nature of Jewish prayer, prayer in every major and minor festival, and the role of the synagogue, music, and accessories in prayer. Highly recommended for the Jewish and non-Jewish reader alike. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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