Prayerbooks Books - Page 6

Filling Words with Light: Hasidic and Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer

Lawrence Kushner, Nehemia Polen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Breathe New Life into Your Prayer with the Wisdom of Kabbalah and the Hasidic Masters

Jewish mystics teach that every word a person utters in prayer should radiate light. Even the letters of the words of prayer carry sparks of the Divine that yearn to join together in holiness.

In this inspiring spiritual companion, Reform rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Orthodox rabbi Nehemia Polen join together to provide a window into the liturgy for people of all backgrounds by offering fresh insights and meditations that bring the traditional prayerbook to life. Drawing from the Torah, Zohar, and ancient and contemporary Hasidic masters, Kushner and Polen reflect on the joy, gratitude, compassion, mystery, and awe embedded in traditional prayers and blessings, and show how you can imbue these familiar sacred words with your own sense of holiness. Insightful, fresh, and wise, Filling Words with Light will enrich your understanding of the prayer book and guide you on how to put more of yourself into the holy words of the Jewish tradition.

Seyder Tkhines: The Forgotten Book of Common Prayer for Jewish Women

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A cracking read. 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Despite a degree in Hebrew and Jewish Studies, I must confess I knew nothing about the "Seyder Tkhines" - mystical, passionate prayers written in Yiddish by women for women as long ago as the seventeenth century. Indeed, I was not aware that such a bounteous number of widely used prayers, for women only, ever existed in Jewish history.

These (tragically) long-forgotten Tkhines are the subject of Devra Kay's fascinating book. I can't believe this section of Jewish social history has been so neglected - perhaps a reflection of the patriarchal nature of modern Judaism. It's interesting to note Kay's unearthing of these prayers coinciding with the new surge of interest in Jewish mysticism - Kaballah. I'm sure Madonna and Britney would find Kay's book as intriguing as I did!

Through the "Seder Tkhines", Kay gives us new insights into a turbulent time in European Jewish History.

Both erudite and accessible, Kay's book is a revelation. Just one request for Devra Kay - could we now have a collection of the original Tkhines, complete with tranlations, in time for my wife's Chanukah present this year?!

Editorial Review:

The Seyder Tkhines, translated from its original Yiddish by noted tkhines scholar, Devra Kay, and centerpiece of this groundbreaking work, was a standard Yiddish prayer book for women. It first appeared in Amsterdam in 1648, and continued to be published for the next three generations, usually inside the Hebrew synagogue prayer book. A product of an age when mysticism pervaded mainstream Judaism, the Seyder Tkhines provided women with newly composed, alternative daily prayers that were more specific to their needs. Included in this volume is a unique Yiddish manuscript dating from the 17th century - a collection of prayers written specifically for a rich, pregnant woman, which Kay discovered among the rare books of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England. Now, for the first time, these prayers have been skillfully translated and brought to public view.

Renewed Each Day: Daily Twelve Step Recovery Meditations Based on the Bible: Genesis & Exodus (Renewed Each Day) Vol. 1

Kerry M. Olitzky, Aaron Z.

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Torah commentary for the soul 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I prepared this volume because I wanted to provide those who look to the Torah for inspiration and guidance with a daily study companion that makes study sacred and raises the soul heavenward.

Editorial Review:

Using a seven day/weekly guide format, a recovering person and a spiritual leader who is reaching out to addicted people reflect on the traditional Jewish weekly Bible reading. They bring strong spiritual support for daily living and recovery from addictions of all kinds.

Art of Jewish Prayer

Lisa Aiken, Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A well written and thought provoking work. 4 out of 5 stars.
22 of 25 people found this review helpful.

I have to admit, I at first purchased this book because the author had the same last name as mine! After reading it, though, I found much of the content extremely enlightening. As an orthodox Jew, I pray a lot--three times a day to be exact! Having literature that focuses on the sheer art of prayer is tremendously helpful. All too often we say words bereft of any meaning or clearity. This book examines the seemingly "mundane" verses by uncovering their historical and cultural significance. I recommend this book not only to fellow synagogue attenders but to anyone curious about the Jewish religion.

Editorial Review:

Prayer will never be the same once you read this book!

A book on prayer unlike any other -- refreshing, relevant, exciting, deep and invigorating. Each down-to-earth page is filled with stimulating insights that make prayer come alive, that transform it into the most relevant of human activities, that make it what it should and can be -- moments of strength and power, the miracle of man's ability to talk to God and know that God is actually listening.

Motherprayer: A Pregnant Woman's Spiritual Companion

Tikva Frymer-Kensky

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Editorial Review:

A comforting spiritual companion for the pregnant woman, this book approaches the many experiences of pregnancy with wisdom and humour. It gives words taken from the religious traditions in the ancient Near East and the Judeo-Christian present, to the longings, fears and the thrill of pregnancy.

Authorized Daily Prayer Book

Joseph H. Hertz

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Hertz Siddur 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Like all the work of Rabbi Hertz with which I am familiar, this siddur exhibits great scholorship, as well as love of Judaism and it's traditions.

The book contains all the prayers used in daily as well as Shabat worship, in Hebrew as well as an English translation. It also contains lengthy commentaries on these prayers, their history, authorship, and function in the liturgy.

Rabbi Hertz also includes essays on the history of Jewish communal prayer.

This siddur has been in publication for more than forty years, and is still a unique and wonderful achievement, a worthy companion to the Hertz Chumash: "Pentateuch and Haftorahs."

The Book of Blessings

Marcia Falk

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Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Book of Blessings is an extraordinary and deeply poetic re-creation of Jewish prayer that offers new blessings, poems, and meditations for Sabbath, holiday, and everyday observance. Steeped in dialogue with rabbinic tradition, it is for those who seek a more contemporary, egalitarian approach to traditional liturgy.

"[Falk] manages to create extraordinarily beautiful prayers—in Hebrew and English—that are both radically new and deeply resonant with Jewish tradition."


—Judith Plaskow, The Women's Review of Books
"Marcia Falk's work in Hebrew blessings is as beautiful as it is innovative; and it is innovative in the sweetest, most nourishing sense, sat urated in love for the language itself (its overtones and melodies as well as its deep structure), its history, its people. Even those who do not hear the traditional liturgies as exclusionary will respond to the meticulously flowering poet's passion of Marcia Falk's wholly original contribution."


—Cynthia Ozick
"A truly magisterial and exciting collection of brakhot . . . that invites us to re-encounter not only the blessing, but the Source of blessing. . . . Falk rekindles the flame of Jewish ardor and devotion."


—Hadassah
"[Falk's] prayers are re-creations of traditional prayers, her versions striking in the beauty and power of their language, in English and Hebrew: this is a poet's siddur, full of profound meaning."


—Sandee Brawarsky, Jewish Week

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer: The Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rites

Macy Nulman

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fifteen years in the making, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer is a monumental achievement. Never before has such a comprehensive resource been available to those searching for answers to questions on Jewish prayer. Macy Nulman has provided, in one unique, accessible volume, information on each and every prayer recited in the Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions, creating an invaluable tool for study or quick reference. Prayer books are essentially cumulative anthologies that evolved over time as new prayers were added. Study of these prayers reveals insights into the history of Judaism, providing a deeper appreciation of the heritage that has sustained the Jewish people throughout the centuries. This volume, through its encyclopedic format, makes such a study easy and enjoyable. Arranged alphabetically by prayer, the encyclopedia entries include extensive liturgical information on the prayers, their composers and development, the laws and customs surrounding them, and their place in the service. All prayers, including not only prayers recited in the synagogue, but also the Grace After Meals and the prayers to be said before going to bed, prayers for special occasions such as weddings and circumcisions, prayers for the funeral ritual and for private devotion, are featured. The entries make extensive use of cross-referencing and bibliographical information to facilitate further study. In addition, the author discusses the many poetic insertions, known as piyyutim, recited on special Sabbaths, Holy Days, and festivals. Concise and easy to consult, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer contains several indexes: two title indexes - one in Hebrew and one in transliteration - as well as an index of biblical verses and a name index. Additionally, a glossary defining technical terms and vocabulary associated with the prayers is provided. This important, one-of-a-kind reference volume is ideal for scholars, students, and others who want to know more about Jewish tradition.

Gates of Prayer for Shabbat and Weekdays: A Gender Sensitive Prayerbook

Chaim Stern

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

The Reform Movement makes some welcome changes 3 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

This new gender-sensitive siddur reflects the changing face of American Reform Judaism. The first change, of course, is the gender language issue. The God-language chosen for this volume is certainly theologically defensible but poetically bland. It is, in fact, the least interesting aspect of this siddur. Far more remarkable to this reader is the inclusion (finally) of rubrics left out of previous Reform prayer books. Specifically, it is exciting to see a Birkat Hamazon included. It is also positive to see useful transliterations of prayers on the same page as the Hebrew text. This innovation has been lamented by idealists within the Reform movement who see transliterations as a an admission that the majority of our congregants will never be able to read a Hebrew text. Perhaps, but now those who wish to recite with the Hebrew readers can now do so easily, increasing opportunies for full participation in worship (afterall, how many of us who actually understand the Hebrew concentrate on the meaning as we pray?). One criticism I have is for the typeface choices, especially the Hebrew. The narrow, thin style does not reproduce well and can be difficult to read in poor light. Given that this is an interim edition, one hopes this shortcoming will be corrected in future versions. All in all, a useful volume which heralds promising new developments in America's largest Jewish religious movement.

Editorial Review:

This now the only gender-inclusinve prayerbook available from the CCAR containing services for Shabbat and weekdays, evening and morning, within the covers of a single, elegantly designed, hardbound volume.

Gateways to Torah: Joining the Ancient Conversation on the Weekly Portion

Russell Resnik

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Editorial Review:

From before the days of Messiah until today, Jewish people have read from and discussed a prescribed portion of the Pentateuch each week. Messiah Yeshua, when he attended synagogue, joined his people in this practice. Now, a Messianic Jewish rabbi has added his voice to the ancient conversation about the Torah. Russ Resnik, Executive Director of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations has written an excellent commentary on each of the weekly portions. With reference to and respect for the rabbis who have already contributed to this conversation, he brings another perspective on the Torah, that of a Messianic Jew, a Jew who follows Messiah Yeshua. Whether you read Gateways to Torah all in one sitting, pace yourself weekly, or use it as a study text for a discussion group, this book will give you fresh insights into the Word of God. 246 pages. ISBN 1-880226-88-X