Against Idolatry: Observing Daily Prayer
In the past two months, we have discussed how Netzarim Geirim can observe the prohibition against idolatry — one of the Seven Commandments of Noah — in a positive way by orienting themselves to Shabbat and the festivals/fasts of the Jewish year. A third way is to begin the practice of regular daily prayer.When I say "third way," I do not mean third in order of importance.
Think of Shabbat, the Jewish year, and daily prayer as a sort of tripod
on which you build your relationship to HaShem. Each leg is equally important.
While it is possible to observe Shabbat while ignoring the festivals and
avoiding daily prayer, for example — I don't want to stretch the metaphor too
far — observing
Shabbat, celebrating the festivals, and praying daily represent three
aspects of a healthy relationship to HaShem. The festivals link you HaShem
through both the rhythms of nature and the history of Israel. Likewise, Shabbat
links you to creation and history but in a purer, more mathematical way.
Your practice of daily prayer says that your relationship to HaShem is not
something that can be boxed up and left for one day of the week or special
celebrations but is something that must permeate your life.
In addition, beginning to observe one aspect of Jewish piety can make it
easier to observe another. For example, learning the elements of daily prayers
makes it easier to enjoy the Shabbat service in the beit k'nesset.
And once you learn how to navigate through a Shabbat service, following a
festival service is easier. And once you learn about festivals, you can be more
attentive to the ways the daily prayer routine changes during the year.
For this reason, I recommend that Netzarim Geirim try to do a little something in each of the three areas rather than "specializing" in one area.
With that being said, I have to admit that establishing a daily prayer
routine was something that came a little easier to me than the observance of
either Shabbat or the festivals. Two reasons. First, structured daily prayer was
part of my earlier religious tradition. Second, establishing a daily prayer
routine was something I could do without bumping heads with my non-Netzarim,
non-Jewish wife. At the same time, having an established routine made these
occasionally difficult circumstances a bit easier to bear.
Some tips, learned along the way:
 | Get an Orthodox prayer book (siddur). This is a must. There are several different editions. I bought the ArtScroll Siddur because that is the one used in the beit k'nesset I attend. It has some advantages, especially for beginners. It's a Hebrew-English version, with a decent translation, a reasonably easy-to-follow layout, and wonderful notes. The notes make the book a learning tool as well as a prayer book. You can get a Sephardi version, which is recommended for Netzarim. |
| Get To Pray As a Jew by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin (Basic Books, 1980). This is a terrific introduction to Jewish prayer and much easier for rank beginners to follow than many Orthodox resources. |
| Get some Hebrew instruction. To start praying in Hebrew, you'll need to learn the alef beit and some rules about pronunciation. |
| If you're a male, start to orient yourself to praying three times a day. Shacharit (morning service) is prayed first thing in the morning (after showering and dressing but before eating). Mincah (afternoon service) is prayed at mid-afternoon. Maariv (evening service) is prayer near sundown. Women say most of the same prayers but don't have the same requirements as to times. |
| Start slowly, at a pace you know you'll be able to continue. For example, you might start by simply pausing for a few minutes at the three key times during the day and praying in your own words. If you're used to praying silently, you might need to get used to moving your lips. In the Jewish tradition, prayer is vocalized, although sometimes softly enough to not be overheard by someone standing next to you. |
| Once you have established a routine of praying three times a day, add the Shema to your Shacharit and Maariv routine. The Shema has blessings before it and other prayers after it. I started with the Shema itself (Shema, Yisrael, HaShem Elehenu, HaShem Echad) and the three following paragraphs first and added the other prayers much later. Go ahead and do this in your native language if you don't know Hebrew yet. |
| Once you are used to reciting the Shema, add the Shemoneh Esrei ("Eighteen Blessings") to one or more of your prayer times each day. The Shemoneh Esrei, also called the Amidah, is a wonderful set of blessings that has been recited by Jews since temple times. A nineteenth blessing, which curses the minim or "heretics", was added after the destruction of the temple. Pray the blessing in your native language if you don't know Hebrew. Note that the Amidah is different on Shabbat and festivals. |
| Once you have established a routine of praying the Shema and the Shemoneh Esrei in your native language, start converting your prayers to Hebrew. Needless to say, if you're new to the language, this needs to be a gradual process. Here's how I did it. The first week, I recited the preamble to the Shema in Hebrew and the rest in English. Every week thereafter, I added a new phrase in Hebrew and continued with the rest in English. In this way, I didn't get bogged down in Hebrew, kept the prayers fresh and exciting, learned what the prayers meant, and still emerged with the ability to say the prayers in Hebrew. It also taught me patience. The whole process took a good two years! |
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