Talking about prayer, like talking about G-d, involves some matters of definition; otherwise it is easy to be unclear. Often, when someone says they don’t believe in G-d, I ask them to tell me about the G-d they don’t believe in, and frequently I don’t believe in that one either. I think it is the same with prayer, so I will start with some definitions. We could divide the intention behind prayer into two types. One sort of intention is self-examination, as implied by the root of tefilah, peh lamed lamed, which is also the root of l’hitpalel, to judge oneself. In this aspect of prayer we might include positive thinking, affirmation, self-examination, and self improvement. Probably most people would agree that it is possible to improve one’s personal qualities through prayer as self-examination, as it is possible with most spiritual disciplines. Prayer gives us a chance to focus our minds, and to remember the qualities we are seeking to develop in ourselves. L’hitpalel does not only mean to judge oneself, however. It also means to intercede on someone’s behalf. And this is part of the other sort of intention behind prayer; that is what we might call “addressing the Beyond”, with prayer that is petitionary or intercessory, as well as prayers of praise and gratitude. Read More→
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction is a relationship in which we dedicate a regular period of time to the exploration of the presence of the Holy in our lives, seeking to discern glimmers of holiness, the awe at the depth of the soul. Here we bring our attention to our experiences of mystery, the sacred dimensions that are present in every moment of our lives. This is a time to look beneath the surface of things, to discover the presence of something beyond our individual awareness; experiences of connection, or a sense of being guided or accompanied along our life journeys.
On Prayer
…No matter how much we develop scientifically plausible theories, we come back to the basic question of human consciousness, which boils down to “can we trust our experience?” If not, then we have no reason to believe there is anything beyond the individual self. We have no reason, even, to believe that logic correlates with reality. If, however, we choose to trust our experience, everything else follows. In Jewish tradition, we are not asked to believe anything we haven’t experienced. We said “na’aseh v’nishmah—we will do and we will hear” when we received the Torah, partly because of this recognition that Judaism is about experience, and embodiment, not just theory. As a friend of mine says, “I don’t believe in G-d, I experience G-d”. As with any spiritual practice, Judaism, and prayer, look ridiculous from the outside. It is only on the inside that they make sense. So with davenning (prayer), there is no point in deciding if we “believe’ in it or not until we do it.