God's Favorite Prayers

by Tzvee Zahavy

This critically acclaimed book explains the contents and meanings of the core Jewish prayers.

Nook

First published July 16, 2011

About the author

Tzvee is a prolific author and voracious reader.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, a rabbi, does something ambitious & interesting with Jewish prayer. Instead of the usual classical breakdown of prayer into four types - praise, thanksgiving, repentance, & petition - which also applies to most Christian thought about prayer as far as I know - he attempt something different. He identifies six "archetypes" of the kinds of people who pray, & shows how different prayers in the siddur correspond to what those archetypes need or use. These six archetypes are: the Performer, the Mystic, the Scribe, the Priest, the Meditator, & the "Celebrity-Monotheist." I don't think he completely succeeded in this goal (at least, for me), but I admire the attempt & I did learn some ideas from this book.

[Shimon · Rating 4 out of 5]

very insightful.
more importantly, I felt it has the potential to enhance one's davening experience.