The Gates of Prayer: Twelve Talks on Davvenology

by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

"When I was studying in the Lubavitcher yeshiva, one evening, we had a farbrengen, a celebration with the older Hasidim who were teaching us. And at one point, one of them started to give us a hard time about not going deeply enough into our davvenen, into our prayer. So I took a tumbler full of schnapps, said, 'L'Hayyim!' and drank it all down. Then I turned to them and said, 'How could you blame us for not going deep into contemplative prayer when you have never shared with us what goes on inside of you when you pray?'"Immediately, some of them took umbrage at this, saying, 'How dare you ask such a question?' and then chewed me out. But Rabbi Avraham Pariz spoke up and 'You know, he's right. He needs to hear about what goes on inside.' Then Reb Avraham took a big tumbler-full of schnapps and drank it down and said, 'L'Hayyim!' Then he went inside himself and delivered an inner commentary on the traditional morning prayer and took us into his own inner world of sacred enchantment. But when he came to the threshold of the silent Amidah, he said, 'From here on is a private matter between God and me.'"When people ask me to repeat what Reb Avraham said, I have to confess that I cannot repeat his words. I so internalized them at that time that they have now become integral to my own prayer. The best I can do is share with you some of what I have learned in my own life about deep prayer, for which, what I learned that evening is the foundation. What you are about to read is my own telling of some of the things that are happening to me when I am involved in prayer before the living God."--- Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 30, 2010

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a few touchpoints that I can say were truly essential to the trajectory of my life. One of them was going to college with one of Reb Zalman's sons. I didn't know who he was (or R'Zalman) at the time, and I'd never heard of Renewal Judaism. I already considered myself observant, with a deeply intellectualized Judaism. And here was this other religiosity, basically sideswipping me, encouraging me to instead enter religion through emotions. It shaped how I think of myself as a Jew, how I show up to services. I was talking to a friend about it a few years ago and he suggested I actually read some of R' Zalman's writings.

This was everything I might imagined it would be -- an honest, vulnerable, thoughtful approach to what we literally do when we pray and how we can make it feel real, meaningful, emotional and worthwhile. R'Zalman helps prayer feel real and living and applicable to daily life with both concrete tips on how to approach prayer with intention and stay present as well as bigger philosophical musings on the ways that spirituality can feel distant from us. This is really a must read for all Jews, but especially those who feel like religion has nothing to offer them

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reb Zalman's approach to prayer and fostering connection to God, community, and the Earth as a living organism is nourishing and inspiring!

[Mary K · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Reb Zalman infuses Judaism with deep spirituality. In this case, Jewish prayer . This was my second reading and I'm sure I'll come back to it again at some point