Davening: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Prayer

by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Lawrence Kushner (Foreword), Joel Segel (Contributor)

Experience the living taste of prayer in your heart,
the deep and gentle glow of prayer in your soul.

"Many who live their lives as Jews, even many who pray every day, live on a wrapped and refrigerated version of prayer. We go to synagogue dutifully enough. We rise when we should rise, sit when we should sit. We read and sing along with the cantor and answer 'Amen' in all the right places. We may even rattle through the prayers with ease. We sacrifice vitality for shelf-life, and the neshomeh, the Jewish soul, can taste the difference."
—from the Introduction

This fresh approach to prayer is for all who wish to appreciate the power of prayer’s poetry and song, jump into its ceremonies and rituals, and join the age-old conversation that Jews have had with God. Reb Zalman, one of the most important Jewish spiritual teachers in contemporary American Judaism, offers you new ways to pray, new channels for communicating with God and new opportunities to open your heart to God’s response.

With rare warmth and authenticity, Reb Zalman shows you:

How prayer can engage not just spirit, but mind, heart and body Meditations that open the door to kavanah, the focus or intention with which we pray How to understand the underlying “deep structure” of our prayer services How to find and feel at home in a synagogue How to sing and lead niggunim, the simple, wordless tunes that Jews sing to get closer to God and more

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Nonfiction, Religion, Judaica, Prayer

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 25, 2012

Reviews

[Mary K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew Reb Zalman (z"l) but I feel closer to him and have a better grasp of his personal spiritual depth and the scope of his amazing work now that he's left the world, and it comes to me in part as I'm rereading his books. This one was so heartfelt and unique. What a contribution he made to Judaism and to the world.

[James Owen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took me a long time to read...I think it could have been better.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Jewish With Feeling, so I was very excited for this! I was a bit disappointed, though, as I didn’t it find it very engaging. While it did give me new things to think about (especially how Kabbalah ties in with davening), I had been hoping for more concrete action items or practices I could start with.

[Kaiti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn't what I was expecting or hoping for at all. That being said, it was really good anyways. The writing is accessible and the author sounds like the kind of guy you'd love to be able to talk to over coffee or something.

[Shimon de Valencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent text for deepening your personal spiritual repertoire, within a Jewish context. The exercises are easy to engage with, and allow for the Davener to deepen their Davenen. Another classic, from a great teacher, sadly now gone from us.

[Kimalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. What it lacks in prescription it makes up for in affirming the possibility of a deeper more meaningful relationship with prayer. Reading this book feels like having a conversation with Rabbi Zalman. I highly recommend.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rightful winner of the National Jewish Book Award, this is one of, if not THE best book, about davening that I've read to date. Reb Zalman's writing is accessible at whatever level you're entering the search. This book covers order and levels of prayers within the daily and Shabbat prayer cycles, touches on some holidays, and most importantly Reb Zalman is open enough with the reader to share a bit of what happens inside his head-heart-body when he himself prays. Highly recommended.
Note to reader: The downfalls of this book, in my opinion, are as follows: Not enough acknowledgment of women's roles (though he does mention them multiple times) and too much qualifying (I studied with this person who studied with this person) and name dropping. I recognize who he is, but lineage is only as important as the message that you're able to carry. He most definitely carries the message. Read on and may blessings found herein find their way into you.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

More dense than I expected, since I'm used to reading more "Christian Living" style books on prayer. Also, hard for someone not as familiar with the lingo of Judaism to understand. Some Hebrew phrases were translated, others you were just expected to know. (Give me a new appreciate for the hurdles presented by "Christianese" though). It was okay, probably great for certain audiences (Rabbis and Judaic studies students, for instance), but not what I was hoping for.

[Mitchell Gronowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introduction and first chapter were amazing! After that it got kind of boring and was more focused towards readers who know nothing about Jewish prayer.