Making Prayer Real: Leading Jewish Spiritual Voices on Why Prayer Is Difficult and What to Do about It

by Rabbi Mike Comins

Fresh, Useful Perspectives on the Spiritual Dynamics of Prayer "Better music, better sermons and better prayer books can only go so far. Many innovations have been tried around the world, and no doubt, synagogue leadership will continue to think creatively about improving services. But deep and lasting change will only come when each of us takes ownership and responsibility for what only we can really guide―our inner lives."
―from the Preface Join over fifty Jewish spiritual leaders from all denominations in a candid conversation about the why and how of how prayer changes us and how to discern a response from God. In this fascinating forum, they share the challenges of prayer, what it means to pray, how to develop your own personal prayer voice and how to rediscover meaning and God's presence in the traditional Jewish prayer book.
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson • Rabbi Aryeh Ben David • Rabbi Anne Brener, LCSW • Rabbi Sharon Brous • Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum • Rabbi Mike Comins • Rabbi Elliot J. Cosgrove, PhD • Rabbi Lavey Derby • Cantor Ellen Dreskin • Rabbi Diane Elliot • Reb Mimi Feigelson • Rabbi Tirzah Firestone • Rabbi Nancy Flam • Rabbi Karen Fox, DD • Dr. Tamar Frankiel • Rabbi Ethan Franzel • Rabbi Elyse Frishman • Rabbi Laura Geller • Rabbi Neil Gillman, PhD • Rabbi Shefa Gold • Rabbi Elyse Goldstein • Joel Lurie Grishaver • Rabbi Nadya Gross • Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD • Melila Hellner-Eshed, PhD • Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD • Rabbi David Ingber • Rabbi Zoë Klein • Rabbi Myriam Klotz • Rabbi Jamie Korngold • Rabbi Lawrence Kushner • Rabbi Naomi Levy • Rabbi Richard N. Levy, DD • Rabbi Sheryl Lewart • Jay Michaelson • Rabbi Linda Motzkin • Rabbi Debra Orenstein • Rabbi Nehemia Polen, PhD • Rabbi Marcia Prager • Rabbi Jeff Roth • Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi • Rabbi Rami Shapiro • Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater • Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz • Rabbi Ira Stone • Rabbi Michael Strassfeld • Dr. Linda Thal • Rabbi Abraham Twerski, MD • Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg • Rabbi Zari M. Weiss • Rabbi David J. Wolpe • Rabbi Shawn Zevit

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Prayer, Religion, Judaica

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I consider myself a religious Masorti/Conservative Jew, but like most Jews in my family, prayer has always been a mixed experience for me. I find benefit in going to synagogue, but I don't connect with most of the liturgy when reading from the prayer book. I think my experience is very common for many American Jews, as nearly all whom I've met consider themselves agnostic or atheist even if religious, given how different the Jewish conception of the deity is from the dominant Christian culture. Yet the prayer service is full of G-d, and tricky Hebrew (the majority of Jews I know are also not fluent in Hebrew, myself included), so barriers to connection with the prayers abound. Why pray if you don't think it's literally heard? How do you make prayer a meaningful experience specifically as a Jew? This book is full of interesting answers from a very wide variety of perspectives. I think if you read the parts that resonate with you, and skim over the parts that don't, there is something for everyone in this book. I would recommend this to Jews widely defined, and also Bnai Mitzvah students.

I read this in small bits at a time, and have marked a number of pages to which I plan to return to try out the suggestions, and I will certainly re-read the whole thing as needed in the future.

[Emmett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it worked: reading this book made prayer very real for me. It completely changed my relationship to prayer and, by extension, to divinity. Before, I prayed to slough off my self and my problems and be part of a community; now, I also have the option of praying to deepen my understanding of myself. The rich array of perspectives, approaches, attitudes, and insights offered so many different ways in that it was easy to pass over ideas that didn’t resonate and still find so much to take in. I am sure this is a book I will continue to come back to and find new treasures in for many years to come.

The missing star is because I found the author’s frequent plugging of his other book tedious and annoying, and because the Practices at the back of the book were a bit of a let-down, and could have been simply integrated into the rest of the book instead of being built up as this exciting resource at the end.

[Travelmaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many ideas. Liked the format of different writers - including the conflicting ideas - so that it made me think (still thinking!). Bought copies to share with other friends (Jewish and not) who are interested in gratitude.

[Linda Block · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hands on book from differing Jewish clergy about the art of prayer and the evolution of prayer.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A diverse collection of different voices & views, some of which I have enjoyed a lot.

[Margaret Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Judaism there is a tension between communal prayer which is what we do most, and individual prayer. This book is an important book as we prepare for Yom Kippur. It is a book to be savored. Not read all in one setting. Not even read straight through. It is a book that slows prayer down, making it the conversation it was meant to be. It is a book that gives us real tools and practices that we can use, either individually or in community. It is a book that can be studied by ritual committees, leadership teams, adult study, people who care about prayer. It will be something I come back to again and again, since no one practice fits everyone, all the time. Home run.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed a book to bolster me spiritually and this book was helpful. It's a good book for someone searching to redefine their prayer needs and beliefs. While it makes a good argument for using prayer for a transcendent experience rather than a vending machine one(praying for what you want), it doesn't discount the need of individuals to make soulful pleas in troubled times. My copy will stay on my bookshelf with lots of sticky notes and underlined passages. Favorite quotes:

"Prayer allows us the catharsis of knowing the emotional truth of this moment, knowing what you really feel, seeing your emotions and being with them, and accepting them." p. 117

"...prayer can be a moment in which we suspend doubt and disbelief, in which we allow ourselves to hope and to believe that anything is possible." p. 239