Form vs. focus (keva vs. kavvanah?)
Seen on page 404 of the Artscroll Siddur Kol Yaakov (Ashkenaz) prayer book: "Stand while reciting 'Yishtabach/May Your Name be praised' . . . The fifteen expressions of praise--'shir u-sh'vachah . . . b'rachot v'hodaot/song and praise-blessings and thanksgivings'--should be recited without pause, preferably in one breath."
What do the editors think this is, another round of the Ten Sons of Haman?* How can a person have any kavvanah (roughly, focus on prayer) when s/he is more concerned about reciting words in one breath than about focusing on what the words mean? I'm not a rabbi (or a maharat), nor do I play one on TV, but, in my opinion, this may be what some describe as a "minhag shtiut (?)" (foolish custom).
*It's traditional for the reader to recite the names of the ten sons of the villain Haman from the Book of Esther in one breath when reading Megillat Esther for the congregation on Purim, a holiday so joyous that it's one of the rare days on the Jewish calendar when the rabbis actually say that one is supposed to get a bit drunk (a practice that I and many other don't follow), and this super-speed reading is probably a reflection of that attitude.
What do the editors think this is, another round of the Ten Sons of Haman?* How can a person have any kavvanah (roughly, focus on prayer) when s/he is more concerned about reciting words in one breath than about focusing on what the words mean? I'm not a rabbi (or a maharat), nor do I play one on TV, but, in my opinion, this may be what some describe as a "minhag shtiut (?)" (foolish custom).
*It's traditional for the reader to recite the names of the ten sons of the villain Haman from the Book of Esther in one breath when reading Megillat Esther for the congregation on Purim, a holiday so joyous that it's one of the rare days on the Jewish calendar when the rabbis actually say that one is supposed to get a bit drunk (a practice that I and many other don't follow), and this super-speed reading is probably a reflection of that attitude.
posted by Shira Salamone at 12:28 PM
7 Comments:
Interestingly, that instruction is left out of the Artscroll's women siddur. Perhaps pronouncing something in one breath counts as time bound?
Another wiseguy heard from. :)
The entire fixed corpus of Jewish prayer is, IMHO, the triumph of keva over kavana. The advice that has resonated with me most is to regard the prayer service as the most minimal fulfillment of the obligation to pray.
Above and beyond the fixed prayers one should interact with Hashem in spontaneous prayer, whether in the form of requests (Please find me a parking spot!), praise (Thank you for making the rain that caused the train to run late that enabled me to catch it), or whatever.
Occasionally I get some inspiration from reading the fixed prayers (almost always in English, I have enough trouble just trying to understand the Hebrew without managing inspiration as well).
But a more common benefit I get from prayer is the recitation of the world's longest mantra. Even if I'm not paying close attention during the silent amidah the quiet rhythmn I'm reciting under my breath has its own beneficial effects.)
"The entire fixed corpus of Jewish prayer is, IMHO, the triumph of keva over kavana."
My son's been complaining about that for years. "You just repeat the same thing all the time." He's not a "shul guy." Oh, well, maybe later--he's only 26, and his father and I both took our sweet time returning to being practicing Jews.
"The advice that has resonated with me most is to regard the prayer service as the most minimal fulfillment of the obligation to pray."
Good grief, do you know how many years it's taken to master some reasonable amount of the text of traditional prayer services and brachot/blessings? That's "minimal"?! There's also the problem that, since I'm a bit on the agnostic side, it can be difficult for me to pray spontaneously. In addition, since I also have a touch of Attention Deficit Disorder, I can't really go the "mantra" route because I have to focus on the prayers to ensure that I don't mix the words of one brachah, psalm or other biblical quote, etc., with another!
Shira
I didn't mean to imply that mastering the entire corpus of prayer was not an accomplishement. What I meant to say was that the rigid form of the prayers offers little chance of spontaneous communication with Hashem. Rather than concluding "I guess Chazal don't want me communciating with Hashem" we should seek additional opportunities via spontaneous prayer to reach out.
Consider Tevya the milkman's conversations with Hashem as the template for one of the kinds of spontaneous prayer I am talking about.
"I didn't mean to imply that mastering the entire corpus of prayer was not an accomplishement."
Thanks for the clarification, not to mention that all compliments are cheerfully accepted. :)
"What I meant to say was that the rigid form of the prayers offers little chance of spontaneous communication with Hashem."
True. It's ironic that some say that the Biblical Hannah's prayer for a child is the basis for Jewish prayer--Channah was praying without a text, from the heart, and now there's no end of codified prayer text.
"we should seek additional opportunities via spontaneous prayer to reach out." It's a bit challenging for an agnostic to ask the G-d in whom she's not sure she believes to answer her prayers, but I'm working on it. I like to say personal prayers during the Amidah. I say prayers for ill family members and friends during the R'faeinu brachah/blessing, and prayers for the well-being of my family and friends, especially the currently-unemployed ones, during Barech Alenu. And I prayer for the missing chayalei Tzahal (soldiers of the Israel Defense Force) during Sh'ma Koleinu. That's about as spontaneous as I get.
My mother used to say what I guess might be called an English techinah after lighting the Shabbat candles. It changed every week, but it always started, "We thank You for our many blessings." Truth to tell, I'm too much of an agnostic to feel comfortable talking to HaShem in such a personal manner.
Truth to tell, I'm too much of an agnostic to feel comfortable talking to HaShem in such a personal manner.Well, not to rely too much on Pascal's Wager, but let's break down the cases:
1) There is no personal diety. - So what's the harm in talking with one? I suspect that done properly it gives you certain psychological benefits - both the potential for venting along with the sort of self-discovery you can get from playing with Tarot cards or self-analysis.
2) There is a personal diety and it likes to be interacted with informally. This cas is pure win.
3) This is a personal diety and attracting its attention can be either beneficial or dangerous. This is the worst case. Frankly I suspect that if personal prayer tended to do more harm than good we would have figured it out by now.
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