Beth HaDerech; Messianic Jewish Congregation, Toronto, Canada

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Speaking to God – Tefilot (Prayers)

Jewish prayer is an aid to developing a meritorious attitude and a commendable way of feeling. Therefore, Jews actively seek reasons to praise God’s creation. There are Jewish prayers to be said when witnessing a falling star, when hearing the clap of thunder in the clouds, when seeing a rainbow, when noticing the first bud of spring on the branch of a tree, when placing a mezuzah (a decorative box containing portions of the most important Jewish prayer, the Shema) on a doorpost, when sitting in the sukkah at Sukkot, and even when seeing a very tall or extremely short person.

Jewish prayers are usually recited in Hebrew. Yet, they can be recited in any vernacular or local language, whether it is English, Aramaic, French, Spanish, Arabic, or Russian. Jews believe that God understands no matter what language a person employs in prayer. Even silence is sometimes said to be an appropriate Jewish prayer language.

The most important of all Jewish prayers is a prayer called the Shema. Strangely enough, the Shema is a prayer that speaks to the Jewish people, and not to God. Its verses instruct the Israelites what they have to do. Here is a part of the Shema prayer:

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יהוה אֶחָד

Hear, O Israel, the Eternal is our God, the Eternal is One. Blessed be God’s Name and glorious kingdom forever and ever. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all you have. And these words, which I [God] teach you this day, shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder before your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

In just this one paragraph of the Shema prayer, it is possible to understand why Jews designed the tefillin (phylacteries) to place as symbols on the head (above the eyes) and on the arm; and why most Jews place a mezuzah on the doorpost of their houses to remind them of God.

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