Mark H. Levin

Jews pray poetically.

Jewish prayer confronts our deepest personal existential concerns.

No two prayer experiences can ever be the same.

And most Jews know none of this.

 

Siddur prayer need not be boring or repetitious, but is often misunderstood. The process of prayer consciously created in the siddur has never been explained to the average Jew.

 

UNTIL NOW

 

Every rabbi knows about the many Bible quotations in the siddur. But why are they there? How do they function? What were the Rabbis getting at by quoting the Tanakh so frequently?

 

Praying the Bible:

Finding Personal Meaning in the Siddur, Ending Boredom and Making Each Prayer Experience Unique

 

demonstrates how the Rabbis intended siddur prayer to be the interaction of three components: the praying person, the literal meaning of the prayer, and the intertextual meaning of the Biblical quotation in its historical context and contemporary meaning.

 

Every Jew knows Adon Olam by heart, but who understands it's meaning as an antidote to suffering?

 

Every Jew knows we begin the Tefilah with, "Oh Lord open my lips that my mouth may declare your glory," and conclude with "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer." But why? How can these two psalm quotations enhance my prayer life, my relationship with God, and, most important, my daily life outside of the synagogue?

 

For the price of expenses only, (transportation, hotel and meals) Rabbi Mark Levin will engage your congregation in dialogue to demonstrate how each prayer of the Tefilah can make a difference in their lives, no matter how many times they are said. Why? Because we are never the same person twice, and our interaction with the prayer will always change.

 

Rabbi Levin's book explains the Biblical quotations in their original context and applies them to today. In your congregation, Rabbi Levin can help your members do the same in their personal prayer lives, and live more meaningfully as a result.

 

Prayer does matter, and the siddur holds intentional pathways to a more fruitful daily life, if we know how to use it. 

 

Let's make the siddur important in Jews' lives.­­­