The Hebrew term for what we call “praying” in English is Tefila. This word is derived from the Hebrew root “fei, lamed, lamed,” which means “to judge,” or “to intercede on someone’s behalf,” or “to have hope.” Therefore, tefila implies judging ourselves, or interceding on our behalf before God, or expressing our feeling of hope that something will change for the better.

Jewish liturgy is based on three types of prayers: prayers to thank God, prayers to praise God, and prayers to ask God for something. Although each type has a different purpose, the content is similar and consistently reflects the understanding of Judaism held by our sages.

There are several examples of spontaneous prayers in the Bible. For example, Hannah prayed to God to be able to have a son, and her request was granted with the birth of Samuel. But in biblical times, sacrifices were the accepted way to relate to God. With the destruction of the first Temple and the exile to Babylon, Jews in the diaspora developed alternative rituals to sacrifices, since they could not perform them in Babylon. Studying the Torah was one of them.

Many of the first prayers were psalms, hymns or poems taken from the Bible that were accompanied by music. The first prayer to be written down was the Amidah, followed later by the Shemah. Biblical passages were added over time. A frame of reference for prayers existed in Talmudic times and they were prayed from memory.

The order of the prayers was finally fixed only in the 9th century, when the traditional prayer book appeared, the “Sidur” which means order, of which there are many versions. The earliest known is the Seder of Rav Amram Gaon from around 850. The first printed siddur appeared in Europe in 1485.

The prayer book contains prayers written in all different periods of Jewish history. It is an anthology of Jewish literary creativity. There are selections from the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrashim, the writings of Maimonides (the Ygdal) and the Kabbalah (Lejah Dodi). There are medieval prayers such as the Unetaneh Tokef and contemporary prayers such as the prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel and the country in which one resides. It is a treasure and a compendium of Jewish beliefs and is constantly evolving to be able to express those beliefs in the language of each generation.

Praying in Judaism is more than just an expression of our faith. It gives us a sense of belonging to a community and affirms our Judaism in a social context. Being in the synagogue with others who share our beliefs is often more important than the meaning of the words we say when we pray.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: “What do Jews Believe? by David S. Ariel.