The following is from all of the notes I’ve taken this year during my studies at Pardes.
The subject of prayer has been of particular interest to me…
(first presented at the final Pardes Shabbaton)

Liturgy/Prayer –

• Liturgy/Prayer is a basic way for us to get in touch with God, fellow Jews, Jewish values, and Jewish tradition.
• Liturgy/Prayer gives us words we may not otherwise have in our vocabulary to get in touch with God and our relationship with God, or to put it another way, with that which is beyond our understanding, beyond ourselves, and beyond our control.
• Liturgy/Prayer gives us a guide, something to serve as a reminder of what we should be thinking about when attempting to encounter these thoughts and these ideas.
• Liturgy/Prayer when phrased in the plural allows us to remove ourselves from our individuality and helps us to consider our connections and obligations to people other than ourselves.
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