Prayer
Hello Rabbi,
I have been a Baal Teshuvah for several years, and there are a number of areas in which it is still difficult for me to integrate into the religious world, the most prominent among them being regular prayer.
So many words that 'need' to be said, day after day, it's very difficult not to become another mumbling religious person.
And indeed, around me I see mostly men mumbling, bored, sometimes busy with the newspaper or their cell phone, trying to finish as quickly as possible, and yet they come to synagogue day after day, sometimes even three times a day.
Furthermore, there is the content. The content of prayer is so far removed from what a modern person who grew up in the secular world knows.
The words of Chazal's prayer are, I would say, almost childish, leaving infinity somewhere, outside of me. All references in prayer are to Him, outside, as if there is some entity somewhere that I hope is listening.
And in the morning prayer, for example, there are almost 100 pages of praises, sacrifices, and hymns. It's very difficult to connect. I don't understand the idea that there is some god somewhere who is overjoyed when he hears people automatically praise the same monotonous, meaningless words day after day.
I don't understand the thinking behind the sentence "May it be your will that because I read all these long sentences, you will consider all of this to me as if I had made a sacrifice to you." Who should consider anything to me? Who counts points for me? And even if points are counted for me, why should reading something count as the act itself? It is completely unacceptable in logic. It's like reading a description of a restaurant to my wife thinking that she will 'consider' it as if we had gone out.
This exaggerated attitude towards words, in its importance, gives the feeling that Judaism has nothing left but mumbling. Mumble loudly, loudly, emphasize each letter, on Rosh Chodesh say this word and on Yom Kippur say that word. Pay attention, and here say it slowly. It makes us imprisoned in the work of God that is all words… an inflation of words, like the rest of this world. And where is the intention? The heart? The spirit? Where is the true connection and sincerity? I recognize a lot of lies in the orderly world of religious prayer, a lot of insincerity, a lack of connection, and certainly nothing that comes close to the work of God. I would say that there is nothing there. But before I say that, I would love to hear your opinion on the world of prayer. How do you see these times of the day and how can we approach them from a place of some connection.
Thank you very much.
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