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Hebrew University Professor and Israel Prize recipient Emeritus Eliezer Schweid (1929-2022), widely recognized a one of the greatest historians of Jewish thought of our era, probes texts of the Jewish prayer book which process religious philosophical teaching into the language of prayer. With the addition of historical, philological, and literary contexts, the volume provides the reader with first-time access to the comprehensive meaning of prayer-filling a vacuum in the experience and scholarship of Jewish worship.
List of contents
Translator's Acknowledgements
Translator's Introduction: Eliezer Schweid as Worshipper in the State of Israel
Author's Preface: My Path to the Jewish Prayer Book (
Siddur Hatefillah)
Introduction:
The
Siddur (Jewish Prayer Book): Its Sources, Goal, and Theological Basis
- Worship of God and the Process of the Sacred Congregation's Formation and Expression
- Prayer as a Form of Primal Expression of the Human Soul
- Torah and Prayer: The Problem of Love and Sin in the Relations between God and the Human Being
- The "Name and Kingship" Blessing as the Fundamental Rubric of Standing before God in Prayer
- Establishing the Covenant of Faith between the Individual Human Being and His God
- Principles of Faith
- Keriyat Shema-Covenant of Love between God and His People
- The Poetics of the Shema and the Shemoneh Esrei
- The Shemoneh Esrei Prayer: The Kedushah (Sanctification) and ¿aninat Hada'at (God as Giver of Knowledge)
- The Shemoneh Esrei Prayer-Requests by the Individual in the Assembly: Teshuvah (Repentance) and Forgiveness
- The Shemoneh Esrei Prayer: Redemption, Healing, and Livelihood
- The Shemoneh Esrei (Eighteen Benedictions) That Are Really Nineteen: Redemption from Deepening Exile
- The Shemoneh Esrei-Responding in Anticipation of Complete Redemption
- Types of Biblical Poetry as a Source of Prayer
- Between the Poetry of Prophecy and Prayer
- The Poetry of the Psalms: Personal-Soulful and Societal-Political Messages
- Hymnal Song for the Sabbath Day. The "Sign" between God and His Treasured Nation and the Isolation from Christianity
- Breaking the Boundary of Mystery between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Earth: Praying with Devekut (Adherence) and with Kavanah (Intention)
Epilogue: The Universality and Perpetuity of Moving from Slavery to Freedom and from Exile to Redemption
Glossary
Index
About the author
Eliezer Schweid (1929-2022) was Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University. He published over forty books in general and specific areas of Jewish thought of all periods, and commented frequently on the relevance of the legacy of Jewish thought to contemporary issues of Jewish and universal human concern. He was the recipient of the distinguished Israel Prize and two honorary doctorates.
Summary
Hebrew University Professor Emeritus and Israel Prize recipient Eliezer Schweid (1929-2022) is widely regarded as one of the greatest historians of Jewish thought of our era. In Siddur Hatefillah, he probes the Jewish prayer book as a reflection of Judaism's unity and continuity as a unique spiritual entity; and as the most popular, most uttered, and internalized text of the Jewish people. Schweid explores texts which process religious philosophical teaching into the language of prayer, and/or express philosophical ideas in prayer’s special language – which the worshipper reflects upon in order to direct prayer, and through which flows hoped-for feedback. With the addition of historical, philological, and literary contexts, the study provides the reader with first-time access to the comprehensive meaning of Jewish prayer—filling a vacuum in both the experience and scholarship of Jewish worship.
