“You get what you pay for!”

Who hasn’t said that expression?  And yet we live our lives looking for bargains!  Deep down, of course, we recognize that quality carries with it a higher cost.  And it is human nature that things that cost dearly are more precious and valued.  Unfortunately we live in a world where we have expectations that some things should be free.  For example – patriotism should be free.  Education should be free.  Good health should be free.  And prayer should be free.  But in fact, there is a high cost for patriotism – the cost of maintaining a government and armed services as well as protective services such as police – all paid by citizens in the form of taxes that consume a huge portion of individual wealth.  Similarly education – even public education – carries a cost that is ether born by the society (again in the form of taxes) or paid by the individual in the case of private education.  And despite the hullabaloo of health care reform we can all agree that either privately or publicly heath care is in no way free.  Eventually there is a cost and eventually the costs will be paid by the consumer.  Good health is not free. 

Ahh…but prayer is free.  And indeed, there is no cost for a conversation with God.  Judaism recognizes that each individual has within themselves the ability to talk directly with God in whatever language they know.  God hears.  God understands.  But it is my contention that defining prayer simply as “a conversation with God” is much too limiting for Judaism offers something much broader in its delivery and presentation of the art of prayer.  While in its simple “conversation with God” Jewish prayer is open and accessible, this wider definition of Jewish prayer is anything but simple.

You see, Jewish prayer holds within it the seeds of a much richer spiritual practice that is, unfortunately, rarely recognized in most liberal synagogues.  Jewish prayer can be meditative and contemplative. Jewish prayer is poetry and theatre.  Jewish prayer is educational and mind expanding.  Jewish prayer is musical and conversational; vocal and silent.  But…..finding all this within Jewish prayer takes work and practice.  Years of practice in fact!  And it just doesn’t seem that most of us are willing to pay that price for something that feels like it should be simple and free.  And even some experience “daveners” – folks who attend the synagogue weekly and are fluent in prayers are shockingly inexperienced in the deeper levels of Jewish prayer. 

In a recent class I spoke of some of the multiple facets of Jewish prayer and I was so pleased that one of the class participants (thank you!) brought me a volume on Vipassana Meditation.  While the language and practice (Jews being silent?‼) is radically different than the normal language we use in Jewish circles the principles and results are not so far off from what I believe Jewish prayer has the capacity to be if done with intention and serious practice.  Jewish prayer is a ritual that is meant to raise one’s spiritual awareness and capacity.  Perhaps in future blog posts I’ll discuss more of how I believe serious traditional Jewish prayer can enrich one’s inner life.