Prayer Seminar - Isralight Style

Sunday is a day of relaxation for most people, a day to sleep in late. This was not the case for me and about 50-60 other people who went to a seminar on tefilla (prayer). Rabbi David Aaron, dean of Isralight led the seminar. Isralight is one of many organizations that reach out to unaffiliated Jews, I find their classes to be of a high quality and you can really take what you learn in their classes and apply it to your life.

The first part of the seminar focused on what prayer really is, Rabbi Aaron argued that Jews do not pray. That was quite a way to wake up the audience! He talked about his upbringing and some of the misconceptions he had about prayer, one such misconception is that you're supposed to read from the siddur as quickly as possible. I suppose that is why I like to go to intermediate services, instead of regular services. At a regular service, I find myself playing catch-up most of the time and it really detracts from my time with Hashem (G-d). Another point Rabbi Aaron made is that we read from a siddur, not a prayerbook. Through reading the siddur, we are supposed to transform ourselves. The Hebrew term used in this case is 'lehit pallel'. Whether that happens all the time is anyone's guess.

The second part of the seminar focused on the Shemonei Esrei or Amidah, the major prayer in the siddur. The Amidah originaly featured 18 blessings but an extra one was added. We focused on the introductory line (My Lord, open your lips that my mouth may declare your praise) and the first blessing (Patriarchs). Basically, the first blessing really sets the tone for the rest of the prayer; it establishes that there is an active, long-standing relationship with Hashem going back to the times of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (our three forefathers). If we don't get that aspect, then the rest of the prayer is basically said in vain.

For something that we are supposed to do 3 times a day (men for sure, there are differing opinions on how often women should pray) prayer is something that gets pushed aside at time and that shouldn't be the case. I feel that this seminar gave me concrete ideas to focus on in my prayers that will enhance my relationship with Hashem.