Practice Praying As A Jew

 

When asked, this is what I tell people about praying as a Jew. I tell them it is perfectly acceptable for anyone to read the Book of Psalms in their Bible. It’s in there, waiting to be read silently or aloud. That’s all it takes if you want to practice praying as a Jew – read Psalms aloud.

It is not generally understood that a significant portion of the traditional daily prayers that Jewish men and women read aloud each day consists of excerpts from Psalms. Jews who learn to pray in Hebrew from a young age do not always understand every word they are reading in a siddur, their Jewish prayer book in Hebrew. People who have not learned to pray in Hebrew from a young age can begin to understand the foundation of traditional Jewish prayers by reading Psalms in any Bible.

Reading Psalms in your own language is taking a step forward and backward in time, both at the same time. Is that possible? Yes! Moving forward and backward in time is a reality every time you pick up your Bible and begin to read from the book of Psalms.

Psalms Written In The Past Speak Into the Future

The book of Psalms is attributed to King David, monarch in Israel about a thousand years BCE/BC. He is depicted as playing a harp and singing out to God during the long nights of his dramatic, troubled reign. His songs were written down and sung when the first Holy Temple was built by King David’s son, King Solomon, a few years after King David passed away.

So, reading Psalms takes you back in history to the time of King David and the time of the first Holy Temple in Jerusalem. But reading Psalms also propels you into the future as well. What? How does that work?

Reading Psalms is not merely reciting songs written 3000 years ago. It is also reading silently or speaking aloud powerful affirmations for the future of the Jewish nation. When Jews read from a siddur in Hebrew or in translation to their native language such as English, Spanish, or French, etc., they are asserting the life of the Jewish people for all time. Psalms written in the past speak about the future.

Reading Psalms aloud is speaking into and about the future. Pick up a Bible and read a few lines or a few chapters of the Book of Psalms. See how it feels now that you know more about it. You can practice praying as a Jew anytime. And you cannot do it wrong. Just try it!