Prayer

Like all true speech, prayer is a movement of soul expressing itself, reaching outward with words.  It is a special case of speech in that we know next to nothing of the Soul to whom our words are addressed.  We consciously use metaphors to picture that Soul, metaphors which we know to be projections of our own imagination, but which we gladly embrace if they serve to open the gates of our heart.

            The siddur, the traditional Jewish book of prayer, offers a vast range of metaphors for the Soul to whom our souls reach out in prayer.  It also contains the rhythm and flow of the poetry in which Jewish individuals and communities have embedded those metaphors over the centuries.  By invoking those particular metaphors, with those particular poems, a Jew may join his or her prayer to millions of other Jewish souls who expressed their own hopes or fears with the very same words.  And when, for whatever reason, the words and metaphors of the siddur become inadequate, then tradition instructs us to close the book, and to pray.

            To those who have never prayed, it may seem absurd to send forth words toward a mysterious Soul of whom we know virtually nothing.  And yet, the experience of countless human generations would indicate that those who pour their souls out in prayer do often feel themselves heard and often find themselves comforted, enlightened and encouraged.