Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer 1) Importance of prayer a. Prayer is a core part of being a religious person b. Prayer is miraculous c. The threat of cynicism 2) The study of liturgy: 4 approaches to words of prayer a. Philological approach – Leopold Zunz (1794-1886) b. Form-critical approach – Joseph Heinemann (1915-1978) c. Holistic approach – Larry Hoffman d. Literary approach i. Kimelman ii. R”I bar Yakar and Abudraham iii. Rabbi Hanina 3) How deal with a prayer text that is difficult? a. Inadequacy of the philological, form-critical, or holistic approach b. Strategy #1: Cut i. Conservative: Ishei Yisrael ii. Orthodox: Shelo Asani Isha c. Strategy #2: Rewrite i. Revisions of Lecha Dodi ii. Ideological commitment to revision – Mordecai Kaplan and Eugene Kohn d. Strategy #3: Reinterpretation i. Heschel’s call for “a sympathetic prayerbook exegesis” 4) The Literary-Intertext Approach a. Step 1: Approach the text as poetry. What is strange? What calls for interpretation? b. Step 2: Use academic tools to establish parallel texts, notice the linguistic choices the author made c. Step 3: Identify the intertext(s) d. Step 4: Identify hazal’s interpretation of the intertext e. Step 5: Offer renewed interpretation 5) Havdallah as a case study of the methodology a. Step 1: ‫ בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה‬...‫ – המבדיל‬who separates between the seventh day and the six days of work b. ‫המבדיל צריך שיאמר מעין הבדלות האמורות בתורה‬. c. Step 2: ‫בין השבת לששת ימי המעשה‬ d. Step 3: Ezekiel 46:1-3 and 44:1-3 as intertexts. e. Step 4: Rabbinic explanations of the intertexts i. Mishnah Tamid 3:7 ii. Pirkei DeRebbe Eliezer 50 f. Step 5: Interpretation i. Master metaphor of a door open or closed ii. Shifting from cosmos to relationship iii. R. Yehuda: Peering through the door, prostrating toward YHVH iv. [R. Abba bar Kahana: God entering in humility] 6) Ending of first blessing of Amidah a. Step 1: Why just Abraham? What is the image of the shield? b. Step 3: Intertext: Genesis 15:1-8 c. Step 5: Interpretation – Avraham of doubt Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer 1) “To live without prayer is to live without God, to live without a soul.” (Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man’s Quest for God, p. 59) 2) “Prayers are unique human cultural extensions of those who pray them, indistinguishable as prayers, in fact, as long as they are separated from the act of praying…. Liturgy is not a literary matter in the first place.” (Larry Hoffman, Beyond the Text, p. 6) 3) “[T]he meaning of the liturgy exists not so much in the liturgical text per se as in the interaction between the liturgical text and the biblical intertext. Meaning, in the mind of the reader, takes place between texts rather than within them.” (Reuven Kimelman, “The Shema’ Liturgy” in Kenishta, Vol. 1 (2001) p. 28) 4) “You should know that the language of prayer is based on the language of Scripture. Therefore you will find written in this commentary on every word a verse like it or relating to its essence. There are a few words that did not have a biblical basis, and therefore I will bring for them a basis from the Talmud.” – (Abudraham HaShalem, p. 6) ‫ספר אבודרהם תקון התפלות ועניניהם‬ ‫ויש לך לדעת כי לשון התפלה הוא מיוסד על לשון‬ ‫המקרא ולכן תמצא כתוב בפי' הזה על כל מלה ומלה‬ ‫ ומלות מעטים יש שלא נמצא‬,‫פסוק כמוה או מעניניה‬ .‫להם יסוד במקרא ולכן אביא להם יסוד מהגמרא‬ ‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת מגילה דף כה עמוד א‬ 5) There was once one who prayed (the Amidah) before Rabbi Hanina and said: “The great, mighty, awesome, powerful, strong, courageous God.” Rabbi Haninah said to him: Have you exhausted all the possible praise of your Master? Were it not that they were written by Moses in the Torah and affixed by the Men of the Great Assembly, we would not even dare to utter those three [descriptions]! But you go on adding all of these?! It may be compared to a human king who had thousands upon thousands of gold coins, and people praised him for owning silver. Isn’t that a terrible degradation of him? (Babylonian Talmud Megilah 25a) :‫ אמר‬,‫ההוא דנחית קמיה דרבי חנינא‬ ‫האל הגדול הגבור והנורא האדיר והחזק‬ ‫ סיימתינהו לשבחיה‬:‫ אמר ליה‬.‫והאמיץ‬ ‫ אי לאו‬,‫דמרך? השתא הני תלתא‬ ‫דכתבינהו משה באורייתא ואתו כנסת‬ ,‫ אנן לא אמרינן להו‬,‫הגדולה ותקנינהו‬ ‫ואת אמרת כולי האי? משל לאדם שהיו לו‬ ‫ והיו מקלסין‬,‫אלף אלפי אלפים דינרי זהב‬ ?‫ לא גנאי הוא לו‬.‫אותו )באלף( דינרי כסף‬ 1 Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer ‫דברים פרק י‬ 6) For God your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. The great, mighty, and awesome God who shows no favor and takes no bribe; who does justice for the orphan and widow, and loves the stranger, providing him with food and clothing You too must love the stranger, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:17-19) ‫יכם הוּא ֱאל ֵֹהי ָה ֱאל ִֹהים‬ ֶ ‫)יז( ִכּי יְ קֹוָק ֱאל ֵֹה‬ ‫נּוֹרא‬ ָ ‫ַאדֹנֵי ָה ֲאדֹנִ ים ָה ֵאל ַה ָגּדֹל ַה ִגּבֹּר וְ ַה‬ ֲ‫ו‬ :‫ֲא ֶשׁר לֹא יִ ָשּׂא ָפנִ ים וְ לֹא יִ ַקּח שׁ ַֹחד‬ ‫אַל ָמנָה וְ א ֵֹהב גֵּר‬ ְ ְ‫)יח( ע ֶֹשׂה ִמ ְשׁ ַפּט יָתוֹם ו‬ :‫ָל ֶתת לוֹ ֶל ֶחם וְ ִשׂ ְמ ָלה‬ ‫יתם‬ ֶ ִ‫ֵרים ֱהי‬ ִ ‫ַא ַה ְב ֶתּם ֶאת ַהגֵּר ִכּי ג‬ ֲ ‫)יט( ו‬ :‫ְבּ ֶא ֶרץ ִמ ְצ ָריִ ם‬ 7) “The discussion is declared concluded. The question is now asked: 1) Should the Conference declare that the oath of a Jew, invoking the Name of God, is binding without any further ceremony? Unanimous Response: Yes! 2) Does the Conference declare that Kol Nidre is unessential? And will the members of the Conference, in their spheres of jurisdiction, work for its abolition, already in time for next Yom Kippur? Yes! (Jakob Petuchowski, Prayerbook Reform in Europe, p. 336) 8) “In Retzeh, which is itself a modification of the ancient prayer utilized by the officiating priests in the Temple, the words Ve’ishei Yisrael could not be reinterpreted. When these two words are deleted, the prayer becomes a fervent plea for restoration of the center of our faith to Jerusalem. (ital mine) (Robert Gordis: “A Jewish Prayer Book for the Modern Age,” Conservative Judaism Vol. 1 (1945), p. 16) 9) “I know of course, that “You have not made me a woman” can be understood in many different ways. But by its plain meaning, and by the simple smell test, it has the effect today of justifying our lack of progress, and of affirming for us that women do not possess the spiritual dignity than men do. In OUR specific time, given OUR specific challenges, the blessing hurts us. We thus find ourselves today in an halachik “sha’at hadchak”, an “urgent circumstance”. The sort of circumstance that justifies utilizing an ingenious halachik stratagem to effectively drop this blessing from our liturgy.” – (R. Yosef Kanefsky, www.morethodoxy.org, August 8, 2011) 10) ,‫מקדש מלך עיר מלוכה‬ ,‫מאז היתה ראש ממלכה‬ ,‫והיא עתה תתעטר במלכהּ‬ ‫והוא יחמול עליך חמלה‬ ,‫ִמ ְקדַּשׁ ֶמ ֶל ְך עִיר מְלוּכָה‬ ,‫קֽוּמִי ְצאִי ִמתּוֹ ְך ַה ֲה ֵפכָה‬ ,‫שׁבֶת ְבּ ֵע ֶמק ַה ָבּכָא‬ ֶ ‫רַב ָל ְך‬ .‫וְהוּא יַחֲמוֹל ָע ַליְִך ֶח ְמלָה‬ - Alkabetz version (16th c) -Hemdat Yamim (1731) 2 Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer 11) Sanctuary of the King, royal city/ From old it was the head of royalty/ Now she is crowned in royalty/ He will show compassion to you. -Hemdat Yamim (1731) Sanctuary of the King, royal city/ Rise up, go forth from the upheaval/ Too long have you dwelt in the valley of tears/ He will show compassion to you. - Alkabetz version (16th c) 12) “People expect a Jewish prayer book to express what a Jew should believe about God, Israel and the Torah, and about the meaning of human life and the destiny of mankind. We must not disappoint them in that expectation. But unless we eliminate from the traditional text statements of beliefs that are untenable and of desires which we do not or should not cherish, we mislead the simple and alienate the sophisticated. The simple will accept the false with the true, to the detriment of their spiritual growth. The sophisticated will feel that a Jewish service has little value for people of modern mentality. Rather than leaving such questionable passages to reinterpretation, we should omit or revise them.” (Mordechai Kaplan and Eugene Kohn, Introduction to Shabbat Prayer Book (1945), p. xxiii-xxiv.) 13) “Ideologies designed to exalt the group at the expense of other groups, authoritarian interpretations of nature and history, all are present in the texts of traditional prayers. The elimination of such ideas from our liturgical texts is necessary if our worship is to be a source of personal as well as social self-fulfillment.” (Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly 1953, vol. 17, p. 187) 14) “In advancing some critical remarks, I do not mean chas veshalom to take a superior attitude. In all honesty, my criticism will be to a considerable degree selfcriticism….“Our services are conducted with pomp and precision. The rendition of the liturgy is smooth. Everything is present: decorum, voice, ceremony. But one thing is missing: Life. …Has the temple become a graveyard where prayer is buried?” (Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly 1953, vol. 17, p. 151) 15) “The motions survive, the emotions have fled. The lips move, but the heart is unmoved. Unless this apathy to synagogue services is overcome, it will spell the end of worship among Jews.” (Sabbath Prayer Book, p. xvii) 16) “The problem is not how to revitalize prayer, the problem is how to revitalize ourselves….Religious movements in our history have often revolved around the problem of liturgy…To Kabbalah and Hasidism the primary problem was how to pray; to the modern movements, the primary problem was what to say. What has Hasidism accomplished? It inspired worship in a vast number of Jews. What have the moderns accomplished? They have inspired the publication of a vast number of prayerbooks.” – (Man’s Quest for God, p. 77, 83) 3 Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer 17) “The traditional rituals must be studied as artistic forms of religious expression, which in every age need to be re-examined from the point of view of their truth and their relevance to the spiritual needs and interests of the times. Whatever is merely archaic and no longer awakens religious thought and emotion, even in those who are familiar with its traditional meaning, must be discarded.” – (Eugene Kohn, Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly 1953, p. 187) 18) “We must learn how to study the inner life of the words that fill the world of our prayerbook. Without intense study of their meaning, we feel, indeed, bewildered when we encounter the multitude of those strange, lofty beings that populate the inner cosmos of the Jewish spirit. It is not enough to know how to translate Hebrew into English; it is not enough to have met a word in the dictionary and to have experienced unpleasant adventures with it in the study of grammar. A word has a soul, and we must learn how to attain insight into its life…. This is our affliction – we do not know how to look across a word to its meaning. We forgot how to find the way to the word, how to be on intimate terms with a few passages in the prayer book. Familiar with all words, we are intimate with none…The same word may evoke new understanding when read with an open heart….What we need is a sympathetic prayerbook exegesis.” – (Man’s Quest for God, p. 78, 81, 83) 19) “A biblical locution carrying in its train the almost automatic associations of the entire biblical passage in which it appears and the entire hermeneutical context in which it has traditionally been understood to belong, would in its new incarnation cast subtle and far-ranging effects over all the meanings and significations, both the actual and the possible, of the new-made poem.” – (Neal Kozodoy, Reading Medieval Love Poetry, AJS Review 2 (1977), p. 119-120.) 20) Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The one who separates (recites Havdallah) must say an aspect of the separations (havdallot) said in the Torah (Babylonian Talmud Pesahim 104a) ‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת פסחים דף קד עמוד א‬ ‫ המבדיל צריך שיאמר מעין‬:‫אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי‬ .‫הבדלות האמורות בתורה‬ 21) Levi said: As long as they are from the Havdallot (separations) mentioned in the Torah (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 5:2; 9b) ‫תלמוד ירושלמי מסכת ברכות פרק ה דף ט טור ב‬ ‫ה"ב‬/ ‫לוי אמר ובלבד מאבדלות האמורות בתורה‬ 22) He opened and said: Who separates between holy and profane Between light and dark Between Israel and the nations Between the seventh day and the six days of work (Bab. Talmud Pesahim 103b) ‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת פסחים דף קג עמוד ב‬ :‫פתח ואמר‬ ,‫המבדיל בין קודש לחול‬ ,‫בין אור לחשך‬ ‫בין ישראל לעמים‬ .‫בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה‬ 4 Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer 23) You have separated Between darkness and light Between upper and lower waters Between sea and dry land Between impure and pure Between Shabbat and the six days of work Between Israel and the nations As it says: “You shall be holy to Me, for I YHVH am holy, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine.” (Lev 20:26) And it says: “A man may arrange his thoughts, but what he says depends on YHVH.” (Prov 16:1) Blessed….who graces with knowledge - Ezra Fleischer, Eretz Israel Prayer and Prayer Rituals, p. 28 Adler 2824, p. 16 ‫אתה הבדלת‬ ‫בין חושך לאור‬ ‫בין המים העליונים לתחתונים‬ ‫בין הים ליבשה‬ ‫בין הטמא לטהור‬ ‫בין השבת לששת ימי המעשה‬ ‫בין ישראל לגוים‬ ‫יתם ִלי ְקד ִֹשׁים ִכּי ָקדוֹשׁ ֲאנִ י יְ קֹוָק‬ ֶ ִ‫כאמור וִ ְהי‬ ְ ‫ו‬ ‫ָאַב ִדּל ֶא ְת ֶכם ִמן ָה ַע ִמּים ִל ְהיוֹת ִלי‬ <‫ונא>מר‬ ‫לְאָדָם ַמ ַע ְרכֵי לֵב וּ ֵמיְקֹוָק ַמ ֲענֵה לָשׁוֹן‬ ‫ברוך >אתה יי< חונן הדעת‬ ‫יחזקאל פרק מו‬ 24) Thus has the Lord YHWH proclaimed: The east gate of the inner court will be closed, during the six working days but open on the Sabbath and the new moon. 2. Having entered through the vestibule of the gatehouse the prince will stand by the doorpost, while the priests offer up both his whole burnt offering and his well-being offering. He will then bow low on the threshold of the gatehouse and leave; the gatehouse, however, will not be closed until evening. 3. The general population will [also] bow low before YHWH at the entrance of that gatehouse on the sabbath and the new moons. – Ezekiel 46:1-3 (Milgrom/Block translation, unpublished) ‫ימית‬ ִ ִ‫אָמר ֲאדֹנָי יְ קֹוִ ק ַשׁ ַער ֶה ָח ֵצר ַה ְפּנ‬ ַ ‫)א( כֹּה‬ ‫וּביוֹם‬ ְ ‫ֲשׂה‬ ֶ ‫ַהפֹּנֶה ָק ִדים יִ ְהיֶה ָסגוּר ֵשׁ ֶשׁת ְי ֵמי ַה ַמּע‬ :‫וּביוֹם ַהח ֶֹדשׁ יִ ָפּ ֵת ַח‬ ְ ‫ַה ַשּׁ ָבּת יִ ָפּ ֵת ַח‬ ‫אוּלם ַה ַשּׁ ַער ִמחוּץ וְ ָע ַמד ַעל‬ ָ ‫ָשׂיא ֶדּ ֶר ְך‬ ִ ‫וּבא ַהנּ‬ ָ (‫)ב‬ ‫עוֹלתוֹ וְ ֶאת ְשׁ ָל ָמיו‬ ָ ‫ֹהנִ ים ֶאת‬ ֲ ‫ְמזוּזַת ַה ַשּׁ ַער וְ ָעשׂוּ ַהכּ‬ ‫ָצא וְ ַה ַשּׁ ַער לֹא יִ ָסּגֵר‬ ָ ‫וְ ִה ְשׁ ַתּ ֲחוָה ַעל ִמ ְפ ַתּן ַה ַשּׁ ַער וְ י‬ :‫ַעד ָה ָע ֶרב‬ ‫אָרץ ֶפּ ַתח ַה ַשּׁ ַער ַההוּא ַבּ ַשּׁ ָבּתוֹת‬ ֶ ‫)ג( וְ ִה ְשׁ ַתּ ֲחווּ ַעם ָה‬ ‫וּב ֳח ָד ִשׁים ִל ְפנֵי יְ קֹוָק‬ ֶ ‫יחזקאל פרק מד‬ 25) Then he led me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that faces east; but it was closed. 2. Then YHWH said to me, This gate will remain closed; it must not be opened! And no one may go through it because YHWH, Israel's God, has gone through it. Therefore, it must remain closed. 3. But the nāśî, and only the nāśî, may be seated there to dine before YHWH. ‫ָשׁב א ִֹתי ֶדּ ֶר ְך ַשׁ ַער ַה ִמּ ְק ָדּשׁ ַה ִחיצוֹן ַהפֹּנֶה‬ ֶ ‫)א( ַויּ‬ :‫ָק ִדים וְ הוּא ָסגוּר‬ ‫ֹאמר ֵא ַלי יְ קֹוָק ַה ַשּׁ ַער ַהזֶּה ָסגוּר יִ ְהיֶה לֹא‬ ֶ ‫)ב( ַויּ‬ ‫יִ ָפּ ֵת ַח וְ ִאישׁ לֹא ָיבֹא בוֹ ִכּי יְ קֹוָק ֱאל ֵֹהי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ָבּא‬ :‫בוֹ וְ ָהיָה ָסגוּר‬ ‫ֵשׁב בּוֹ לאכול ֶל ֱא ָכל ֶל ֶחם‬ ֶ ‫ָשׂיא הוּא י‬ ִ ‫ָשׂיא נ‬ ִ ‫)ג( ֶאת ַהנּ‬ :‫ֵצא‬ ֵ ‫וּמ ַדּ ְרכּוֹ י‬ ִ ‫ִל ְפנֵי יְ קֹוָק ִמ ֶדּ ֶר ְך ֻא ָלם ַה ַשּׁ ַער יָבוֹא‬ 5 Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer He will enter by way of the vestibule to the gate and exit the same way. – Ezekiel 44:13 (Milgrom/Block translation, unpublished) 26) The great gate had two wickets, one to the north and one to the south. No one had ever entered the south one, and concerning it it is explicitly stated in Ezekiel: “Then YHWH said to me, This gate will remain closed; it must not be opened! And no one may go through it because YHWH, Israel's God, has gone through it. Therefore, it must remain closed.” (Mishnah Tamid 3:7) ‫משנה מסכת תמיד פרק ג משנה ז‬ ‫ושני פשפשין היו לו לשער הגדול אחד בצפון ואחד‬ ‫בדרום שבדרום לא נכנס בו אדם מעולם ועליו הוא‬ ‫מפורש על ידי יחזקאל )מ"ד( ויאמר אלי ה' השער‬ ‫הזה סגור יהיה לא יפתח ואיש לא יבא בו כי ה' אלהי‬ ‫ישראל בא בו והיה סגור‬ 27) “Rabbi Yehuda says: On holidays and Shabbatot, Israel sits there and sees the doors open in front of them, and knows that the Shekhina (presence) of God is there, as it says: “For YHVH the God of Israel came into it” (Ez. 44:2). Immediately they fall and prostrate before God, both in the past and in the future, as it says: “And the nation (will) prostrate at the opening of that gate on Shabbatot and holidays.” (Ez 46:3)” – Pirke deRebbe Eliezer ch. 50 ‫ "חורב" פרק נ‬- (‫פרקי דרבי אליעזר )היגר‬ ‫ר' יהודה אומ' בחדשים ובשבתות ישראל יושבים שם‬ ‫ורואין את הדלתות נפתחין מאליהם ויודעין ששכינתו‬ ‫ שנ' כי ה' אלהי ישראל בא בו מיד‬,‫של הב"ה שם‬ ‫ וכן לשעבר וכן‬,‫כורעים ומשתחוים לפני האלהים‬ ‫ שנ' והשתחוו עם הארץ פתח השער ההוא‬,‫לעתיד‬ ‫בשבתות ובחדשים‬ 28) R. Abba bar Kahana said: Come and see the humility of the Holy One. It is written: “Then YHWH said to me, This gate will remain closed; it must not be opened!” and “but open on the Sabbath and the new moon” (Ez 46:1). A flesh and blood king – it is his honor to enter the large gate, and not the small one. But the Holy One enters, in his honor, through the small gate… (Tanhuma (Buber) Bereishit 4) ‫מדרש תנחומא )בובר( פרשת בראשית סימן ד‬ ,‫אמר ר' אבא בר כהנא בא וראה ענוותו של הקב"ה‬ ‫מה כתיב ויאמר )ה' אלי( ]אלי ה'[ השער הזה סגור‬ ‫ ]וביום השבת‬,(‫יהיה )ולא( ]לא[ יפתח )יחזקאל מד ב‬ ‫ [ מלך‬,(‫ מו‬/‫יחזקאל‬/ ‫יפתח וביום החדש יפתח )שם‬ ‫ אבל‬,‫בשר ודם כבודו ליכנס בשער גדול ולא בקטן‬ ,‫הקב"ה נכנס בכבודו בשער קטן‬ ‫בראשית פרק טו‬ 29) After those things, the word of YHVH came to Avram in a vision, saying: “Don’t fear, Avraham, I am a shield for you. Your reward will be very great.” But Avram said: “Lord, YHVH, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless and the ‫אַב ָרם‬ ְ ‫אַחר ַה ְדּ ָב ִרים ָה ֵא ֶלּה ָהיָה ְד ַבר יְ קֹוָק ֶאל‬ ַ (‫)א‬ ‫אַב ָרם אָנ ִֹכי ָמגֵן ָל ְך ְשׂ ָכ ְר ָך‬ ְ ‫ירא‬ ָ ‫ַבּ ַמּ ֲחזֶה ֵלאמֹר אַל ִתּ‬ :‫ַה ְר ֵבּה ְמאֹד‬ ְ ‫ֹאמר‬ ֶ ‫)ב( ַויּ‬ ‫אַב ָרם ֲאדֹנָי יֱקֹוִ ק ַמה ִתּ ֶתּן ִלי וְ אָנ ִֹכי‬ 6 Core Issues in Jewish Prayer – Lecture #1 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer :‫יעזֶר‬ ֶ ‫יתי הוּא ַדּ ֶמּ ֶשׂק ֱא ִל‬ ִ ‫וּבן ֶמ ֶשׁק ֵבּ‬ ֶ ‫ירי‬ ִ ‫ֲר‬ ִ ‫הוֹל ְך ע‬ ֵ ‫ָרע וְ ִהנֵּה ֶבן‬ ַ ‫ָת ָתּה ז‬ ַ ‫אַב ָרם ֵהן ִלי לֹא נ‬ ְ ‫ֹאמר‬ ֶ ‫)ג( ַויּ‬ :‫יוֹרשׁ א ִֹתי‬ ֵ ‫יתי‬ ִ ‫ֵבּ‬ ‫יר ְשׁ ָך זֶה ִכּי‬ ָ ִ‫)ד( וְ ִהנֵּה ְד ַבר יְ קֹוָק ֵא ָליו ֵלאמֹר לֹא י‬ :‫יר ֶשׁ ָך‬ ָ ִ‫יך הוּא י‬ ָ ‫ֵצא ִמ ֵמּ ֶע‬ ֵ ‫ִאם ֲא ֶשׁר י‬ ‫ֹאמר ַה ֶבּט נָא ַה ָשּׁ ַמיְ ָמה‬ ֶ ‫חוּצה ַויּ‬ ָ ‫ַיּוֹצא אֹתוֹ ַה‬ ֵ ‫) ה( ו‬ ‫ֹאמר לוֹ‬ ֶ ‫תּוּכל ִל ְספֹּר א ָֹתם ַויּ‬ ַ ‫כּוֹכ ִבים ִאם‬ ָ ‫וּספֹר ַה‬ ְ :‫ַר ֶע ָך‬ ְ ‫כֹּה יִ ְהיֶה ז‬ :‫ַח ְשׁ ֶב ָה לּוֹ ְצ ָד ָקה‬ ְ ‫)ו( וְ ֶה ֱא ִמן ַבּיקֹוָק ַויּ‬ ‫יך ֵמאוּר‬ ָ ‫את‬ ִ ‫הוֹצ‬ ֵ ‫ֹאמר ֵא ָליו ֲאנִ י יְ קֹוָק ֲא ֶשׁר‬ ֶ ‫)ז( ַויּ‬ :‫אָרץ ַהזֹּאת ְל ִר ְשׁ ָתּהּ‬ ֶ ‫ַכּ ְשׂ ִדּים ָל ֶתת ְל ָך ֶאת ָה‬ :‫יר ֶשׁנָּה‬ ָ ‫ֹאמר ֲאדֹנָי יֱקֹוִ ק ַבּ ָמּה ֵא ַדע ִכּי ִא‬ ַ ‫)ח( ַויּ‬ one in charge of my household is Damesek Eliezer?” Avram said: “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir.” The word of YHVH came to him, saying: “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir.”.… Then He said to him: “I am YHVH who brought you out from Ur Casdim to assign this land to you as a possession.” And he said: “Lord YHVH, how shall I know that I am to possess it?” (Genesis 15:1–8, based on New Jewish Publication Society translation). 30) “Words… have fullness and depth, they are multi-dimensional….“To begin to pray is to confront the word” (Man’s Quest for God, p. 26-27) 31) “The siddur must not be used as a scapegoat. A revision of the prayer book will not solve the crisis of prayer. What we need is a revision of the soul, a new heart rather than a new text.” (Man’s Quest for God, p. 83) 7