1. Prayer has been an important part of Jewish tradition since the times of the Avot (Patriarchs). The Avot are said to have introduced prayers for morning, afternoon and evening. 2. Prayer is not just a custom but also a mitzvah (commandment). The Rambam outlines the mitzvah as including prayer for praise, requests and thanks to God daily. Additionally, Jews and non-Jews must pray in times of need to demonstrate belief in God. 3. The Holy Temple was called a "house of prayer for all nations" as prayer replaced sacrifices after the Temple's destruction. Prayer now serves to unite people with God, as sacrifices once did in

1. BS’D
A Journey through Jewish Prayer
Unit 1: The Virtue of Prayer
Based on the MorashaSyllabus.com Curriculum

2. Introduction
In this unit we shall explore the exalted status of prayer
in the Jewish worldview. The point here is simply to
establish clearly just how significant prayer is. As we
progress through the slides we will begin to understand
why.

3. Part A. The Craft of Our Fathers
Informal, individual prayer
was established by the Avot
(the Patriarchs) prior to the
Temple period.
The Avot are our
forefathers –
Avraham, Yitzchak and Maarat Hamachpela
In Chevron, Israel
Yaakov. Burial place of Avraham & Sarah,
Yitzchak & Rivkah, Yaakov & Leah

4. Source #1
Talmud Bavli Berachot 26b
The Avot introduced three prayers:
(This source continues on the next slide.)

5. Notes:
14. Bereishit,
Perek 19,
Passuk 27
15. Tehillim,
Perek 106,
Passuk 30
16. Bereishit
Perek 24,
Passuk 63
17. Tehillim,
Perek 102,
Passuk 1
18. Bereishit
Perek 28,
Passuk 11
19. Yirmiyahu
Perek 7,
Passuk 16

6. Later in Jewish history, the
practice of the Avot (forefathers)
stood the Jewish people in good
stead.
Being chased by the Mitzrim
(Egyptians) after the mass
exodus from Mitzrayim
(Egypt), trapped between the
advancing army on one side and
the vast sea on the other, the
Jewish people prayed to Hashem.

7. Source #2
Shemot, Perek 14, Passuk 10
Before the sea split, the Jewish people prayed:
Rashi comments on the word -

8. Source #3
“Rabbi Kadoozy”
Visit
http://www.chabad.or
g/240369.
Watch the video there,
in which Rabbi
Kadoozy answers a
question about prayer
and Jono asks G-d to
write his term paper.

9. Part B. The Mitzvah to Pray
Aside from being
the “craft of our
forefathers,” prayer
is also a mitzvah.
For the Jewish
people, it is a
mitzvah to pray
every day.

10. Source #1
Devarim, Perek 11, Passuk 13
We are commanded to serve Hashem with our heart:

11. Source #2
Rambam, Hilchot Tefillah (the Laws of Prayer) 1:1
The connection of prayer to Avodah is derived in the
Talmud as the service (Avodah) of the heart:

12. The essence of the mitzvah to pray, called “service of the
heart,” is daily and has three elements to it:
The actual source for this is on the following slide.

13. Source #3
Rambam, Hilchot Tefillah (the Laws of Prayer) 1:2
Prayer is comprised of praise, request, and thanks to G-
d:

14. There is an additional mitzvah: to pray at a time of
need. Every person (Jew and non-Jew alike) is
required to believe in Hashem. Praying at a time of
need demonstrates that we believe in Hashem.
The actual source for this is on the following slide.

15. Source #4: Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Igrot Moshe, Orach Chaim Vol. II, Ch. 24
Prayer demonstrates a basic belief in Hashem:
“The essence of belief in Hashem is that only He can
ultimately guarantee our livelihood or cure our diseases.
And when a person does not trust in Hashem and does
not pray to Him, it is as if he is denying belief in Hashem
for the sake of belief in something else.”

16. Since Jews and non-Jews alike are
required to pray to Hashem in a
time of need, the Bait Hamikdash
(the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem), was called by the
prophet Yeshayahu “a house of
prayer for all the nations” (see
source on the next slide).

17. Source #5
Yeshayahu Perek 56, Passuk 7
The Bait Hamikdash (the Holy Temple in Jerusalem)
was, and will be again, a house of prayer for everyone:

18. Part C. Pillar of the World

19. Source #1
Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 1:2
“Divine Service” is one of the three principal goals of
Creation:
“Shimon the Righteous was one of the last survivors of the
Great Assembly. He used to say, 'The world rests on three
things: On Torah, on Avodah (Divine service; serving Hashem)
and on acts of kindness.’”

20. The importance of prayer is derived from its direct
relationship to Avodah (Divine service in the Bait
Hamikdash, the Holy Temple in Jersualem). After the
destruction of the Bait Hamikdash, prayer replaced
Avodah as a primary means of building a relationship
with God on both a personal and national level.
This idea is hinted to in the next source.

21. Source #2
Hoshea, Perek 14, Passuk 3
No longer with a Bait Hamikdash (Holy Temple), our
prayers replace the sacrifices:
“So we will render for calves [i.e., sacrifices] the
offering of our lips [i.e., prayer].”
In other words: We will offer the words of our lips
instead of calves.

22. Source #3: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
The Handbook of Jewish Thought, Vol. II
“Just as a sacrifice unites the spiritual and material by
making a lowly animal the object of serving God, so
does prayer unite the spiritual and material by making
the request of our material needs a service of God. It is
for this reason that, when it is impossible to bring
sacrifices, prayer can be offered in their stead, as the
prophet exclaimed, “We will offer the words of our lips
instead of calves” (Hoshea 14:3)”

23. Key Themes of Unit 1