Worship

PRAYING WITHOUT HE BOOK

Your bedroom is not the synagogue.

The highly choreographed form of prayer that takes place in a synagogue is a completely different experience from the intimate, rumpled moments of awakening in the morning.

But these moments are no less of an opportunity for holiness. We free to note our earliest moments of awareness in the way that is unique to us and unique to each day. 

Don’t worry if you don’t know the blessings that appear in the prayer book. Riff on your own and notice what you sense when you wake up. 

Later, when you want to learn more about the blessings in the prayer book, you can always go back and learn them, knowing that your order of saying them will vary day to day, as the Rambam tells us. 

Move through our lives with awareness.

The Talmud teaches us to aim for 100 blessings every day. 

The goal is really to move through our lives with awareness, being present to express gratitude. No matter if you are a morning person or not, there is no better time of day to begin this spiritual journey, by awakening each day, grateful for the gift of life. 

***Rabbi Susan Leider