BISHOP KEN KEACH SENT US THIS IMPORTANT VIEW OF PRAYER--THAT IT NOT SOMETHING THAT INFLUENCES OR CHANGES GOD, BUT INFL;EUNCES AND CHANGES THE ONE WHO PRAYS. As Yeshua taught, there are both correct and incorrect attitudes in prayer. In Jewish philosophy and in Rabbinic literature, it is noted that the Hebrew verb for prayer—hitpallel התפלל—is in fact the reflexive form of palal פלל, to judge. Thus, to pray conveys the notion of judging oneself:[15] ultimately, the purpose of prayer—tefilah תפלה—is to transform ourselves.[16][17] This etymology is consistent with the Jewish conception of divine simplicity. It is not God that changes through our prayer—Man does not influence God as a defendant influences a human judge who has emotions and is subject to change—rather it is man himself who is changed.[18] It is further consistent with Maimonides view on Divine Providence. Here, Tefillah is the medium which God gave to man by means of which he can change himself, and thereby establish a new relationship with God—and thus a new destiny for himself in life;[18][19] see also under Psalms. The rationalist approach In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists. The educational approach In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. This has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, Yehuda Halevy, Joseph Albo, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. This view is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII); note that Scherman goes on to also affirm the Kabbalistic view (see below). Kabbalistic view Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) uses a series of kavanot, directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalists ascribes a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation. This approach has been taken by the Chassidei Ashkenaz (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the Zohar, the Arizals Kabbalist tradition, the Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon and Jacob Emden. amazon/Abbaun-Authentic-Aramaic-Meaning-Prayer-ebook/dp/B009RX63BG
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 04:56:32 +0000
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