Where does prayer fit in with our lives and society?
The Talmud, a Jewish wisdom book states that one should recite 100 blessings daily; blessings for food, but also blessings for such things as the ability to see, and the ability to walk. Blessings upon seeing shooting stars and rainbows, smelling flowers and spices, seeing friends, putting on new clothes. Prayer helps us recognize the ultimate transcendent significance of that which we think insignificant. Prayer is not just for God. The medieval Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, understood prayer to have a profound effect on the individual. Abraham Lincoln once said: ‘We don’t pray so that God will be on our side. We pray humbly that we are on God’s side.’ When one is in the habit of praying regularly, regardless of location, the nature of prayer changes completely. In this way, Jewish prayer becomes more than an escape, a separated piece of one’s life. It becomes the lens through which we understand our life and world.”
— Rabbi Michael Shields, Lake Norman Jewish Congregation
