The Essential Guide to Jewish Prayer and Practices
In this very readable paperback, the author guides us through Judaism using prayer as a vehicle. The concepts of prayer are used as jumping off points for introducing the much broader concepts that are at the core of all Jewish practice. Throughout the book, Dr. Lieber gives us her own personal experiences and insights into prayer, and into how prayer became a central part of her life. She intersperses wisdom from ancient and modern sources to further enlighten the reader about each concept. As deep as the book goes, it also provides “Torah tips” that are practical ideas for bringing prayer and Jewish practice to life. This is a volume that I could easily integrate into classes on prayer or as an introduction to Judaism and to Jewish ideas. My one criticism: The introduction to Jewish values of tzedakah and social justice do not appear until rather late in the book. Bibliography, notes.