Keeping God at the Center

David R. Blumenthal is the Jay and Leslie Cohen Professor of Judaic Studies at Emory University. His key works include: Understanding Jewish Mysticism (2 vols.), God at the Center, Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of Protest, The Banality of Good and Evil: Moral Lessons from the Shoah and Jewish Tradition, and Philosophic Mysticism: Essays in Rational Religion. He is the subject of David R. Blumenthal: Living with God and Humanity.

Keeping God at the Center is informative as well as instructional. It contains four kinds of teaching: first, insights derived from pondering the meaning of selected phrases and prayers from the traditional liturgy; second: four chapters on the personalist theology behind traditional Jewish prayer; third, meditations on the liturgy and clear instructions on how to pray certain prayers; and, fourth, instructions on how to pray certain prayers mystically. Both those well-acquainted with the prayerbook and those completely unfamiliar with it will be able to derive benefit from this book. It is a continuation of the main themes of Blumenthal’s earlier work in Jewish spirituality, theology, and mysticism.

• IntroductionRememberingWritingThank YouINSIGHTSStudying and Listening to the PrayerbookStudy and ConsciousnessMapping the SiddurChart of the Order of ServiceFrom the Daily LiturgyThe Introductory Prayers for the Morning Liturgy“Do Not Bring Us to Temptation or to Humiliation” “Remember the Akeda” “Fear of God, in Secret and in Public” “Acknowledge the Truth, and Speak Truth in One’s Heart”The Nusah ha-Tefilla, the Core Prayers, for the Morning Liturgy“Bless the Lord Who Is Blessed” (Bar’khu) “Lord of Our Strength, Rock of Our Fortress” “Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Lord of Hosts” “Cause Our Eyes to Sparkle With Your Torah” “Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One” (Sh’ma) “And You Shall Love the Lord, Your God, With All Your Heart” “If You Loyally Obey All My Commandments” “Straying After Your Hearts and Your Eyes” “He Protects, He Resurrects” (Amida) “He Is Holy”“Knowledge, Repentance, Confession, Healing, and Blessing” “Justice, Grace, and Fair Judgment” “Enemies, Saints, and the Israel Defense Forces” “We Acknowledge that You are . . . And We Thank You for . . . “ “The Good One . . . The Compassionate One . . . “ “Grant Peace, Goodness, and Blessing” After the Nusah ha-Tefilla for the Morning Liturgy“Oh, One Who Is Appeased Through Compassion and One Who Is Reconciled by Pleading!” “Indeed, We Do Not Know What to Do, for Our Eyes Are Upon You” “May God Heal the Sick” “So That We Not Strive for Nothing or Be Born to Futility” “Kaddish”—History “Kaddish”—for MournersFrom Elsewhere in the Daily Liturgy“Indeed, in Your Hand Are the Souls of the Living and the Dead” (Evening Liturgy) “The King Who Personally Will Always Reign Over Us” (Evening Liturgy) “Salvation and Consolation” (Grace After Meals) From the Shabbat Liturgy“Shalom Aleichem—Peace Unto You, Oh Angels” “Wondrous Power and Faithfulness” “Our Limbs Will Give Thanks, Bless, Praise . . .”“There Is None Like You”“The Reading of the Torah and Haftarah”“We Will Do and We Will Sacrifice” From the Holiday Liturgy“You Have Chosen Us from All the Peoples”“Give Thanks Unto the Lord, for His Loving-Kindness Endures Forever” (Hallel)“Please, Lord, Save, Please”“As You Saved Yourself, Save Us Now” “In the Beginning, God Created Heaven and Earth” From the High Holiday Liturgy“Selihot / Penitential Prayers”“Selihot Litanies and Aramaic Prose Prayers”“Lord, Lord, God of Compassion” “Our Father, Our King”“Put Fear of You into All Your Works” (Rosh Ha-Shana)“In the Book of Life” “Hannah’s Prayer” “Jeremiah’s Comfort” “Who Has Commanded Us to Sound the Shofar” “Kol Nidrei” (Yom Kippur)“I Have Sinned, Transgressed, and Rebelled” “Forgive Us. Forgo Our Debts. Grant Us Atonement.” Epilogue: “Praying Next to a Survivor” THOUGHTSTalking About GodIntroductionComplexityTalking About God in the Jewish TraditionPersonality IntroductionSix Personalist Attributes of GodHolinessWhat is Holiness?OverlapRelating to HolinessTexts of HolinessMoralityReligion and MoralityOverlapTexts of MoralityTalking About God, RevisitedTwo ImagesHow to Talk About GodHow to Be a TheologianMEDITATIONSPraying the Prayerbook IntroductionKavvana: The Art of Jewish PrayerAn Introductory MeditationMultiple Consciousness As a Way of PrayerReciting Psalm 118:25 With Kavvana: An ExampleKavvana: Three Traditional SourcesLeading PrayerA Flaming HeartLaw and SpiritualityKavvana: How to Pray in a Jewish WaySome Initial Practical AdviceMore Practical AdviceA Last Bit of Practical AdviceUsing the SiddurWays to Recite the Bar’khuWays to Recite the Sh’maWays to Recite the Sh’ma: The Traditional SourcesWays to Recite the Amida (Part One)Ways to Recite the Amida (Part Two)Ways to Recite the AshreiWays to Recite the KaddishHow toHow to Bless Your ChildrenHow to Light the Shabbat Candles and Make KiddushHow to Sing a Song to GodHow to Confess One’s Sins (Vidui)How to Be Angry With GodA Jewish “Mandala”MYSTICAL MEDITATIONSPraying the Prayerbook Mystically On the Difference Between Jewish Spirituality and Jewish MysticismA Bit of AdviceA Different TheologyIntroduction The Ten SefirotUnderstanding the Realm of the Ten SefirotThe Sefirotic TreeA Reading from the ZoharSacrifice, Prayer, and the Heavenly UnionInterpretationReciting Prayers with Zoharic KavvanaReciting Lekha Adonay Ha-GedulaReciting Barukh She-’AmarReciting Kadosh, Kadosh, KadoshReciting Sh’maReciting the AmidaReciting the Priestly BlessingA Closing Meditation: “Who Am I?”IndexBibliography