The following is a school letter -shared by a loyal Davenspot reader - that was sent to parents at
SAR Academy in Riverdale, NY. I have heard some buzz from some parents who were pleasantly surprised by the school's attempt to shake up the davening status-quo and others who were angry at the disruption to the traditional framework of
tefilla. This is quite a bold step, especially for an Orthodox day school, and think this educational approach should be further studied and discussed; I will let you be the judge.
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Dear Parents,
I would like to inform you of an important initiative we are
about to embark upon regarding tefillah. As you know, this year our school wide
theme is dveykut, God awareness. Through curricular programming in beit midrash
groups and co-curricular programming such as color war we have been exploring
ways of deepening our connection to God. Our daily tefillah presents an
important opportunity to work on and strengthen this relationship.
Daily tefillah can be a challenging experience in Modern
Orthodox schools. Meaningful tefillah takes great effort and concentration, and
students come to tefillah with various levels of readiness to engage. We
believe it is essential to immerse our students in a routine of tefillah. Each
day, we set aside time to daven as Jews have for centuries. On our best days,
our tefillah is inspired and meaningful; on other days, it is more rote. And at
times there is a need to break from the routine in order to enrich, reflect
upon and more fully appreciate the power of prayer. In that spirit and as part
of our year-long theme, davening at SAR High School will look different during
the week of January 7th.
During that week, we will be offering over twenty different
tefillah options to our students. The options range from discussions of why we
pray, to musical tefillah, to artistic expression to meditation. The goal of the experimental
tefillah week is to provide students with different avenues to connect to
tefillah and to encourage us to be inspirational in our relationship with God. After
the experimental tefillah week students will have the opportunity to reflect
upon their experience. We envision continuing some of the tefillah groups a few
days a week throughout the year, and bringing aspects of others to enrich our
regular minyanim.
Some practical information: Yesterday, students were
presented with the list of tefillah options and asked to choose a few in which
they are interested. Students will attend the same tefillah all week in order
to ensure the richness of the experience. Some tefillah groups will daven the
full tefillah and add elements, such as music or explanation. Some tefillah
groups will daven an abridged פסוקי דזמרה in
order to allow time for other experiences. On Monday and Thursday all students
will hear קריאת התורה. As
part of the women’s tefillah option, girls will have the opportunity to read
from the Torah.
I would like to thank our remarkable faculty for the time
and effort they have invested in creating these opportunities for our
community. We could not embark upon this initiative without their tremendous
dedication, actively engaging in opening up meaningful religious opportunities
for our students.
We are excited about the opportunities for spiritual growth
that this week will offer us on both a personal and communal level. We look
forward to sharing our reflections with you.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Tully Harcsztark
Principal, SAR High School
DESCRIPTIONS OF TEFILAH GROUPS FOR THE DVEYKUT B’TFILAH WEEK
1. Explanatory Tefilah
Is Tefilah a struggle for you? Do you find yourself
daydreaming during a long Pesukei D’Zimra? Do you feel alienated from most
prayers? We hope to explore, think about, and begin to understand what it is we
are really doing during tefilah and how each prayer leads into the next,
creating a beautiful tapestry. We will focus on a shorter, but more meaningful
tefilah experience, culminating in a unique Hitbodidut (solitary) engagement
with Tefilah and God.
2. מעט בכוונה
Today's fast-paced world makes it difficult to pray with
concentration and serenity. For many, the weekday Shacharit has unfortunately
become about getting through all the words as quickly as possible. Theמעט בכוונה tefilah will
provide the opportunity to say fewer tefillot at a slower pace. This
will allow for greater concentration on each tefilah that we say. We will
be not be discussing tefilah. Instead, this minyan will
spend almost all of its timedavening, with a particular focus on the
Amida.
3. Children's Literature Tefilah
We will aim to attain some emotional resonance in the feelings
of care, love, longing, and hope that are latent in powerful works of
children’s literature. We will read 2-3 children's books before, during, and
after the tefilah. Ultimately, we will direct those feelings to God (and hope
for those feelings from God) and to those around us through tefilah.
4. Help, Thanks, Wow - Children's Literature Tefilah
We will aim to attain some emotional resonance in the
feelings of care, love, longing, and hope that are latent in powerful works of
children’s literature. We will read 2-3 children's books before, during, and
after the tefilah. Ultimately, we will direct those feelings to God (and hope
for those feelings from God) and to those around us through tefilah. The
novelist Ann Lamott just published a book called Help, Thanks, Wow: The
Three Essential Prayers. The title pretty much gives it all away--she argues
that there are three most basic and most important prayers: we ask God for
help, we thank God for the help that God has already bestowed, and we marvel at
the wonders of God’s creation. The "Help, Thanks, Wow" tefilla will
begin the week by reading an excerpt from Lamott's book to explore why these
are the essential prayers. On subsequent days, everyone in the "Help,
Thanks, Wow" tefilla will be asked to formulate a Help, a Thanks, and a
Wow of his/her own, and those who feel comfortable doing so can share theirs
with the group. In doing so, we will burrow beneath the ritual of a shul
davening to get back to the essential nature of prayer.
5. Meditation Tefilah
This tefilah incorporates guided meditations through a
minimal, halakhic tefila. The meditations are based on both Jewish and
universal practices, including meditations from Sefer Yetzira and chasidic
texts, as well as the practice of zazen, the breathing and body practices
of Zen Buddhism. This tefilah also incorporates contemplative nigunim either
between tefillot or to the words of a select tefilah.
6. Musical Tefilah
Inspired by the davening of Karlin (where there is a lot of
screaming and crying out in the midst of prayer) and that of Rabbi Ebn Leader,
we will cultivate a davening which is rooted in song. Sometimes repetitive,
sometimes quiet and slow, sometimes loud and overpowering, music has the power
to both express and stir up an emotional davening. This davening is for the
sincere and not the cynical. Please bring your hearts, souls, voices, and
musical instruments!
7. Women’s Tefilah
Women’s tefilah provides an all-girls space in which girls
run and lead the davening. On Monday and Thursday girls will layn and get aliyot.
We will also have an opportunity to learn and discuss tefillot written by and
for women.
8. Reflection Tefilah
In this tefilah, we will explore themes that emerge from
various passages in the siddur. Each day, we will choose a particular tefilah
to study, reflect on its theme, and write personal responses. We will pay
specific attention to the themes of gratitude, wonder, forgiveness, peoplehood,
and aspiration as they present themselves throughout the Shacharit service. Please
bring a pen and paper/journal to this tefilah.
9. Solitary Tefilah
This tefilah option is about connecting to God and yourself
at your own pace in a quiet atmosphere. Everyone will have his/her own makom
kavua with no 2 chairs next to one another. You will daven quietly, pace
yourself, focus on the tefillot that are meaningful to you, and you can daven
in whatever language you choose. You will be in an environment of prayer, but
you will be davening alone, without interruption, and with only your own mind,
heart and siddur, to guide you. For the last 5 minutes of each day we will come
together as a group and reflect on the solitary tefilla experience.
10. Tefilat Eit Tzara
The Ramban claims that the Biblical obligation to daven is only in times of
crisis. In this minyan we will daven a quick psukei dezimra, followed by a 10
minute multimedia presentation and discussion preceding Barchu. Through the
presentation and discussion we will learn about a particular crisis with the
goal being to focus our tefillot on addressing a different issue each day.
Issues will cover national, international and personal itei tzara.
11. Yoga Tefilah
Being in the right mood for tefilah is about mental focus
and physical composure. In this tefilah group we will practice Yoga as a means
towards achieving better focus and kavannah during tefilah. Bring a yoga mat if
you have one, and make sure to dress appropriately for תפילה
12. Tisch Tefilah
Stories and song are a powerful way of connecting to God. At this tefilah we
will daven an abridged tefilah, followed by a vibrant tisch filled with
inspiring song and stories.
13. Without Intelligence, Whence Prayer?
This service will attempt to clear the space in which
meaningful tefilah can happen by focusing on intellectual reflection
as a means of overcoming alienation from authentic prayer. Each day, prior to a
slightly abbreviated tefilah, we will recite the birkhot
ha-torah together and then study and discuss a different text essential to
a satisfactory, and satisfying, practice of prayer. The explicit goal is to
evoke the nature of tefilah in a manner that will initiate and
enhance its heartfelt performance.
14. Exploring Nusach Tefilah
This tefilah will explore nuschaot of tefilla from around
the world by davening in a different nusach each day. We will highlight some of
the major differences between Ashkenaz, Sefard, Eidot mizrach, and Nusach
Ha-Ari.
15. Philosophy and Poetry of Prayer
Why should we pray? Does God really listen? Should I expect
God to say "yes"? Is it really all about that, anyway? We will
explore different philosophies of prayer, also using some of the tefillot
themselves as our guide. פסוקי דזמרה will
be shortened.
16. Shout it Out, Slow and Loud
This tefilah will employ the technique found in many
sefaradi shuls in the world that all the words of the hazan are said out loud
and together with all members of the kahal. We will say selected parts of the
pesukei dezimra and tachanun on Mondays and Thursdays, skipping parts of those
sections in the standard siddur, while saying the parts that we do say slowly,
out loud and with a tune or two.
17. Piano Tefilah
After an abridged davening we will join together around the
piano in the cafeteria for lively songs and stories to add joy to our day.
18. Artistic Expression Tefilah
Art is often likened to meditation- and by creating art we
become closer to ourselves, nature and God. Students participating in
Art/Tefilah option will daven an abbreviated tefilah and have time to create
art with particular mindfulness toward spirituality.
19 Finding God in our Prayers
Are our prayers directed to God, to ourselves, or to our
community? In this tefilah, a science teacher reflects on the meaning of
particular prayers, especially those connected to health and wellness. We will
daven an abridged davening, followed by stories and discussion.
20. Meditating on the Amidah
Using basic meditative breathing we will work through a
minimal amount of davening and then focus on the thirteen central berachot of
the Amida. We will learn to be present with our breath, our bodies and with the
words of the siddur. In addition, time will be spent inserting ourselves into
the prayers so that we are reciting our own words and not only the words of our
tradition.
21. Israel Awareness Tefilah
Every morning we mention the land of Israel numerous times
in our prayers, but how much attention do we really pay to it? This tefilah
will highlight the portions of davening that focus on Israel. We will use those
sections of tefilah as entryways into discussion of current political,
religious and social issues facing the State of Israel. Through increased
awareness of Israel’s current state of affairs we will be better equipped to
direct our tefillot for her welfare.
22. Prayer and Justice- L’taken Olam B’malchut Shakkai
We will explore how tefilah can make change in the world.
Join us for meditation, learning, and davening that connects Judaism's most
heavenly ideas to our world's most real problems.
