"Many of us from a Christian background would develop a much different view of the Pharisees if we learned about their teachings from the prayers they prayed rather than from the sermons preached about them in our churches."
Brad H. Young, Meet the Rabbis: Rabbinic Thought and the Teachings of Jesus (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), 7.
3 comments:
OK, so what were their prayers like?
I second that, where can we find a prayer book for a Pharisee?
Most of the prayers I've come in contact with have been read to me (or I've read various excerpts in books). Generally, Pharisees prayed Scripture. They were all about religious revival, bringing the people back to God. If you're interested in Jewish prayers, there are a few books you can check out.
1. The Authorized Daily Prayer Book (Hertz). I haven't read it yet (though I probably will this summer if I take the course on Jewish Prayer), but it's supposed to have historical commentary as well as the actual prayers. It contains ancient prayers as well as liturgical prayers of more modern composition.
2. To Pray as a Jew (Donin).
Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the rabbinic teachings and prayers were passed on orally (not written down). After the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jewish sects other than the Pharisees were pretty much eliminated. It was shortly after this time that they began writing their stuff down (even though much of their stuff is attributed to people who lived up to several hundred years earlier). All that to say: pretty much all Jewish stuff that has survived from that time to this day is Pharisaic because they were pretty much the only ones left to record stuff. So if it's ancient, Jewish, and written (and it's not the actual Torah/OT), you can pretty much bank on it being of Pharisaic origin.
Post a Comment