27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, January 13, 2000
By A Customer
A previous reviewer asked "Do you really want an atheist prayer book?" As a matter of fact I do, and plenty of other Jews do, too. This book contains wonderful, poetic blessings to be used in the religious rituals and home observances of non-theistic Jews (Yes we do exist!). As much as this book distresses orthodox Jews, it is equally distressing to stridently atheistic ones, who take offense at Falk's use of phrases such as "the source of life." For the vast majority of us who occupy the middle ground, this book is indeed a blessing. Only one complaint, the book is a bit too large. I'd like a smaller model (and it could be done, there's a lot of white space) that I could take with me when I travel.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blessed be..., June 13, 2003
Marcia Falk has done a remarkable job, demonstrating a lot of chutzpah (self-confessedly so) by doing a single-handed job at producing a new prayerbook, a siddur, with a guide, order of service, liturgy and commentary for daily, weekly, and monthly rituals. However, Falk is quick to acknowledge her debt to poets, artists, scholars and friends, past and present, who informed her work. No one produces ritual, prayer and liturgy out of nothingness. Falk's subtle and profound understanding of the rhythms of life, in a particularly Jewish manner, shines forth on every page of this book. No one was more surprised than Falk at the direction of the development of the book into a siddur, as Falk had planned a more simple and less structured format.
`If human language is, in large measure, what gives us our humanity--allowing me to communicate with you, distinguishing us from other parts of creation--then Hebrew is sign and symbol of my particular human identity, giving me my home as a Jew.' Falk presents her blessings and prayers in dual language, both Hebrew and English, with transliterated Hebrew as a pronunciation guide for those who wish to experiment with hearing and saying the prayers in Hebrew but have not studied the language. And the heart of all these prayers is blessing.
`If you are looking for the heart and soul and bones of Hebrew prayer, you will find them all in the blessing.' Blessing (b'rakhah) is a special kind of prayer, a particular invocation of God's power, a way of creating new power and new life, a way of enriching our awareness of what we have, who we are, and who we may become, while reconnecting us with the past.
Falk admits to originally beginning to write her own blessings to get a more inclusive language and more diverse imagery in her personal prayers, as the traditional forms were heavily weighted in hierarchical and patriarchal terms. However, in her continuing spiritual and theological development, she came back around to re-embrace the old compositions which now held new validity -- thus, this collection is one of variety of style and form.
The daily cycle includes blessings upon awakening, blessings for meals, blessings at the end of the day, and daily psalms. The weekly cycle includes Sabbath Eve and Sabbath Day blessings, as well as a form for welcome the new week as the Sabbath departs. The monthly cycle takes place around the Rosh Hodesh festival, awaiting and then celebrating the arrival of the New Moon. Falk then provides an interesting commentary, with historical and contemporary voices incorporated, into the meanings of these cycles, and the use of prayer rituals in conjunction with them.
Falk found that, after making presentations and periodical publications of her blessings, they began to be incorporated informally and communally by different groups. `Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, havurah-style, feminist, progressive, and unaffiliated Jews. It wasn't long before people were extrapolating from them to write new blessings of their own.' Each of these prayers and blessings tends to be very short. This adds to the intensity of lyric and spiritual power. They are useful for study and for practice. Beautiful in language and meaning, these blessings will be a blessing to you, too.
`May the blessings of peace and kindness,
graciousness, goodness and compassion
flow among us
and all the communities of Israel,
all the peoples of the world.
As we bless the source of life
so we are blessed.'
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book is a Blessing!, July 20, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Book of Blessings: A New Prayer Book for the Weekdays, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival (Hardcover)
Finally, a prayerbook which acknowledges and includes the diverse range of conceptions of divinity which have been present in Jewish tradition since the beginning! The G*d addressed in Falk's prayers is male, is female, and is more than either male or female. Her innovations are not limited only to the English versions either, a welcome find for those who wish to try out fresh angles on the liturgy but do not want to abandon prayer in Hebrew. The only shortcoming is that Falk was in some cases a bit too quick to replace the original prayer with a new poem or prayer, rahter than revising it, such as the Mourner's Kaddish. However, all-in-all this is a great leap forward for modern liturgy!
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