Customer Reviews

Shabbat Morning: Shacharit and Musaf, Morning and Additional Services: My People's Prayer Book--Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries (My People's Prayer Book)

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Having studied the previous nine volumes in the Hoffman series on prayer, I find this much awaited volume to be a great help. As has been the case in the earlier volumes Hoffman provides a wide range of perspectives from which we may extract greater meaning from the prayer service. Shabbat morning is for many of a difficult service to relate to. With only once weekly frequency and the various distractions of Shabbat it can be difficult to relate to the meaning of the prayers. Hoffman provides a wonderful introduction, although parts are often borrowed from previous volumes, and then a talmudic approach to the individual verses of prayer. I always found something new and something that enhanced my understanding of the prayer and this by a person that has been davening for years and also studying t'fillah with the help of many teachers and texts.

I have got the whole series of these books and love them. So I thoght , having a kindle, it would be great to have them electronically , as well( and maybe get some room on my bookshelves, too).

Alas, the start of each section has got lost in the digitalizing process; there is just a scan, which is too small to be legible . So if you are thinking of buying the book , better consider the paper edition(alas). If anything might ever be done about it, I, for one, will be most happy to hear about it.

Thank you to Lawrence Hoffman and the contributors to the My People's Prayer Book Series. This work is a treasure trove of simple meanings, interpretations, explanations, questions, permutations and development of the prayers (from Hassidut to Orthodoxy, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Reform, Feminist, etc.). After reading the different insights and perspectives, you gain such a rich perspective on Jewish prayer and are better able to wrestle with it and explain its intentions and meanings to others.My People's Prayer Book helps you understand the structure and flow of the concepts and values of Jewish prayer for each service. It's a masterpiece.