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An Introduction to Jewish Thought: Lesson 1
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Why Jews Pray Three Times a Day
Parshat Vayeitzei
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Jewish people have three daily prayer services. The first is Shacharit (the morning prayer), then Minchah (the afternoon prayer), and finally Maariv (the evening prayer.) But from another perspective, one can argue that since the Jewish day begins at sundown, the first prayer is really the evening prayer. Does it make a difference if we view the order of the prayers as morning/afternoon/evening or as evening/morning/afternoon?By Moishe New
Rabbi Moishe New heads the Montreal Torah Center. He is a sought out lecturer on Kabbalah and its relevance in our lives today
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However, although my own Rabbi teaches that the Shma is NOT a prayer, his definition is different. He says that the Shma, rather than a declaration of faith, is a period of Torah study. As you know, we ARE commanded to study Torah, whereas we are not commanded to pray. THIS, he teaches us, is the reason the second line of the Shma is written smaller, and spoken in an undertone. To remind us that this second line is NOT quoting Torah, but is the word of Man.
Surely, the prayer we pray AFTER the Shma, "All this is true and held firmly by us..." is our declaration of faith?
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