September 14, 2009
Prayer as a “Transformative” Experience: From Daily Kriyat Shema to Yom Kippur Neilah
Our High Holiday prayers assume that each individual is judged by God on Rosh Hashana, and that judgment is then sealed on Yom Kippur. Hence, the goal of our prayers is to “transform” the Judge’s opinion in our favor. By distinguishing between “comprehension” and “intention” we will undertake a closer examination of prayer in both the siddur and machzor to show how its primary goal may focus much more on the “transformation” of the petitioner.
