Sefer Tehillim and the Story of How and Why Tefillah Grows
Open any modern siddur and you will find numerous passages from Sefer Tehillim. Indeed, Tehillim seems almost naturally suited for use in daily tefillah. Yet the perspective offered by hindsight often obscures complexity and challenge. This shiur examines how and why Jewish liturgy changes, grows and develops by exploring the dynamic history of singing Psalms in Jewish daily liturgy from the biblical period through the era of the Geonim. It will tell the story of the Psalter’s rise, fall and resurrection as a central feature of Jewish worship. It will then explore the various internal mechanics as well as external factors that explain why Tehillim reemerged as part of Jewish daily prayer during the period of the Amoraic rabbis. Ultimately, the Psalter’s liturgical history sheds light on the story of Jewish prayer as a whole developed, how the order of prayer transformed from the shema and amidah into the service(s) we know today.
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This class was part of Night Seder for Winter Zman 2021-22.
