The Talmud states that one should first recount the praises of God and then pray.
The second section of the morning service is the P'sukei d'Zimrah the traditional beginning of the worship ritual and is made of praises and songs.
- Baruch She'amar
- 1 Chronicles 16:8-36
- Romemu
- Psalm 100
- (Shabbat will include additional Psalms)
- Y'hi Ch'vod
- Ashrei
- Psalms 146-150
- Psalms 89:53, 135:21, 72:18-19
- 1 Chronicles 29:10-13
- Nehemiah 9:6-14
- Exodus 14:30-15:18
- Psalm 22:29
- Obadiah 1:21
- Zechariah 14:9
- Nishmat Kol Chai
- Yishtabach Shimcha
- Chatzi Kaddish
I try to use some imagery in the form of a diagram or map of how the services are laid out from a spiritual perspective. This map shows that we first wake up and acknowledge the presence of God in our lives (originally performed at home). The worship service is like a journey up the mountain to God's presence. The praise section is like our climbing up the steps to His sanctuary. The Sh'ma section is our approaching His presence in His sanctuary. The Amidah section is our communion with God. The Torah section is our lingering in His sanctuary and exploring His words and recalling our history. The concluding section is our return to everyday life.
In class I also tried teaching the popular Israeli folk dance "Mayim, Mayim" from Isaiah 12:3 as an ancient and tangible way of expressing praise to God. I also played two video clips I found on You Tube showing two examples of the dance. (If you go to YouTube and search for "Mayim dance" you will find them. One clip is from some dancers presenting in Berlin a few years ago, the other is from a Jewish summer camp in California .)
For each class I have asked the students to write a personal prayer or blessing related to the section. This may help make these sections more relevant and demonstrate the concept of kavanah. Some that have been shown to me are profound and sublime and I find it a humbling experience.