I wish to introduce the blog to the idea that Jewish worship ideally should be done in Hebrew. Not just hearing the hebrew spoken, but actually viewing the Hebrew words and characters as you browse over the prayer in your siddur. I have met some who did not learn hebrew and use a transliterated siddur. while this may seem "kosher" to the untrained and unaspiring person, this is in fact a poverty of Jewish Mysticism to which one's soul deprives itself of the essence of what it is to be a Jew in the being. I must report that reading transliterations without actually seeing the Hebrew word is like going to a ballet and looking at the floor the entire time. True you are going to hear every note that is played by the orchestra, but you miss the entire display and show. I would encourage any person who is in the habit of reading transliterations to pick up a regular siddur and try to follow along as they may be possible. Most of the time you really do not need to see the word and hear it spoken at the same time. I often find myself skimming the Hebrew at a fast pace and though I may register a pronounciatino at a marginal level in my minds ear, its my minds eye that the Hebrew letters mesmerizes and enlightens. I feel it is more important to see every word than it is to pronounce them. This is especially true of the Shemoni Esrei where by I might view the Hebrew but at the same time, I am thinking of the English meaning of the words. This is prayer. I find that if I was to read the English form of the transliterations, I would not be thinking of the English meaning at the same time. The two presentations conflict.
This is just a thought. I find that in any circumstance when I daven, reading from the Hebrew is always a higher mystical and spiritual experience. I still do read passages in Enlish, off and on. This gives me the necessary understanding and firmness of thought that one must find in their yearnings as well.
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