Words of Faith: The music of our faith in prayer

Recently, I was helping organize the belongings of a great-grandmother who had died. I came across three cards where she had written the Lord’s Prayer, starting with “Our father who art in heaven.”

Each card was dated, years apart. Her handwriting became more cramped in each, and misspellings crept in across those years. This church-going lady had Alzheimer’s disease.

Were those cards her reminders of a core tenet of Christianity? “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”

As I sat there, reading her prayer and seeing it change during the years, my mind heard echoes across generations, filled with the sing-song voices of children who learned the Lord’s Prayer as one of their first prayers, right along with “Now I lay me down to sleep.”

Judaism has core prayers as well. Our children grow up singing their melodies. At age 13, at their bar or bat mitzvah, they might even lead their congregation in these prayers.

Hearing them, many parents recall their own coming of age, with a congregation smiling at them singing the prayers.

Even as we feel the tide of life flowing past, we have strong memories of when those prayers were sung. It’s a proclamation of faith that is carried forward from generation to generation.

The Shema comes directly from the Bible, starting with Deuteronomy 6:4-9; “Hear, Israel, the Lord is God, the Lord is One!” It continues with the congregation affirming; “Blessed is God’s majesty forever and ever.”

The prayer in Deuteronomy continues with the song of the V’Havta; instructions to love your God with all your heart and teach about God throughout the day.

There are just two prayers explicitly commanded in the Torah; the Shema, a proclamation of a single, unified God; and the Birkat HaMazon, a thanks to God after one’s meal.

The Shema is sung in every Jewish worship service, by congregants who stand for this central statement. Many Orthodox and Conservative Jews will cover their eyes during the prayer, to better focus on the meaning of the words.

And in the V’Havta prayer, there are instructions as to the frequency of repetition for the Shema, “Recite them… when you lie down and when you get up.” Therefore, the prayer is recited two times a day, at morning and evening service, aligning to the commandment.

The Shema, like the Lord’s Prayer, is a fixed prayer, a framework to provide structure. With the complications of daily life, it is a blessing to pause for a moment, to remember the basics and give thanks.

As a Polish-born American Rabbi, Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote “…the essence of prayer is a song, and man cannot live without a song.” The music of our faith has a framework in the prayers we learn as children.

It would be wise not to dismiss them as childish things. As we grow, change and mature, the accompanying music of our prayers gains depth and richness.

As you move through each day, remember to pause and listen to that music, perhaps adding your own notes, to create a greater harmony to your world.

This story was originally published July 4, 2015 at 8:38 PM with the headline "Words of Faith: The music of our faith in prayer."