To Pray as a Jew A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service

A distinguished guide to Jewish prayer

Why do Jews pray? What is the role of prayer in their lives as moral and ethical beings? From the simplest details of how to comport oneself on entering a synagogue to the most profound and moving comments on the prayers themselves, Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin guides readers of To Pray as a Jew through the entire prescribed course of Jewish liturgy, passage by passage, ritual by ritual, in this handsome and indispensable guide to Jewish prayer.

Unexcelled for beginners as well as the religiously observant, To Pray as a Jew is intended to show the way, to enlighten, and hopefully to inspire.

Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin (1928-1982) established himself as an incomparable teacher and interpreter of Jewish laws and practice through his classic books To Be a Jew, To Pray as a Jew, and To Raise a Jewish Child, all published by Basic Books. For twenty years he was Rabbi of Congregation B'nai David in Southfield, Michigan, where he was also Adjunct Professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Detroit. Rabbi Donin held a Ph.D. in Education and was also the founder and president of the Akiva Hebrew Day School in Detroit.