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Contemplative Judaism
miracles and wonders performed throughout time. One stands and is
permitted to sway and rock. At this point in the service, one becomes
ready to engage in a major peak of the service.
The third section of shacharit is Keriat Shema—blessings and reading
of the Shema. The word shema means “hear” or “listen” and it is the most
ancient and important prayer in Judaism. 45 The prayer’s literal meaning
is: “Listen, Israel, YHVH our God, YHVH is One.” The first word of the
prayer shows that this is a time for meditation. This is an opportunity to
internalize the waves of emotion and energy from the previous section of the
service, to be still and to listen with utmost kavanah. During the recitation
of the Shema, one sits down and closes one’s eyes. Kaplan encourages one
to dwell on each word of the Shema for fifteen to twenty seconds. 46 This
way, one may draw insight from each bit of the prayer. For example, one
might notice that the first word, sh-m-a, represents a contemplative path
to nothingness: the first letter, shin, is the sound of white noise, chaos;
the second letter, mem, is the opposite sound, one of perfect harmonics;
and the third letter, ayin, is silent and denotes nothingness. 47 This type of
meditation is related to hitbonenut (intellectual), and thus corresponds with
the beriah level of consciousness and stimulates the neshama.
The fourth stage of the morning service is the Shemoneh Esrei—
eighteen benedictions, also known as the Amidah, which literally means
“that which involves standing.” These are the last and profoundest of
prayers. 48 One stands with feet together and, during Kabbalists encourage
one to stand completely still. This posture symbolizes the elimination of
self-expression and the abandonment of one’s self as a separate, independent
existence. 49 One enters the world of atzilut, the world of oneness, with the
soul-level of chayah. The Shemoneh Esrei blessings should be recited with
eyes closed, and very slowly. The original saints took an hour to say the
500 words of the Amidah. 50 The fact that Jews are encouraged to engage
in such prayer services three to four times per day reflects the extent to
which Judaism is meant to be a contemplative way of life.
Judaism encourages people to engage in contemplation at every
moment. The Ve’Ahavta, the prayer recited immediately after the Shema,
commands Jews to “love Hashem, your God, with all your heart, with
all your soul and with all your resources…while you sit in your home,
while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise.” In
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