Seth Korelitz describes how he engages students in an exploration of God.

When I speak with my students about tefillah, there is nearly universal agreement that tefillah is difficult. When I ask them why, one of their most common answers is that they don’t understand what they are saying. Without diminishing the very real truth of this insight, I have my own variation on it, namely that we spend little if any time in Jewish schools thinking and speaking about God.

While there are multiple authentic reasons to pray, one obvious motivation is that tefillah is, in some ways, a conversation with God. If students don’t have a more sophisticated understanding of God as 7th graders than they did as 1st graders – even as their questions and thoughts about God become more complex – can it be any wonder that tefillah can often feel shallow to them? Part of my goal in tefillah teaching has become turning it into an opportunity to do some theology with my students.

The specific example I would like to introduce here is a small unit on the theme of immanence and transcendence in the amidah, though other theological concepts could serve the same purpose. (The immediate inspiration for this unit was a chapter on the kedushah in Joel Lurie Grishaver’s (2012) Stories We Pray. Beyond the amidah itself, I make use of Biblical and Rabbinic texts, poetry, Calvin and Hobbes, optical illusions, etc. I have chosen to teach immanence and transcendence in the context of the amidah, but there are other points of entry that could serve the same purpose. A few of the more accessible include Psalm 27 and the Baal Shem Tov’s image of the king in the field during Elul, Adon Olam, and the Shema and its blessings.)

The first step in the process unit is to define terms. We start with a set induction, a classic Sesame Street routine, Grover teaching “near” and “far.” (The concepts we are dealing with here are complicated enough, and speaking about God as being “near and far” is easier for 7th graders than “immanent and transcendent.”) The initial challenge I present students is to begin applying this to tefillah, to consider what the implications of an imminent or a transcendent God might be for their prayer lives. Have they had times when they felt close to God? Why does nature often seem like a powerful place to experience God? Does referring to God in different ways, like father or king, influence how we relate to God? What might it mean to think of God as both near and far?

The next step after introducing the concept is to identify occurrences in the amidah. We begin before the beginning, discussing the intimation of immanence and transcendence in our stepping back and forth in preparation for the amidah. I also connect this action and the accompanying words (“Hashem sefatai tiftah…”) to a parable I once heard:

A man approached his rebbe and asked why sometimes he felt far from God. His rebbe said it was similar to how parents teach children to walk. First they hold the child’s hands and have them walk a few steps. When they are stronger, the parents stand a bit off and then catch the children as they stumble after a couple of steps. The stronger they get, the further away the parents stand. God’s distance, the rebbe taught, might just be a way of God encouraging us to progress on our path.

After that, I try to have students identify other instances in specific tefillot. One example is right before the close of the blessing of Avot, where the tefillah juxtaposes contrasting images of God: king/helper, savior/shield. Admittedly, even with prompts finding these occurrences is difficult for students, and I often will end up pointing them out to them.

As we identify and discuss examples of immanence and transcendence in different parts of the amidah, I ask students to reflect on them as well. Students have created artwork, written similes on praying to an immanent and a transcendent God, and journaled. The goal of the unit and therefore these assessments is not about understanding immanence and transcendence, per se. Rather, my hope is that students will find engaging in God talk helpful to their prayer experiences and possibly that it adds meaning to their tefillah.

There is an inherent tension in praying to God who is both immanent and transcendent. I have no illusions of resolving this tension with my students, but one way of helping our students to grow as mitpallelim is to help them address some serious questions they have about God.

References

Grishaver, J. L. (2012). Stories we pray: Insights into the innerwork of Jewish worship. Los Angeles: Torah Aura Productions.

Seth Korelitz is Director of Jewish Studies at Frankel Jewish Academy in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Dr. Korelitz participated in Aleinu Leshabe’ach in 2015, and helped plan and facilitate Aleinu Leshabea’ch II in 2016, as well as the current pilot project.