Lauren Winner’s Mudhouse Sabbath discusses many conflicting views between Christianity and Judaism. Chapter five of Mudhouse Sabbath addresses tefillah, or prayer. This chapter is important because it shows that prayer between religions can actually be very similar, but still have some distinct differences.
Winner starts the chapter with a story from her early teens. She talks about Ruby Lichtensein, an older member of the synagogue, who gives Lauren a prayer book for her Bat Mitzvah. Because Jewish prayer is primarily liturgical, Ruby’s gift was one of Lauren’s most valued. Lauren then goes on to discuss a time when her and her friend Kay had an open conversation with God while sitting on the patio of a restaurant. While Lauren says that …show more content…
She talks about how she was able to meet Griff’s friends and relatives. The most influential person she met was Griff’s grandfather. Dr. Gatewood seems to have some form of dementia and cannot even remember his granddaughter when he sees her. However, Lauren notices that he still remembers all the prayers. I thought that this was a great story, but the more I think about it I am not sure whether or not it gives a positive connotation to religion. Yes Dr. Gatewood could still remember the prayers because his religion was that vital to him, but it also could mean that the prayers were just engrained into his head like a math equation without importance.
After reading this chapter, it can be seen that prayer is not all that different between religions. Muslims, Buddhists, Anglicans, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Jews have liturgical prayer. Although many protestant religions are known for their improvised prayer, the Jewish tradition includes some unrehearsed prayer as well. The major difference between Jewish and Christian prayer is the presence of the Holy Spirit and Jesus in Christian prayer. However, this makes sense since Jews only use the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, as their holy scripture, and do not believe in the Holy
Winner starts the chapter with a story from her early teens. She talks about Ruby Lichtensein, an older member of the synagogue, who gives Lauren a prayer book for her Bat Mitzvah. Because Jewish prayer is primarily liturgical, Ruby’s gift was one of Lauren’s most valued. Lauren then goes on to discuss a time when her and her friend Kay had an open conversation with God while sitting on the patio of a restaurant. While Lauren says that …show more content…
She talks about how she was able to meet Griff’s friends and relatives. The most influential person she met was Griff’s grandfather. Dr. Gatewood seems to have some form of dementia and cannot even remember his granddaughter when he sees her. However, Lauren notices that he still remembers all the prayers. I thought that this was a great story, but the more I think about it I am not sure whether or not it gives a positive connotation to religion. Yes Dr. Gatewood could still remember the prayers because his religion was that vital to him, but it also could mean that the prayers were just engrained into his head like a math equation without importance.
After reading this chapter, it can be seen that prayer is not all that different between religions. Muslims, Buddhists, Anglicans, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Jews have liturgical prayer. Although many protestant religions are known for their improvised prayer, the Jewish tradition includes some unrehearsed prayer as well. The major difference between Jewish and Christian prayer is the presence of the Holy Spirit and Jesus in Christian prayer. However, this makes sense since Jews only use the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, as their holy scripture, and do not believe in the Holy