Becoming tefillah educators a curriculum for tefillah, emunah, and moral development

Abstract

For many graduates of yeshiva day schools, the most consistent and time consuming aspect of their religious life is prayer. However, in settings such as schools and camps where adolescents engage in most of their prayer, services tend to be limited to behavior management and practice in reading fluency. This curriculum attempts to show how Jewish prayer can be taught in a way which develops connection to God and morality. Through research in moral development, psychology, education, and Jewish prayer education, it is meant to help create meaningful prayer for Jewish adolescents in their respective institutions as well as to lay the foundations for meaningful prayer throughout their lives. This curriculum should guide educators in taking advantage of each prayer service to develop the students’ understanding of the Hebrew words contained in each prayer, their themes, and the importance of the topics they address. Since Jewish prayer books are meant to contain all that is important for a Jew to request from God, appreciating each prayer as often as possible should lead to a wholesome appreciation of Jewish values. The ultimate goal of this curriculum is to help adolescents learn how to use Jewish prayer to care more deeply about fundamental Jewish values whenever they pray for the rest of their lives, to raise a generation more committed to God and sensitive towards people.