A question on praying (various faiths)?

Question

2 unrelated part questions on prayer;

I have noticed Jews and Muslims when in deep prayer they start to sway back and forth. I have a few questions on this.

1) What faiths have you seen this?
2) Have you ever found yourself doing this naturaly or not?
3) Why do people do this?

The cloth that goes over the head or around your shoulder for prayer. I have seen this in Israel. Few questions.

1) What faiths do this?
2) Where did it originate?
3) What orgin and purpose is it for?

When I was younger I decided to search myself and God out before picking up any books. I felt before there were guides and scribes people have had to do this in a related matter. Amongst deep prayer I found myself doing things that didn't seem of importance until I deen others doing it.

Answer 1

The swaying motion while in deep thought [or in this case, in prayer and/or meditation] correlates to the rocking motion that mothers make to lull their babes to sleep and instill quietness, according to certain psychological studies made. Other faiths perform this same natural, 'rocking' motion including the likes of the Buddhist monks, Shintoists, shamans, etc. performing their mantras or other supplications while in deep meditative moods.

For the second part, I believe there are some passages in the Old Testament [either Leviticus or Deuteronomy, I'm not sure which] that mentions the importance of covering one's head in reverence to being in the presence of God, more often than not within the walls of the sacred temple or in front of the altar. It is quite possible that such a cultural tradition [emanating from the Jewish religion] has been handed down over the ages and into the modern Christian era which also has its roots from Judaism.

Peace be with you!

Answer 2

Hi Labatt13. People have been doing these types of things while praying for many centuries. God warns us of this kind of praying in Matthew 23:14:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers."

The Pharisees would make long prayers to show others how loyal to God they were. They were seeking approval from other Pharisees, not seeking to please God. In Matthew 23:5-6 Jesus tells us:

"But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,"

Phylacteries were tubes that held scripture and were tied around the forehead with straps of leather. The Pharisees thought the bigger the Phylacteries was the more scripture it could hold and the more loyal to God that person was. They were doing this to impress other Pharisees.

God tells us how he wants us to pray in Matthew 6:5-8:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

Answer 3

The answer to part one:

Davening:
To Daven, to pray. This is the term adopted widely to refer to the act of praying, as in "to daven Shacharit," to pray the Morning Prayer. According to halakha (Jewish law), Jewish men are required to pray three times daily and four times daily on the Sabbath. Jewish women are required to pray at least daily, with no specific time requirement. There are two popular theories about its origin of the word "Daven": The first is that it is related to the Aramaic word meaning "of our fathers". This refers to the tradition that Abraham instituted the practice of morning prayer, Isaac afternoon prayer, and Jacob evening prayer, as recorded in many places (Talmud: Tractate Berachot, folio 26b). The second theory is that it comes from Old French, in which case it is related to the English word "devotion", and entered Jewish vocabulary by way of Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak, the medieval French Torah commentator).

Mostly done by Jews....

The answer to your second part:

What is a tallit?
The tallit (also pronounced tallis) is a prayer shawl, the most authentic Jewish garment. It is a rectangular-shaped piece of linen or wool (and sometimes, now, polyester or silk) with special fringes called Tzitzit on each of the four corners. The purpose of the garment is to hold the Tzitzit.

Most tallitot (alternative plural: talleisim) have a neckband, called an Atarah, which most often has the blessing one recites when donning the tallit, embroidered across it.

Why wear a tallit?
The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the Israelites and instruct them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout the ages; let them attach a cord of blue to the fringe at each corner. That shall be your fringe; look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord and observe them, so that you do not follow your heart and eyes in your lustful urge. Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God. I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the Lord your God. [Numbers 15:37-41]

The purpose of the tallit, then, is to hold the Tzitzit, and the purpose of the Tzitzit (according to the Torah) is to remind us of God's commandments.

The tallit is worn for morning prayer, during the week as well as on Shabbat and other holy days. It is not worn for afternoon and evening prayers because of the commandment that one should see the Tzitzit, which has been interpreted as meaning to be seen by the light of the day. The Shaliach Tzibur (who leads the prayer) usually wears a tallit, as well, even in the afternoon and evening.

Who wears a tallit?
Generally, a Jew who has reached the age of majority (in most communities, this is 13, though in some communities, girls reach the age of majority at 12) wear a tallit. There exists a custom, not widely practiced, of not wearing a tallit prior to marriage: This custom was explained by the Maharil (Rabbi Yaacov Mollen, 1356-1427) based on the juxtaposition of two verses in the Torah. The first, Deuteronomy 22:12 articulates the commandment concerning the wearing of tzitzit. It is followed by Deuteronomy 22:13, which says, "If a man takes a wife..." This custom is not widely practiced, however, in large measure because it prevents one from fulfilling a commandment between the age of 13 and the time one marries.

In congregations where a tallit is generally worn, you will find a rack of tallitot available for use by visitors near the entrance to the sanctuary.

How are the Tzitzit tied?
Tying Tzitzit is a Jewish art, a form of macrame. A hole is carefully made and reinforced in each corner of the tallit. Through each hole, four strands are inserted: three short strands and one long strand. The longer stranded is called the shammash and this is the one which is used for winding around the others. To tie the Tzitzit, line up the four stands so that the three of equal length are doubled evenly, and the four strand is lined up at one end with the other seven ends. With four strands in one hand, and the other four in the other, make a double knot at the edge of the fabric. Then take the shammash and wind it around the other seven strands seven times in a spiral motion. Make a second double knot, with four strands in one hand and four strands in the other. Then wind the shammash around the seven strands eight times and make another double knot. Wind the shammash around eleven times and make a double knot. Finally, wind the shammash thirteen times around the remaining seven strands and make one final double knot. When done correctly, the Tzitzit will have 7-8-11-13 winds between the double knots.

What does the 7-8-11-13 windings pattern mean?
There are a number of wonderful interpretations for this pattern of windings.

One interpretation is that each set of windings corresponds to one of the four letters in God's name.

Another interpretation employs Gematria, Jewish numerology, which assigns to each Hebrew letter a numeric value: aleph is 1, bet is 2, gimmel is 3, and so on. In this second interpretation of the windings of the Tzitzit, the numbers 7-8-11-13 have special meaning: 7+8=15, which in Hebrew is written yod-hay, the first two letters of God's name (the Tetragrammaton); 11=vav+hay, the third and fourth letters of God's name. Hence the first three windings "spell" God's holy name. Thirteen, the last set of windings, is equivalent in value to the word "echad" which means "one." Hence, all four windings can be interpreted to say, "God is one."

Yet another interpretation holds that when we consider the windings between the knots, 7, 8, 11, and 13, the first three numbers equal 26, which is numerically equivalent to the Tetragrammaton and the remaining number, 13, is equivalent to "echad" ("one). Hence the windings tell us that God is One. If we take the sum of the first three numbers (7+8+11) and equate that with God's Name, then the 13 which remain can also be interpreted to reflect the 13 attributes of God, as articulated by Moses Maimonides and set to verse in the Yigdal.

By still another interpretation, the Gematria value of the word "Tzitzit" (tzadi-yod-tzitzit-yod-taf) is 600. To this we add the eight strands plus the five knots, totaling 613 in all. According to tradition, God gave us 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah. Just looking at the tallit with its Tzitzit, therefore, reminds us of the commandments, as the Torah says, "You should see them and remember all God's commandments and do them."

How to put on a Tallit
Open tallit and hold in both hands so you can see atarah (the collar band on which the blessing is often embroidered.
Recite the berachah (Transliteration: BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM A-SHER KI-D'SHA-NU B'MITZ-VO-TAV V-TZI-VA-NU L'HI-TA-TAYF BA-TZI-TZIT.)

Kiss the end of atarah where the last word of the blessing is embroidered, and then and beginning where the first word is.
Wrap the tallit around your shoulders, holding it over your head for a moment of private meditation.

Adjust the tallit on your shoulders comfortably.

Customs of wearing a tallit

If you borrow the tallit for the service, say the berakhah (blessing) before putting it on.

If you use it just for an aliyah, no need to say the berakhah.
Don't take it into the bathroom. Many synagogues provide hooks outside the door.

If you take the tallit off for a short time (eg. to go to the bathroom) you don't need to repeat the berakhah when putting it on again.
Kissing the tzitzit

There are several times during the service when people kiss the tzitzit symbolically. First is during the recitation of the third paragraph of the Shema (Numbers 15:37-41) which mentions the tzitzit three times. As the worshiper reads the word "tzitzit," it is customary to kiss the tzitzit, which were gathered together in one hand prior to reciting the Shema.

When the Torah is removed from the Ark and carried around the synagogue in a Hakafah (procession), those within reach touch the Torah mantle with tzitzit (if they are wearing a tallit) or a siddur (prayerbook) if they are not. They then kiss the tzitzit or siddur which touched the Torah scroll. This is an expression of love and affection for the great gift which Torah is to our people.

Further reading and study about Jewish liturgy
Here are some books about Jewish liturgy which may be helpful to you:

The Enchantments of Judaism: Rites of Transformation From Birth Through, Death by Jacob Neusner
Jewish Liturgy, by Esmar Elbogan (trans. by Raymond P. Scheindlin)
Jewish Liturgy and Its Development, by A.Z. Idelsohn
Jewish Worship, by Abraham Millgram
Hasidic Prayer, by Louis Jacobs
To Pray As a Jew, by Hayim Halevy Donin

Mostly Jewish Tradition....