Nonverbal Language of Prayer
A New Approach to Jewish Liturgy

By Uri Ehrlich
Translated From the Hebrew by Dena Ordan
December 2004
Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 316148150X
315 pages, 6 ¼" x 9 ¼"
$177.50 Hardcover


The author addresses a relatively neglected but central component of the act of prayer: its nonverbal aspects, represented by such features as the worshiper's gestures, attire and shoes, and vocal expression. In the first part of this book, the author engages in a two-tiered examination of nine nonverbal elements integral to the rabbinic Amidah prayer: a detailed historical-geographical consideration of their development, followed by an analysis of each gesture's signification, the crux of this study.

The concluding chapters explore the broader rabbinic conception of prayer embodied in these nonverbal modes of expression. Unlike mainstream prayer studies, which concentrate on the textual and spoken facets of prayer, the holistic approach taken here views prayer as a complex of verbal, physical, spiritual and other attributes.



Judaism; Theology
Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism, No. 105

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