Tzvee Zahavy

This phenomenal book provides the general reader with a complete philosophy of Judaism through a series of short and easy to understand essays. This outstanding book offers sharp, witty and balanced analysis, insight and advice on a variety of perplexing personal, religious and social issues that are faced by observant Jews in particular and by all peoples of all faiths in general. This is theology based on Jewish sources and traditions in a new key - accessible to the world - unencumbered by philosophical jargon and pretentious theological pomposity. The more than 150 mostly urgent and sometimes seemingly trivial questions and answers that the author includes here appeared in his monthly column "Dear Rabbi Zahavy" in the Jewish Standard in Teaneck, New Jersey, usually on the first Friday of the month in 2013-2020. The author studied with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Professor Jacob Neusner. But unlike his pretentious teachers, he writes for everyone in a clear and transparent and entertaining voice. The content is profound and meaningful but the container is as clear as a crystal.

This book invites the reader into the heart of Jewish spirituality, to learn about its idiom and imagery, its emotions and its great sweeping dramas. It invites the reader to meet six ideal personalities of Jewish prayer and to get to know some of God's favorite prayers. What others are saying about God's Favorite Prayers: "God's favorite prayers have all been right in plain sight for centuries, though never before experienced like this. With his characteristic blend of chutzpah and humor, Professor Rav Zahavy makes finding spiritual experiences into a real page turner A fun, fascinating and totally refreshing way to finally learn how to pray." -Dr. Arlene Rossen Cardozo, author of Sequencing, Woman at Home and Jewish Family Celebrations "Tzvee Zahavy's artful melding of memoir, analysis, and typology enriches our understanding of liturgical experience and encourages us to emulate him by reflecting more thoughtfully on our own prayer lives." -Rabbi Eliezer Diamond Ph.D., Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, Jewish Theological Seminary "... An engaging, humanly sensitive introduction to the types of religious personalities whose views are expressed in the diverse parts of the Siddur and, more generally, in components of Jewish liturgical practices... A fine text for helping students and interested lay people gain an understanding and appreciation of the spiritual viewpoints expressed in Jewish liturgical texts." -Joel Gereboff, Professor of Religious Studies, Arizona State University "It is not often that one has the opportunity to share the authentic personal experiences of a distinguished scholar in the field of liturgy, who is also an award-winning teacher. These two elements stand out in Tzvee Zahavy's God's Favorite Prayers. Zahavy takes us on an amazing journey into the world of Jewish Prayer and into the personalities that make up the 'quorum' in the synagogue. His observations and insights will inspire people of all faiths, who truly seek out a way to make prayer, both personal and communal, a meaningful part of their lives." -Rabbi Shimon Altshul, Director, the Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies, Bar Ilan University Contents INVITATION BEGINNING THE PRAYER BOOK THE PERFORMER'S PRAYERS THE MYSTIC'S PRAYERS THE SCRIBE'S PRAYERS THE PRIEST'S PRAYERS THE MEDITATOR'S PRAYERS THE CELEBRITY'S PRAYERS THE KIDDUSH THE SHOFAR SOURCES ABOUT THE AUTHOR REVIEWS Publisher: Talmudic Books

In separate multi-volume works, the project has presented form-analytical English translations of the Mishnah, Tosefta, Yerushalmi, and Bavli, outlined the Yerushalmi and the Bavli and compared these outlines. In this volume, the main points of the Halakhah of the topological expositions or tractates of the Mishnah-Tosefta-Bavli Hullin are set forth and the theological message of the tractate is laid out. The project yields a systematic account of the Halakhah in its documentary unfolding.

In separate multi-volume works, the project has presented form-analytical English translations of the Mishnah, Tosefta, Yerushalmi, and Bavli, outlined the Yerushalmi and the Bavli and compared these outlines. In this volume, the main points of the Halakhah of the topological expositions or tractates of the Mishnah-Tosefta-Bavli Hullin are set forth and the theological message of the tractate is laid out. The project yields a systematic account of the Halakhah in its documentary unfolding.