Let My People Know

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz: “Prayer is ‘I am telling You.'”

Prayer is basically a kind of very direct talk.

Prayer is “I am telling You.”

Some prayers or blessings are just a few words saying, “Thank you. I just want to say thank you,” nothing else.

In some prayers, I ask for something.

In others I just complain: “It’s not just, it’s not fair. You dealt with me wrongly.”

All of these are prayers, and they can range from a feeling of bliss to a feeling of extreme anger.

–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz