Praying During Wartime

Since Oct. 7, 2023 my early morning routine has looked like this: reciting Modei Ani, the traditional prayer Jews say when they first wake up, and then hopping on my cell phone to scan what I had missed over the past six hours. All of us have become way too accustomed to being greeted daily with depressingly miserable content, but two days before Israel’s attack on Iran the newsfeed struck me as particularly dismal: negotiations involving Iran and Gaza endlessly stalled, a Gen Z Swedish climate activist claiming she was kidnapped by Israel, Los Angeles engulfed in days of violent protests over immigration policies that were displaying an increasing anti-Israel character, and an anti-Israel socialist gaining traction in New York City’s mayoral election.

Months ago, I made a promise to myself that as soon as I finished the initial draft of my forthcoming book “Polarized,” I would resume my practice of attending morning minyan at least once a week.  As this was my minyan day, I scrambled to pull myself together and head for my traditional-leaning Conservative synagogue. As is true of most days, we had a good crowd and the energy was palpable. And suddenly it struck me why faith and prayer are not only vital elements of Judaism, but also the best recipe for surviving hard times. 

Most Israeli Jews understand this intuitively as demonstrated by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs in their book “#IsraeliJudaism.” Last week we also learned that former hostage Shelly Shem Tov found his faith in the Gaza tunnels during his 500+  days in captivity. We know that other hostages including Eli Sharabi and Agam Berger also relied on their faith to survive their ordeals in the depths of Gaza purgatory. But overall, faith and prayer are not especially comfortable topics for American Jews who are not Orthodox. 

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, the number of American Jews who regularly pray has declined by 13% over the past decade. Plus, Jews are far less likely to pray than members of other religious communities. These findings parallel anecdotal findings from Jewish institutions. And yet, according to the newly released Jewish Landscape Report, one of the top five major concerns of American Jews is keeping Jewish tradition alive. 

Prayer is a central piece of Jewish tradition. I like to think of the Jewish liturgy as part of the traditional knowledge of the Jewish people. But I have often wondered for how long this knowledge will continue to be a part of religiously liberal Jewish communities.  

Consider the 13 blessings composing the weekday Amidah, which traditional Jews recite three times a day. These blessings are majestic because they cover virtually the entire spectrum of human needs ranging from wisdom, healing, sustenance, freedom and justice. There is even a blessing that asks God to “frustrate the hopes” of our enemies, one that has become especially relevant since the Hamas massacre.

I have long wondered how many religiously liberal Jews, especially those under the age of 50, are still able to recite the weekday Amidah in Hebrew.  Without preservation of this, and other, central pieces of the Jewish liturgy, what will the religiously liberal culture of American Judaism look like in 20 years? Will the religious norms of these communities be sufficiently thick to support daily minyanim in synagogues other than those that are Orthodox?

These questions are vital food for thought for the leaders of these institutions. Even now, attending a weekday minyan is often a choice made by non-Orthodox Jews who are mourning for a deceased relative, usually a parent.  It is not unusual for mourners to keep attending a daily minyan, at least sometimes, to help others in their time of need. But as the culture of religiously liberal Jews becomes increasingly secularized, we must wonder for how long this pattern will continue. 

A Holocaust survivor once told me that as difficult as his experience was in the death camps, it would have been absolutely impossible to endure without faith in God.  This is a sentiment that more American Jewish communities need to discuss, embrace, and encourage. Our religious leaders and our laity must begin to grapple seriously with the lack of faith and prayer among American Jews and invest time and effort in trying to reverse this trend. Taking God out of Judaism is not the recipe for a lasting religious tradition.

Roberta Rosenthal Kwall is a law professor, author and Jewish educator with a focus on American Judaism. Her latest book is “Polarized: Why American Jews are Divided and What to do About It” (forthcoming, Bloomsbury Press).