Legacy613 is compiling a comprehensive teacher’s guide for future publication. In the meantime, we hope these starter questions help serve as #insPRAYation!
What are Students Asking Themselves about Personal Prayer?
What do the words of the siddur mean to me, and what can I draw from the text that relates to my life today? Which prayers or Tehillim resonate the most?
- If I could daven in any place I choose, where would it be?
If I could use my natural talents as part of my davening, what would they be?
- Can my natural talents be explored to express my davening or personal prayer? How?
Do I get distracted by other people davening with me?
- Do I need more personal space when I daven in a group or minyan?
How am I influenced by other people’s distractions? Am I also distracted? Can I tune it out or do I get drawn in?
- When I socialize during davening instead of focusing on prayer, what are my reasons?
What are the connections I am looking for?
- How do I view shul/beit knesset — Social? Serene? Sacred? All of the above?
How do I desire to participate in my shul/beit knesset and my community?
- What are some of the things in my life that make me feel closest to Hashem?
What are some things in my life that make me feel far away?
- How is my individuality expressed, appreciated, and embraced?
Does anything about davening present a particular challenge for me?
- How do I see myself in relationship to the people in the Torah?
Can I find similarities to myself and connect to them?
- What inspires me about the Torah?
Where can I find those parallels in the words of the siddur and Tehillim?