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?