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My favorite book of the Hebrew Scriptures is The Psalms. This collection of songs, blessings, and prayers are my source of spiritual energy and psychological relief at trouble times. Devoted Jews are very committed to prayers and devotions in their everyday life, so here some of my favorite prayers and blessings of Jewish tradition.
o Berachah it's a kind of prayer to be said at home, on ordinary days. Berachah is the Hebrew word for blessing. In a berachah God is thanked for everyday things, and it starts with the Hebrew words: "Baruch atah adonai elohenu melech ha-olam." This means "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe."

o Israel's Mission:
"I am a Jew because the faith of Israel demands of me no abdication of the mind.
I am a Jew because the faith of Israel requires of me all the devotion of my heart.
I am a Jew because in every place where suffering weeps, the Jew weeps.
I am a Jew because at every time when despair cries out, the Jew hopes.
I am a Jew because the word of Israel is the oldest and the newest.
I am a Jew because the promise of Israel is the universal promise.
I am a Jew because, for Israel, the word is not completed: we are completing it.
I am a Jew because Israel places humanity and its unity above the nations and above Israel itself.
I am a Jew because, above humanity, image of the divine Unity, Israel places the unity which is divine."

o Kaddish
"Let the glory of God be extolled, let His grate name be hallowed, in the world whose creation He willed. May His kingdom soon prevail, in our own day, our own lives, and the life of all Israel, and let us say: Amen.
Let His great name be blessed for ever and ever.
Let the name of the Holy One, blessed is He, be glorified, exalted, and honored, though He is beyond all the praises, songs, and adorations that we can utter, and let us say: Amen.
For us and for all Israel, may the blessing of peace and the promise of life come true, and let us say: Amen.
May He who causes peace to reign in the high heavens, let peace descend on us, on all Israel, and all the word, and let us say: Amen. May the Source of peace send peace to all who mourn, and comfort to all who are bereaved. Amen."
There is something really unique about Jewish prayers that I learned to appreciate: the love, respect, devotion and adoration for God, which beauty comes as poetry to my ears. Every time I go to a synagogue with my husband, I cannot hold back my tears. The songs, the words are addressed with such profound sentiment that relieves all my tension and worries.
My spiritual trajectory as Christian, gave me even more reasons to appreciate Judaism. I feel stronger in my spirituality since I could understand from where we came as people of faith. The teachings of an eternal and invisible God, brought to us by the Jews, are the most precious monument and wealth we can ever get from generations to generations. Amen.

All the prayers in this article are from the book Gates of Prayer, The New Union Prayerbook, NY 1975.

Learn more about this author, Grace Araujo Kolman..
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