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  • Jewish Prayer: The Origins of Christian Liturgy
  • George E. Saint-Laurent
Carmine Di Sante . Jewish Prayer: The Origins of Christian Liturgy. Trans. Matthew J. O'Connell. New York and Mahway, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1991. Pp. x + 259. $14.95.

Those of us who for years have been professionally involved as teacher-scholars in the interpretation of primitive Christianity but who have only recently come to appreciate the full Jewishness of Jesus and the early Church will welcome and savor Carmine Di Sante's Jewish Prayer: The Origins of Christian Liturgy. Its author, who serves as a Catholic theologian with Service International de Documentation Judéo-Chrétienne, demonstrates a vast, deep, and empathetic mastery of his subject. This book is a substantive contribution to scholarly research within the area of first-century relations of Synagogue and Church. The author analyzes the bond between them and, with solid documentation from the primary sources of Jewish antiquity, argues persuasively that Christianity must always regard the life and worship of Judaism as the foundational origin of its own. More than a mere parallel, therefore, Judaism must be recognized as the indispensable root of which the church is one (and not the only) later flowering.

Jewish Prayer: The Origins of Christian Liturgy is a relatively short book, yet it constitutes a substantive breakthrough in our understanding of early Christianity within its radically Jewish context. The author introduces the reader to all the riches of that Hebrew worldview which surely captivated Jesus and the whole first generation of believers. The reader is introduced not only to the sources and structure of Jewish liturgy but also to the forms of Jewish prayer and festal celebrations private and communal, domestic and synagogal.

The text of virtually every blessing, every prayer, and every major feast is presented in English translation with beautiful commentary in a style reminiscent of the great Hasidic theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel. The reader discovers the transforming dimensions of sacred time in the weekly celebration of the Sabbath and the annual celebration of Passover, Weeks, New Year, Day of Atonement, Booths, Dedication, and Lots. The reader is introduced to the power of the Berakah to consecrate every aspect of human life as an awesome and miraculous gift to be shared with joy. The Christian liturgical calendar and the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist are made to disclose new depths of meaning when they and their spirit are viewed in the perspective of their properly Jewish origin. Ten pages of [End Page 443] valuable end-notes and a useful Glossary of Hebrew Terms are provided at the end of the book.

Professor Di Sante is a gifted writer who is able to communicate his inspiring insights into the spirit of Jewish prayer with an uncommon beauty of expression. The author was able to transform an otherwise dull and lifeless rehearsal of texts into a portrait, a revealing icon of the Jewish soul at prayer before the utterly transcendent God of Israel. The unexpected beauty of his reflections has not been lost by translation from Italian into English. Professor Di Sante caused this reviewer, at least, to resonate appreciatively to all the great themes of Jewish spirituality as Di Sante opened the traditional formulas of faith and benediction for the disclosure of their inherent meaning, devotional fire, and awesome power. Jewish Prayer is indeed a fresh and remarkably eloquent exposition of Jewish spirituality itself in a successful blending of significant scholarly analysis of liturgical texts and the meditative exploration of their mystical content.

This reviewer found himself frequently stopping to reflect, to re-read, to make copious notes, and, finally to incorporate this stirring material into his own spirituality and his lectures, both academic and ministerial. He is delighted to offer his enthusiastic recommendation of this splendidly successful and important book. All university and seminary librarians should be sure to include it in their collections. All individuals who are interested in Christian prayer, worship, and spirituality will find its careful reading to be as aesthetically gratifying as it is richly informative.

George E. Saint-Laurent
California State University, Fullerton, Placentia, California
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