Jewish liturgy refers specifically to following the Torah in all of its rites and ceremonies, whether in the home or in the Synagogue. The main purposes of following the carefully laid out observances is to maintain uniformity, and to avoid improper and unacceptable practices at variance with those given by the God of the Torah.
The liturgy may include such assistances as responsive reading, songs, or music, as found in the Torah and Haftorah, the Amidah, piyyutim, and Psalms. Singing or reading the Psalms has a special role in the Jewish liturgy, in particular they are used in the daily services of Shacharit, Mincha, and Arvit.
The reading of the Torah is done every morning on Sabbath. In Babylonia, it was a one-year pattern, instead of a three-year pattern as done in Israel.
Christians, and all other Abrahamic faiths, borrowed from the Jewish liturgy, and have used many elements of it in their own religious meetings.
Famous quotes containing the words jewish and/or liturgy:
“I know that I will always be expected to have extra insight into black texts—especially texts by black women. A working-class Jewish woman from Brooklyn could become an expert on Shakespeare or Baudelaire, my students seemed to believe, if she mastered the language, the texts, and the critical literature. But they would not grant that a middle-class white man could ever be a trusted authority on Toni Morrison.”
—Claire Oberon Garcia, African American scholar and educator. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. B2 (July 27, 1994)
“My liturgy would employ
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—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)