Source: Build a Prayer
The BBYO, Jewish youth movement, has recently launched Build a Prayer, an online space where Jews of all backgrounds can connect on a deeply personal level with prayer and Shabbat. Open to the entire Jewish community, Build a Prayer allows users to design a service with Hebrew, English and transliterated text; select prayers based on traditional, pluralistic and custom options, add one’s own pictures, poetry or commentary; and share or print the service for use with their community. The site also includes links to peruse educational content about Shabbat in the Resource Center and videos demonstrating the chanting of prayers. The content for the Resource Center was developed in partnership with MyJewishLearning, a trans-denominational website of information about Judaism.
In a recent blog post, David Bryfman lauded Build a Prayer:
"BBYO’s Build a Prayer is as simple as it is effective. It takes much of what we know about Jewish teens today and translates it into a web-based program that enables anyone to create their own Shabbat prayer service.
This site embodies:
- Choice
- Individualization based on community
- Modern interpretations of Jewish tradition
- A generation of teenagers who are simultaneously consumers and producers
- Richness in content (albeit with additions that need to be added)
- Sophisticated technology
- Interactive capability
- The ability to build relationships and networks
- Being motivated and driven by teenage voices
Sounds just right for this generation of Jews."
See a video clip on Build a Prayer here.