Description

Episode Notes

🎙️ Episode Summary

Deacon Anthony and Rabbi Chaim begin the new year by exploring how Catholics and Jews structure their days around prayer. Comparing the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours with the Jewish cycle of daily services, they discuss shared roots in the Psalms, Temple worship, and early Jewish-Christian practice. The conversation highlights how fixed times of prayer sanctify ordinary life, connect individuals to a wider community, and continue to adapt in the modern world.

This episode explores:

• The three traditional daily Jewish prayers and their links to the patriarchs and Temple sacrifices.
• The Catholic Liturgy of the Hours as a continuation of monastic psalm prayer shaped by St. Benedict and later Church reforms.
• How communal prayer (like a minyan) and clerical obligations shape participation differently in each tradition.
• The historical connection between the 150 Psalms, monastic practice, and the development of the rosary for lay Catholics.
• The ongoing evolution of prayer books, translations, and the balance between structure and accessibility today.

🔦 Key Quotes:

• “Prayer is the service of the heart.” — Rabbi Chaim
• “Even when you’re praying alone, you’re praying with the whole Church.” — Deacon Anthony

📚 Mentioned in This Episode:

Jewish daily prayer (Shacharit, Mincha, Ma’ariv), the Shema and Amidah, Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, St. Benedict’s rule, Vatican II reforms, the Psalms, and the rosary as a devotional parallel to monastic prayer.

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🎙️ Recorded at Temple Beth Ahm, Aberdeen, NJ