Back to Question of the Week Back to Archives Q: Can non-Jews recite Jewish prayers? How should Jews relate to the prayers recited by non-Jews?
		A: I assume the question relates to public worship, since in private a non-Jew may say whatever he or she wants! However, at the dinner table on Friday night, should a non-Jew join in the blessings over wine and candles? Should they lead the blessings? What about in the synagogue services? There are three aspects to the answer to these questions. The first has to do with the general appropriateness of the participation of non-Jews in Jewish worship. The second has to do with the specific wording of the prayers and whether both the speaker and the listeners assent to their content. Finally, since prayer-leaders can fulfil the obligations of congregants to pray, who is capable of being a prayer leader? As to the general appropriateness of the participation of non-Jews in Jewish worship, our tradition has been generally very accepting of such participation. Consider the following texts: Part of King Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem (10th cent. B.C.E.): Or if a foreigner who is not of Your people Israel comes from a distant land for the sake of Your name--for they shall hear about Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm--when he enters this House in prayer, O hear in Your heavenly abode and grant all that the foreigner asks of You. Thus all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and revere You, as does Your people Israel; The will recognise that Your name is attached to this House that I have built. (I Kings 8:41-43) The Talmud also states explicitly that non-Jews were allowed to bring sacrifices to the ancient Temple (Talmud Menachot 73b). The following ruling from the Shulkhan Arukh, the 16th century codification of Jewish Law, bridges the general acceptance of non-Jews participating in Jewish worship with concerns about the details of what is being said: One who hears an Israelite saying any one of the blessings, even without hearing the whole thing from beginning to end, even without being obligated to say that particular blessing, must answer "amen." But if the one saying the blessing was ... [someone] who changes the language of the blessings, one shouldn't answer "amen." (Joseph Caro)</P> But one does answer "amen" to a gentile if one heard the entire blessing. (Moses Isserles) (Shulkhan Arukh, Orakh Khayim, 215:2) So there was a concern that Jews assent (by saying "amen") only to prayers that they are sure are legitimate prayers. This concern over the meaning of the prayers leads to problems for both Jews and non-Jews in saying prayers. Thus, if a non-Jew were to say the blessing that we say before the Torah reading, he or she would in effect be accepting Torah and Judaism, and would want to then finish the conversion process just begun by taking classes, going to Mikvah, and if male, being circumcised. They may not have realised what they were getting into by saying that blessing. So far, we've seen that non-Jews are certainly welcome to take part in Jewish worship in general, but that they should be careful not to say anything that they don't believe or that would offend Jewish believers. And if a non-Jew does say a proper Jewish prayer, we answer "amen." The third part of the issue has to do with prayer-leadership. Jewish authorities, both liberal and Orthodox, are in agreement that it is not proper to have the formal parts of the service (those parts after barkhu that the prayer-leader could say "for" the congregant) led by someone who is under no obligation to say such prayers. Jewish adults, male and female, are under this obligation, but non-Jews are not. written by Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz
		last update: August 1999 Got a question for Reb on the Web? Visit our Archived Questions SHOOT*! ("SHOOT" is the Hebrew acronym for SHe'elot OOTeshuvot (Questions and Answers), the centuries-old dialogue between Jews and their rabbis.)

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