Our Father Abraham’s Share

Concluding Liturgies in the Palestinian Prayer Books from the Cairo Genizah

Abstract

This article explores two unique concluding prayers from the Cairo Genizah found in rare copies of prayer book fragments following the prayer traditions of the land of Israel. Concluding prayers in general, and particularly within the Palestinian rite, serve as a structural framework for incorporating novel liturgical elements into the established daily prayer. They authentically reflect the worshippers’ spiritual, social, and cultural preoccupations, as opposed to the established and obligatory liturgical patterns of fixed prayer. Thus, these concluding prayers offer a revealing glimpse into the hopes, dreams, needs, and concerns of the Genizah communities, as expressed through the concepts and sentiments they chose to incorporate into their concluding prayers. The two prayers at the heart of this article demonstrate how the Palestinian concluding prayers illustrate the increased significance of certain ideas, granting them renewed prominence within these newly crafted prayers. Alongside these, they reflect the emergence of entirely new concepts that were absent from the ancient liturgy, particularly eschatological notions such as the plea for the World to Come and the hope of reuniting with the nation's patriarchs in heaven. At times, these prayers also convey a desire for a fresh articulation of pre-existing liturgical sentiments where the traditional text is no longer sufficient.