Prayer, in the apocryphal literature; in rabbinic thought; in medieval thought; the Hasidim; in modern thought

Originally published in the Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 13 (1972), pp. 981-4. In the Apocryphal Literature. There are a number of references to prayer in the apocryphal books, including the idea of the living offering up prayers on behalf of the dead (II Mac. 12: 44-45). The apocryphal work, The Prayer of Manasseh, is a penitential prayer. The…