Home Resources Praying with Playing Cards, Playing with “Praying Cards”
March 2026

Praying with Playing Cards, Playing with “Praying Cards”

Oren Kaunfer
Madrich Ruchani
JCDS, Boston's Jewish Community Day School
To play with "Praying Cards" is to build a personal, spiritual, and emotional connection to the most essential words in the siddur.
Oren Kaunfer is Madrich Ruchani (Spiritual Educator/Director of Jewish Life) at JCDS, Boston’s Jewish Community Day School. Drawing on a diverse background ranging from Camp Ramah, the Carlebach Shul, and years producing animation at MTV, Oren is a fresh voice of Jewish spirit. He has a particular interest in creating lively and engaging t’fillah and fostering meaningful connections to the Jewish experience. He develops and executes all-school chagigot (holiday celebrations), oversees t'fillah for all grades K-8, oversees the Pluralism Committee, and leads the Jewish Life Team. Oren tries to bring a little bit of camp to school. His music, energy, and spirit infuse the school with ruach, and elevate and energize the community.
Share

More PEDAGOGIES RESOURCES

The Language of Intention: A Practical Lexicon of Kabbalistic Prayer

Rav Jeremy Tibbetts

Co-Director and Rabbi
OU-JLIC

To learn the language of intention is to translate mystical Kabbalistic practices into practical, inner-life guidance for your own spiritual experience.

Access Resource

T’fillah: A Home for the Soul

Rabbi Becca Weintraub

Associate Rabbi
B'nai Jeshurun

To view the siddur as a home for the soul is to use "sticky notes of cleaving" to notice your inner experience and grow through gentle awareness.

Access Resource

Hitnakdut: A Reflective Practice for Spiritual Preparation Before Leading Prayer

Rory Katz

Children and Family Educator
Chochmat HaLev Synagogue

To use the practice of Hitnakdut is to engage in spiritual preparation that transforms prayer leadership into a shared practice of grounded presence.

Access Resource

How to Listen Deeply to the Words of Prayer: אִם־שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ

Jessica Kate Meyer

Rosh Tefillah and Artist-in-Residence
Hebrew College

To listen deeply to the words of prayer is to "enter the word" through embodied engagement, making the liturgy a formative spiritual discipline.

Access Resource

Girsa deYankuta: A Pedagogical Approach to Hazzanut

Isaac Montagu

Freelance educator and hazzan; editor of Sidduré Or

To embrace Girsa deYankuta is to prioritize multivocal listening and group chanting to restore depth and lived continuity to prayer traditions.

Access Resource

הֲלָכָה חָדְשִׁית:A Pedagogy of Invitation to Playful Praxis

Rabbi Scott Slarskey

Director of Jewish Life
Milton Gottesman Jewish Community School Of The Nation's Capital

To engage in Halakha Chadashit (Monthly Jewish Law) is to accept a playful invitation to physically, intellectually, and emotionally explore embodied prayer practices.

Access Resource