I am a non-Jew, but wish to pray in the tradition of Israel. How would I get a Jewish prayer book?
Although there are many fine prayer books with English translation, you should know that, in principle, there are portions of the Jewish service that are not applicable for non-Jews. Here are a few examples:
One of the main prayers that we say three times a day is called “the 18 blessings”. It begins referring to the G-d of our fathers: Abraham, Issac and Jacob. This doesn’t apply to non-Jews, who do not descend from those giants among men.
In the middle of the evening service, we thank G-d who “performed miracles for us and brought vengeance upon Pharaoh”. Again, this only applies to the people of Israel, and not non-Jews.
There is a siddur (prayer book) that was recently published for non-Jews that, to a certain extent, follows the outline of the Jewish prayer book. It is in English, and the parts of the Jewish prayer book that don’t apply to non-Jews have been altered. The name of it is “Service From The Heart“.
Best wishes,
Rabbi Yechiel Sitzman