A wise rabbi pointed out to me that observant Jews recite a prayer called the Shema twice daily: in the morning and evening. But the prayer is no mere recitation; it is meant to be a deeply felt emotional connection to the divine. In order to achieve that deeply felt state, there are warm-up prayers, as it were, that evoke inspirational imagery. The deep appreciation of beauty cannot be turned on and off like a light switch. It needs to be cultivated, evoked.