Prayer lesson 174: “Who makes peace and creates everything,” revisited – the first blessing before the Shema.
As previously noted, the thrust of the first blessing [...]
Prayer Lesson 169: “Ad-nai is a man of war.”
During the war in Gaza following the October 7 massacre [...]
Prayer Lesson 168 – “Many are the thoughts in a person’s heart…”
There are a lot of different ways to daven. Some [...]
Prayer Lesson 167 – Al Hanissim—For the miracles…
On Chanukah and Purim, a special prayer (al hanissim) is [...]
Prayer Lesson 166: Ma’oz tzur “Rock of Ages”
It’s hard to imagine Chanukah (no matter how you spell [...]
Prayer Lesson 165: A Prayer of Gratitude for the Rescue of Hostages
Out of the depths of our despair we called on [...]
Prayer Lesson 164: A passage from the Book of Chronicles
Much of Pesukei d’Zimra is composed of psalms, the “official” prayers of [...]
Prayer Lesson 163: Mizmor l’todah—A Psalm of Gratitude
Of all the prayers in the siddur, there is probably no [...]
Prayer Lesson 162: “Give thanks to G-d, call upon his name, make known His name among the nations”
Right after baruch sheamar, when we are called upon to offer [...]
Rabbi Wolkoff’s Shabbat Sermon – 11/4/23
The October 7 massacre is a pivotal moment in Jewish [...]