Prayer lesson 151: It is a Tree of Life
When we put the Torah away, we sing “etz chayim [...]
Prayer Lesson 150 – Psalm 29, the prayer for returning the Torah to the ark
Psalm 29, the song we sing as we return the [...]
Prayer Lesson 149 – Blessing the New Month (2)
The prayer for the new month includes a long wish [...]
Prayer Lesson 148 – Blessing the New Month
As is well known, the Jewish calendar is a lunar [...]
Prayer Lesson 147 – The Ashrei (2): A Quick Ticket to Paradise
The rabbis teach that if you recite the Ashrei prayer three times [...]
Prayer Lesson 145 – A Prayer for Our Country
Politics and religion actually do mix, sort of. The prophet [...]
Prayer Lesson 144 – A Prayer for Normalcy
At the beginning of all our morning services, we recite [...]
Prayer Lesson 143: Why Do We Stand for the Amidah?
As noted, Amidah literally means “standing.” But why do we [...]
Prayer Lesson 142: The prayer for peace—the final blessing of the Amidah
It is not surprising, in light of Jewish history, that [...]
Prayer Lesson 141: A prayer of thankfulness, the 18th blessing of the Amidah
There is probably no character trait less appreciated than gratitude. [...]