Prayer Lessons

Ma nishtanah is one of the best known phrases in Judaism. Nearly every single one of us prepared to recite it [...]

The Passover seder is all about the telling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Haggadah really means [...]

No Passover seder is complete without the singing of Chad Gadya. Technically it is called a cumulative song, with each [...]

The Book of Esther, otherwise known as the megillah (“the scroll”) tells a great story of intrigue, courage, violence, and triumph. It [...]

On Saturday night, we mark the end of Shabbat with the lovely and bittersweet havdalah (separation/distinction) ceremony. We introduce the [...]

This verse comes from the berachah immediately following the Shema. And at first glance, it seems to simply repeat a well recognized assertion: [...]

Most of our prayers are found in a fixed liturgy, a collection of psalms, quotes, poems, and meditations forged in [...]

I recently read of the passing of Rabbi Jules Harlow, z”l, my teacher and the editor of our Sim Shalom [...]

The first blessing before the Shema, both morning and evening, deals with nature and creation. At maariv, the emphasis is [...]

As previously noted, the thrust of the first blessing before the Shema—the blessing that deals with creation—is that everything [...]

During the war in Gaza following the October 7 massacre (a day, citing FDR, that will live in infamy) I [...]

There are a lot of different ways to daven. Some people are perfectly happy starting on page one and finishing [...]

On Chanukah and Purim, a special prayer (al hanissim) is added to the Amidah, thanking G-d for the miracles performed [...]

It’s hard to imagine Chanukah (no matter how you spell it) without thinking of Ma’oz tzur (no matter how you spell that [...]

Out of the depths of our despair we called on you, o G-d, and out of the depths of Your [...]

Much of Pesukei d’Zimra is composed of psalms, the “official” prayers of ancient Israel. But there are exceptions, and the first passage [...]

Of all the prayers in the siddur, there is probably no prayer that packs as strong a punch in as short [...]

Right after baruch sheamar, when we are called upon to offer praise to G-d, we recite a long passage from the [...]

In the lead up to the shacharit Amidah, the final prayer after the Shema describes Hashem’s redemptive powers. Among others, we find the expression Matir [...]

The blessings of the Shema come to a crescendo just before the silent Amidah begins. (For the music lovers among us, think of the [...]

In the evening service, we add a prayer—Hashkeveynu—for a safe night. It includes the following verse (translated literally): “Remove from [...]

The Song of the Sea is probably the oldest poem in continual liturgical use on the planet. Newly liberated from [...]

There is something quite odd about Simchat Torah. It makes sense to celebrate reaching the end of the Torah, and [...]