Each week, Rabbi Wolkoff shares a prayer lesson with us. You can find them all below.
Prayer lesson 132, a call for justice: the 11th blessing of the weekday Amidah
Perceptions change over time. Things that are obvious to one generation may be obscured, or missed entirely, by a later [...]
Prayer Lesson 131 : “Gathering the Exiles”: The 10th blessing of the weekday Amidah
The advent of modernity had a massive effect on Judaism. In fact, it was so threatening to the traditional [...]
Prayer lesson 130: “Years”: The 9th blessing of the weekday Amidah
We have previously noted that the 7th and 8th blessings of the weekday Amidah are strategically placed. The 7th blessing, “Redemption,” is a reminder [...]
Prayer Lesson 129: Healing: the eighth blessing of the weekday Amidah
The prayer for healing is, at first glance, shrouded in mystery. The idea of praying for healing itself makes [...]
Prayer Lesson 127 – The Third of the Intermediate blessings of the Amidah (Blessing 6: Forgiveness)
One of the main problems understanding our liturgy is our modern tendency to read too quickly. Speed-reading the siddur sounds [...]
Prayer Lesson 126 – The Second of the Intermediate blessings of the Amidah (Blessing 5: Repentence/Teshuvah)
The previous blessing of the Amidah was a prayer for knowledge. With that knowledge comes an important awareness: we have drifted [...]
Prayer Lesson 125 The First of the Intermediate blessings of the Amidah
(Blessing 4: Knowledge) The ethnosphere—the world as shaped by the humans on it—is more of a fruit cocktail than a [...]
Prayer Lesson 124 – The Kedushah (The third blessing of the Amidah)
The third blessing of the Amidah comes in two forms. One is the private form, used when one is davening silently, as [...]
Prayer Lesson 123 – G-d’s Power: The second blessing of the Amidah
The second blessing of every Amidah refers to G-d’s power, in particular G-d’s power over life and death. As we [...]
Prayer Lesson 122 – Al Hanisim – the special prayer for Chanukah
“History,” wrote C.V. Wedgewood “is lived forward but is written in retrospect. We know the end before we consider [...]
Prayer Lesson 121 – The first blessing of the Amidah: Ancestors
The opening of every Amidah prayer is an evocation of our ancestors. More exactly, of the relationship between G-d and our ancestors. [...]
Prayer Lesson 120 – The mystery of December 5
In the middle of the 9th blessing of the weekday Amidah, we read the blessing of the year. In [...]
Prayer Lesson 119 – The Kaddish
A common logical structure in the Talmud is called the “tzericha” (“it is necessary”). It is used when there is a [...]
Prayer Lesson 118 Modim: “We thank and acknowledge You” (The 18th blessing of the weekday Amidah/6th blessing of the Shabbat Amidah)
(In honor of Thanksgiving) Modim, the prayer for gratitude, is recited 3 times every day as a part of [...]
Prayer Lesson 117 – Baruch Ad-nai L’olam (the third blessing after the Shma of Maariv)
The third blessing after the Shma of Maariv is an odd collection of verses from all over the Tanach (the Hebrew Bible). Odd, because no [...]
Prayer Lesson 116 – Hashkiveynu—the Second blessing after the Shma at Maariv
One of the things that sometimes makes the siddur hard to comprehend is the use of repetition. Our modern style emphasizes brevity. [...]
Prayer Lesson 115 – The first blessing after the Shema (it ain’t Kumbaya)
The blessings before the Shema emphasize creation and revelation. The blessing after, redemption. While the gist of the blessing speaks [...]
Prayer Lesson 114 – Shema 2nd paragraph
Once upon a time, a country fair was held. There was a contest to guess the correct weight of an [...]
Prayer Lesson 113 – V’ahavta—“You shall love…”
The first paragraph of the Shema, “You shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart…” is among the best [...]
Prayer lesson 112 – “Who places the stars in the dome of heaven”
Our Torah and our siddur try (one might say desperately) to instill in us a love and appreciation for [...]
Prayer Lesson 111 – Between Mincha and Maariv
The short paragraph read before the Barchu of Maariv is easy to underestimate. It reads, “Yet He, being merciful, grants atonement and does not [...]
Prayer Lesson 110 – The Choreography of the Barchu
When we are called to prayer with the Barchu, a small but meaningful ritual dance takes place. The ark is opened, the shaliach tzibbur (prayer [...]
Prayer Lesson 109 “And G-d is Merciful” – Between Minchah and Maariv
Just before we call to prayer in the evening service, with the Barchu prayer, we recite a short verse. This verse marks [...]
Prayer Lesson 108 – Ad-n Olam, an in-depth look
Ad-n Olam has got to be the most underrated prayer in the siddur. For many, it is merely the “tallit-taking-off-song” at [...]