Each week, Rabbi Wolkoff shares a prayer lesson with us. You can find them all below.
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 [...]
Prayer Lesson 106 “Annenu”—When G-d turns His face away from us
One of Judaism’s earliest and most provocative concepts of the relationship of human beings with G-d has to do with [...]
Prayer Lesson 105 Adon Olam – Before the Big Bang
“Rabbi, what was there before the Big Bang? My father told me there was a Cosmic Egg, but what’s a [...]
Prayer Lesson 104 – Mourner’s Kaddish
With the exception of the Shma, there is probably no prayer as well known as the Kaddish, in particular the [...]
Prayer Lesson 103 – Aleynu
In “Silver Blaze,” a Sherlock Holmes story, the decisive clue is the fact that a dog didn’t bark when it [...]
Prayer Lesson 102 – Tachanun and The Long V’hu Rachum
On ordinary weekdays, a private meditation called Tachanun is added to the service. It is meant to guide us in offering our [...]
Prayer Lesson 101 – The Journey of the Torah
When we open the ark, we sing, “vayehi binsoah haaron…” “With the moving of the ark, Moses would say, ‘Arise, [...]
Prayer Lesson 98 – Peace: The final blessing of the Amidah
It is fitting that the last blessing of the Amidah (whether on weekdays, number 19, or on Shabbat , number [...]
Prayer Lesson 99 – Meditation after the Amidah
The Amidah is written entirely in the plural—“…our G-d and G-d of our ancestors…,” “Heal us G-d and we will be healed…,” “We gratefully acknowledge…”. The collective emphasis during the quintessential Jewish [...]
Prayer Lesson 100 – Love and Fear in Ma Tovu
We begin Shabbat morning on the inspiring note Ma Tovu: “How wonderful are your tents, Jacob, your abodes, Israel.” In [...]
Prayer Lesson 97—The Al hanisim prayer for Yom Haatzmaut
On Israel Independence Day, Yom Haatzmaut, Conservative Jews add a special prayer to the Amidah. It is an Al hanisim [...]
Prayer Lesson 96 —“Service”—the 17th blessing of the weekday Amidah (and the 5th blessing of the Shabbat Amidah)
There is a common fantasy that the secret to our survival as a people has been rigidity. But at least [...]
Prayer lesson 95—The prayer for prayers being heard: Blessing 16 of the weekday Amidah
There is probably no rabbinic phrase better known than Hillel’s comment, “If I am not for myself, who will be [...]
Prayer Lesson 94 – Al Hanisim for Purim Der mentsh trakht un g-t lakht
The holiday of Purim is all about surprises, all about reversals of fortune. As the Yiddish expression goes, “Der mentsh [...]
Prayer Lesson 93—O, Jerusalem. Blessing 14 of the weekday Amidah
When we do the blessing after meals (birkat hamazon) on Shabbat, we begin with a joyous singing of shir hamalot: [...]