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 [...]
Prayer Lesson 161 – Matir asirim, “Who frees captives”
In the lead up to the shacharit Amidah, the final prayer after [...]
Prayer Lesson 160 – Tzur Yisrael (“Rock of Israel”)
The blessings of the Shema come to a crescendo just before the [...]
Prayer Lesson 159 “The Devil You Say!” (or not). The strange history of one of the siddur’s most controversial phrases
In the evening service, we add a prayer—Hashkeveynu—for a safe [...]
Prayer Lesson 158 – “G-d is a man of war, G-d is His name” (Ex. 15:8)
The Song of the Sea is probably the oldest poem [...]
Prayer Lesson 157- The Peculiar History of Simchat Torah
There is something quite odd about Simchat Torah. It makes [...]
Prayer Lesson 156 – The Hoshanah for Shabbat
During Sukkot, we circle the sanctuary in a processional, carrying [...]
Prayer Lesson 155 – The Vidui confessional: Chozek Yad, Exercising Power Against the Weak
The Yom Kippur liturgy is intentionally repetitive. In compelling us [...]