Al HaNissim (for the miracles) is passage added to the Amidah and the Grace After Meals (Bentching) on ChanukahPurim and Israel Independence Day. In it we offer thanks and credit God with the miraculous event being celebrated on those holidays. On Chanukah the prayer refers to two different miracles. First it discusses the military victory Continue Reading »
THE SHEMA – PART 3 The third major theme that I see in the first two passages of the Shema and in virtually all of the third passage (Num 15:37-41) is that we should provide ourselves with virtually constant reminders of our connection to God and God’s laws. These reminders are set forth in three Continue Reading »
THE SHEMA PART 2 The Shema, as I noted earlier, is an integral part of our statement of faith and of our prayer services. It consists of three passages from the Torah, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Deut. 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-41. Part one dealt with the first verse (Deut 6:4), the definitive statement of monotheistic connection to Continue Reading »
THE SHEMA Part 1 The unit of biblical passages that we know as The Shema is essential to our out liturgy. It is part of our morning (Shacharit) and evening (Ma’ariv) services on weekdays, Shabbat and on holidays. It is also recited when retiring for the night. It has been referred to as “the watchword Continue Reading »
MAKING OUR SENSES PART OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE – PART 2 I have written before about connecting our senses and our spirituality. The earlier essay focused on the senses of hearing and sight. But what about our other, perhaps more earthly, senses, smell, touch and taste. How can these be part of our spiritual lives? Continue Reading »
SING A NEW SONG “Shiru l’Hashem shir chadash” sing unto the Lord a new song. This is the opening verse of several of the psalms. They include two of the psalms recited before “L’cha Dodi” on Friday evening during the Kabbalat Shabbat service and one psalm which is recited every morning as part of the Continue Reading »
