WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF MOURNERS’ KADDISH? There are several different versions of the statement we know as Kaddish. There is the full Kaddish, an abbreviated one we call Hatzi Kaddish, a longer Kaddish d’Rabbanan we say after Torah study and a couple of others. The best-known version, to most of the Jewish community, Continue Reading »
PERSONAL RESPOSIBILITY There is an old joke. An old man is shaking a fist at God. He says “Dear Lord, I’ve been a pious man all my life. I observe the mitzvot. I am ethical and kind in my dealings with my fellow man. I pray regularly in shul. I have only asked one Continue Reading »
KABBALAT SHABBAT One of the most beautiful moments in the week is the time, late Friday afternoon, when the work week is finally ending and Shabbat is about to begin. It is, for those of us who take Shabbat at all seriously, a special, spiritual mystical time. It is a moment when we can Continue Reading »
BRING IT HOME Enhancing spirituality and knowledge in the synagogue are, to me, important parts of growth as a Jew and as a human being. Paying attention to my obligations to God in ritual behavior (prayer, using tallit and t’fillin, being part a minyan) are important, perhaps vital, to a full Jewish life. I say Continue Reading »
APPLYING SPIRITUAL GROWTH TO LIVING ONE’S LIFE LIFE Recently, a friend who had read most of my posts asked how my spirituality and my relationship to the prayers and the texts affects my day-to-day life. How does this change my life, my behavior, my relationship with the world? I have paraphrased his question a bit, Continue Reading »
SELECT A MASTER-TEACHER FOR YOURSELF The statement above is from Pirke Avot 1:6. (It is so important the it is repeated by a different sage in 1:16). This Mishna goes on to tell us to acquire a colleague for study and that when judging others to tip the scale in their favor (in other words, Continue Reading »
THOUGHTS ON CONGREGATONAL “PARTICIPATION” IN THE REPETITION OF THE AMIDAH The Amidah is the central section of the traditional prayer service. It consists of 19 separate prayers or B’rachot on ordinary weekdays, seven on Shabbat or a Holiday and what feels like 15 or 20 million on the High Holidays, especially Rosh Hashana Musaf. The Continue Reading »
THE SPIRITUAL AND COMMUNAL IMPORTANCE OF THE DAILY MINYAN The daily minyan, morning and evening, is one of the most important services (pun intended) a synagogue can provide its community. The synagogue is, by definition fact, a faith-based community organization. Certainly, one of the ways of expressing that faith is by daily prayer. Jewish Continue Reading »
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 »
