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Ki Seitzei 5773Volume 10 · Issue 2
Transcendent Aspiration
Of this concept, we say in the Lecha Dodi prayer on the eve of the Sabbath, “The final product is with forethought.” The very first thought, the true beginning that transcends the obvious beginning, is kesser, the crown.
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VaYikra 5774Volume 10 · Issue 26
Soul of the Shekel
Jewish People. A community is the unification of all its individual members as limbs of one complete structure. Ten men are also considered a community—for whatever they are involved in at that time that integrates them, whether communal prayer, communal Torah study, or a communal fast.
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Bechukosai 5774Volume 10 · Issue 32
Joyous Heart
from You… to slay the righteous together with the wicked.” And again, “Far be it from You—shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?” How should we classify this statement? Is it a prayer? Is it a request? It is a claim—and God concedes. He concedes to a true claim presented with sincerity.
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Behaaloscha 5774Volume 10 · Issue 34
Personal Redemption
The Maharal introduces an important principle. He mentions it only once, but he establishes it firmly (Netzach Yisrael chapter 46). As all know, as stated in our prayers, and as mentioned often in our prayer books, the Sabbath is a semblance of the World to Come (Berachos 57b). The Maharal adds that in like manner, the festivals are a semblance of the Messianic Days.
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Vayeitzei 5765Volume 10 · Issue 9
Choice of the Fathers
On Shemini Atzeres, which in Israel is also Simchas Torah, we recite the prayer of rain. According to Ashkenazic custom, among the prayers recited to remind and request of the Creator to provide rain for us is a poem that is arranged according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It begins, “Remember the Father
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Tetzaveh-Zachor 5775Volume 11 · Issue 18
The Tail End of Evil
Esther had said (ibid. 4:16), “Go, assemble the entire Jewish People… and fast for me, and do not eat and do not drink for three days, night and day. I too, and my maidens, will fast likewise.” The prayer and the fasting were the cause for the miracle, and the miracle brought the renewal of Torah acceptance, due to the love of the miracle.
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Pinchas 5775Volume 11 · Issue 30
Loss of Place
We find this appellation often—in prayer, in speech, and in consolation. Again, according to Ashkenazic custom, the words of consolation are, “May the Place console…,” and in prayer, “May the Place have mercy on them,” and the Passover Haggadah begins, “Blessed is the Place, blessed is He.”
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Shoftim 5775Volume 12 · Issue 1
Days of Fearsomeness
The Rambam states (Hilchos Tefillah 13:19), “All of Israel has the custom to read words of admonition as the Haphtarah on the three Sabbaths before the Ninth of Av. The first Sabbath, the Haphtarah begins, “The words of Yirmiyahu…,” the second, “The vision of Yeshayahu…,” and the third, “How has she become a harlot….” Likewise, the Sabbath after the Ninth of Av, the Haphtarah begins, “Console, console My nation….” And it is the plain custom
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Vayechi 5747Volume 12 · Issue 14
Heritage in Exile
…e Second Temple are the ones who instituted the wording of our blessings and prayers (Berachos 33a). They instituted the eighteen blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei Prayer in order (Megillah 17b). The Second Temple stands firm, and…
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Tetzaveh 5746Volume 12 · Issue 24
Brazenfaced Generation
It sounds like a misprint. Yet this is what is what is stated in the Mishnah, and the commentaries take pause over it. It sounds as if two pages were mixed up by chance, one from a prayer book and one from a Mishnah. But this is the sequence. The Mishnah begins, “The brazenfaced is destined for Hell and the shamefaced is destined for the Garden of Eden,” and it continues with a prayer, “Let it be Your
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VaYakhel-Shekalim 5776Volume 12 · Issue 26
Communal Currency
states, “The community does not die.” There is no such thing; the community always lives. Elsewhere, the Talmud states (Jerusalem Talmud, Gittin 2:7, 18b), “The community is never poor.” And yet elsewhere, the Talmud states (Berachos 8a), “Communal prayer is never despised.”
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Shemini-Parah 5776Volume 12 · Issue 29
Grantor of Life
Accordingly, the perception that there is nothing other than You is that there is no other reality. We reiterate this in our Morning Prayer as well, “There is no Lord other than You.” But when we say, “There is nil exclusive of You,” we are adding that no other reality is even possible. Not only is it nonexistent but it also cannot exist.
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Mattos 5776Volume 12 · Issue 41
Decree of Weeping
Yirmiyahu continues with a prayer (v.21), “Return us to You, God, and we shall return; renew our days as of old.” Nonetheless, he concludes the Scroll of Lamentations (v.22), “You have only repulsed us utterly, You have raged against us exceedingly.” This is its last
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Vayeitzei 5747Volume 13 · Issue 11
Clothed in Action
governs, the one who speaks, and he bears the power of the mouth altogether (cf. Tikunei Zohar 19a). He is the pleasant singer of Israel (Shmuel II 23:1) and their quintessential man of prayer (Tehillim 109:4).
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Miketz Chanukah 5748Volume 13 · Issue 14
Majestic Brilliance
Brazenness is associated with the face, with the forehead, or with the soul. The Mishnah discusses the brazenfaced. Often in the words of the sages, even in our prayer books, we find the term “brazen forehead” (Kiddushin 70b). And the verse states (Yeshayahu 56:11), “And the dogs are brazen of soul.” Brazenness, az, means not to be influenced, but to the contrary, to influence, like oaz, invincible might, which affects
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Vayigash 5751Volume 13 · Issue 15
Permanence Within Change
Even King David declares that every single day he would think where to go. He did not know. But his feet would lead him to the houses of prayer and the houses of study. Of this, he beseeches (Tehillim 119:59; Vayikra Rabbah 35:1), “I have thought my ways, but let my feet return me to Your testimonies.” His feet would lead him there by themselves, even without
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VaYikra-Zachor 5746Volume 13 · Issue 24
Wine of Solace
Perhaps it was once imprudent to discuss, but today it is well known. It is printed in every prayer book. Everyone is fluent with it and it is not so fearsome to address. I would not mention it but for its pervasiveness. Anyone can turn to the Musaf prayer of Rosh Chodesh and see it there.
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Tzav-Parah 5776Volume 13 · Issue 25
Passing of the Righteous
King David says of himself (Tehillim 109:4), “And I am prayer.” He is not saying that he prays but rather that he himself is prayer. Such a person is alive and enduring. And the concept is simple, because death has no sway over life itself. Death is manifest only upon revelations
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Ki Seitzei 5749Volume 14 · Issue 1
Fearful Alertness
This prayer is of one whose self-awareness is neglect from every aspect. Even his parents have abandoned him. He has no support throughout the entire system of This World.
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Vayigash 5750Volume 14 · Issue 14
Confined Space
Conversely, when Jerusalem was besieged and placed under constraint and restraint, darkness began to spread over the world. Ever since then, the darkness thickens. And our prayer is simply that He reveals the end that He established for the darkness, swiftly in our days.
