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Behaaloscha 5766Volume 2 · Issue 29
Wilderness of Nations
The Book of Writings, aside from the unique Books it includes, such as Mishlei, which is the Book of Wisdom, and Tehillim, which is the Book of Prayer, mainly consists of the Book of Ezra and the Book of Daniel—and the Megillahs, which, excepting Shir HaShirim and Koheles, also contain the guidance of the Jewish People. Divrei HaYamim ends with the announcement of Cyrus, king of Persia
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Chukas 5766Volume 2 · Issue 32
Distinguished Nation
Understandably, the permutation of the Name of Existence that radiates during this month is the Name of Existence in its proper order. The Arizal states, as printed in most prayer books before the Musaf prayer of Rosh Chodesh, that the permutation of the month of Nisan derives from the first letters of the verse (Tehillim 96:11), “The heavens will rejoice and the earth will be glad (י'שמחו ה'שמים
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Lech Lecha 5766Volume 2 · Issue 7
Journey to Destiny
this reason, we beseech Him on the Sabbath, “Want our rest,” meaning, may our rest be a rest in accordance with His Will, since our rest, our reaching destiny, is the essence of His Will. Thus, we conclude the prayer, “Bequeath to us Your holy Sabbath with love and with Will,” for the destiny that shines forth on the Sabbath is the foundation of His Will.
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Vayeira 5766Volume 2 · Issue 8
Infusion of Life
saying is that every year we read the portion of Vayera, which discusses the incident. Moreover, the explanation is inexact, for in places it was customary to complete the Torah only once every three years (Megillah 29b, Rambam Tefillah 13:1). Accordingly, two out of every three years they would not read the portion of Lot.
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Vayeitzei 5767Volume 3 · Issue 12
Fearsome Times
prayers, and say, “The Lord, the Great One, the Might One, and the Fearsome One.” Indeed, only these three praises are permissible to say. Additional praises, which the Rambam terms “appellations of the Name” (Hilchos Tefillah…
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Ki Sisa-Parah 5767Volume 3 · Issue 25
Living True
The prayer continues and explains each of these four praises in detail. “There is nothing like Your value, God our Lord, in This World, and there is nothing other than You, our King, in the life of the World to Come. Anything aside from
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Acharei-Kedoshim 5767Volume 3 · Issue 28
Counting Beyond the Self
The Code of Jewish Law (Orach Chayim 5:1 cited in many prayer books) defines the Name Elokim as, “Mighty, Omnipotent, Master of all Powers.” Indeed, the word Elokim itself includes the concept of His mastery over all powers. The sages reveal (Tikunei Zohar 49, 96b) that the word Elokim consists
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Behar-Bechukosai 5767Volume 3 · Issue 30
Shavuos: Day of Judgment
Torah, the Acceptors of the Torah, and the intermediary who stood between them (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 141:4). Also for this reason, the established custom is to read the entire Torah every year (cf. Rambam Hilchos Tefillah 13:1). A year is a complete system of time, and since the Torah Reading is the Acceptance of the Torah, we must not allow a full cycle of time to pass without reaccepting it in its entirety.
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Vayeira 5767Volume 3 · Issue 9
A Healthy World
The Talmud (Megillah 17b) discusses the Shemoneh Esray Prayer and explains the origin and order of the blessings.
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Tetzaveh 5768Volume 4 · Issue 23
The Incense Altar
Truly, the angels seem justified in their claim. The Torah needs to remain on High, for that is its proper place. The Torah is the words of the Creator, and as we say in our Morning Prayer, “His words are alive and existing and faithful forever and for all eternity.” To lower them to a place in which it would be possible to nullify them and heaven forbid transform them into words that are not eternally alive
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Pekudei-Shekalim 5768Volume 4 · Issue 25
Atonement of the Soul
The Sabbath Morning Prayer discusses four progressive levels of glorifying the Creator. “There is nothing like Your value (or in other versions, “There is nothing with which to evaluate You,”) and there is nothing besides You, anything other than You is impossible, and none
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Naso 5768Volume 4 · Issue 33
Difficult Beginnings
In the lore of the sages, scorpions always represent the greatest danger to man. Concerning interrupting one’s prayer, the Mishnah states (Berachos 30b): “Even if a serpent is coiled around one’s heel, one should not interrupt.” The serpent poses no threat, and one should therefore continue to pray. The Talmud states (ibid. 33a), “This applies only
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Beha'aloscha 5758Volume 58 · Issue 2
Mishlei: Catalyst of Wisdom
…bear in mind when reciting the permitted articulation of this Name in prayer. As stated in the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 5:1), “When mentioning the Name, focus on the connotation of… its…
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Vaeira 5769Volume 5 · Issue 15
Conditional Creation
overly involved in its remembrance—we do not do anything to commemorate it. The version of our daily prayers contains no mention of it—only one who reaches the six remembrances listed after the Morning Prayer speaks of it, but as all know, this is only a small minority, and it is not part of the established version of prayer.
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Vayakhel-Pekudei-HaChodesh 5769Volume 5 · Issue 22
The Great Luminaries
Indeed, the Hebrew word for time, zeman, has a different implication than the vernacular. Its literal definition is preparation, as in the prayer some say prior to fulfilling commandments, “I am ready and mezuman, prepared, to fulfill the commandment…,” or as in the word hazmanah—the term the Talmud uses in its elaborate discussion concerning the significance of preparing an object
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Shemos 5770Volume 6 · Issue 15
Seeds of Truth
In the Shemoneh Esrei Prayer, we says that the Creator brings the redeemer for the descendants of the Fathers’ children, or in other words, for the descendants of the Tribes. The Tribes themselves, after the passing of the Fathers, are the ones who are in exile
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Yisro 5770Volume 6 · Issue 18
The Song of Then
The entirety of This World is abundance, as it says (Tehillim 104:24), “How abundant are Your works, God,” and the abundance is exceedingly great, “with multitudes of creations without end,” as we say in the Musaf Prayer of Rosh Hashanah.
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Ki Sisa-Parah 5770Volume 6 · Issue 21
Shrouded by Nature
In the first blessing before the Shema of the Sabbath Prayers, it says, “There is nothing like Your value, there is nothing other than You, there is naught beside You, and there is nothing comparable to You.” The prayer continues to explain the various stages of existence in which we can attain each of these four perceptions. “There is nothing like Your value, God our Lord, in This World, there is nothing other than You, our King
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Bamidbar 5770Volume 6 · Issue 27
Seven Complete Sabbaths
moreover, its entire concept is meaning. Time advances toward destiny. Nothing exists in a hollow space; everything is on a momentous course, which is entirely focused on reaching its destination. On this note, we say in the Lechah Dodi Prayer, “To the Sabbath, proceed, and we will proceed.” This is our destination; we beseech others to join us and together we will tread toward the Sabbath.
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Rosh Hashanah 5769Volume 6 · Issue 3
Greatness of Man
How can we prevail? We stand before a sentencing, a truly terrifying judgment, as we say in the prayer of Unesaneh Tokef, “Let us relate the intensity of the day’s holiness, for it is fearsome and terrifying.” How is it possible to prevail in this judgment?
