Liturgical Repetition: When Singing Becomes Sacrilegious
With the High Holidays approaching, a time iconic for its songful liturgy, Moshe Kurtz scrutinizes the practice of cantors repeating words during davening.
The Parenthetical Problem of Alenu
Zev Eleff on a perennially interesting portion of the liturgy.
Beyond the Walls of the Synagogue: Prayer as a Virtue
With lyrical prose, Natan Oliff teaches us how to view prayer as a virtue and let it enter every aspect of our lives, making us into prayerful people.
Human Words: Rav Elhanan Nir’s “Intentions for Rosh Hashanah”
Levi Morrow provides an all-new translation of Rav Elhanan Nir’s “Kavvanot for Rosh Hashanah,” and analyzes how these theological poems speak about our relationship with God and prayer on Rosh Hashanah.
When Synagogues Reopen, May the Congregation Permit a Bar Mitzvah Boy to Make Up...
When Synagogues Reopen, May the Congregation Permit a Bar Mitzvah Boy to Make Up His Torah Reading? Moshe Kurtz weighs in.
Climate Change and Prayers for Rain and Dew
By examining the prayers for rain and dew through the lens of meteorology and Rabbi Soloveitchik’s Lonely Man of Faith, Chaim Trachtman presents a unique religious model for thinking about climate change.
Is Reciting Tehillim and Avinu Malkeinu after October 7th Enough?
As we near 150 days since the murderous attack by Hamas, Chaim Trachtman wonders whether continuing to recite Tehillim and Avinu Malkeinu is the best way to keep Israel front-and-center in our prayers.
Yatziv Pitgam: Poetry as Talmud Commentary
How should we understand Yatziv Pitgam, the enigmatic poem recited in the Haftarah for the second day of Shavuot? Tzvi Novick’s close reading reveals it to be a paean to the Torah and those who study it.
Ve-Atah Banim Shiru La-Melekh – People Over Angels on Shavuot
What can a medieval piyut (and famous modern chassidic tune) teach us about people's superiority over angels? Yitzchak Szyf explores how our Shavuot liturgy proclaims man's partnership with God in Torah.
Why Can’t Selihot Be More Like Kinot?
Yosef Lindell argues that the explanatory Kinot model, where fewer prayers are said but they are delved into in more depth, should be adopted for reciting Selihot.
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