Watch Kabbalat Shabbat Services Live
Can’t make it to synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat this week? Join Central Synagogue in New York for Shabbat services beginning Friday at 5:45 PM Eastern. Other Synagogue Streaming Options: Romemu (New...
View ArticleComplete Text of Yigdal
Yigdal is often sung at the conclusion of Shabbat evening services. The prayer is a poetic adaptation of Maimonides’ 13 principles of faith. For a video tutorial of Yigdal, click here יִגְדַּל אֱלֹהִים...
View ArticleCan You Make Kiddush On Anything Other Than Wine?
Kiddush is a blessing traditionally made over a cup of wine that sanctifies Shabbat and holidays. Kiddush, which means “holiness” in Hebrew, is also recited at Havdalah and at lifecycle events, such as...
View ArticleV’shamru: Guarding the Divine Convenant
Certain Hebrew words contain many layers of meaning. The word shema, for example, is commonly translated as “hear,” but it can also mean “respond,” “learn,” “obey,” even “repeat.” The precise meaning...
View ArticleLove Lessons from Lecha Dodi
Love. It’s a simple word, but virtually impossible to define or truly understand. Is it a feeling? A state of being? A noun? A verb? And while we may struggle to put it into words or explain it, we all...
View ArticleYigdal Orders the World
It’s always nice to have a melody to hum on the way home from Kabbalat Shabbat, the evening worship service that welcomes Shabbat into our midst. Those final moments of prayer are often dedicated to...
View ArticleJewish Holiday & Shabbat Prayers
No matter what the Jewish holiday is, you can depend upon the worship service lasting longer than its weekday counterpart! This is because each and every holiday in the Jewish calendar comes with its...
View ArticleComplete Text of Ashrei
The core of this prayer is Psalm 145, and it is recited three times daily in the traditional Jewish liturgy. For a video tutorial on how to say Ashrei, click here. אַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ, עוֹד...
View ArticleComplete text of Ein Kamocha
Ein Kamocha is traditionally recited as the Torah scroll is removed from the ark. Learn more about the deeper meaning of Ein Kamocha here. Learn more about the entire Torah service here. אֵין כָּמוֹךָ...
View ArticleHadlakat Nerot: The Spark of Transition
You have to love that our most ancient ritual, Shabbat, starts with a most contemporary aesthetic: dining by candlelight. In Jewish tradition, lighting candles at sunset on Friday is the last act of...
View ArticleShabbat Liturgy
As a day of unique sanctity, Shabbat’s liturgy is different from the standard weekday liturgy in its structure and in many of its themes. A number of the themes interwoven throughout the liturgy of...
View ArticleHighlights of the Shabbat Morning Synagogue Service
The Shema (“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One”) This passage from the Book of Deuteronomy and the three passages that follow constitute a central part of each morning and evening...
View ArticleSiddur Contents: Shabbat & Holiday Liturgy
Jewish prayer is as ancient as the Hebrew Bible, for the Torah records that even the patriarchs prayed to God in times of distress or to give thanks. In late antiquity, the Rabbis of the Talmud...
View ArticleShacharit: The Jewish Morning Prayer Service
Jews traditionally pray three times a day. The morning prayer service, Shacharit, is recited after sunrise and before midday. These prayers are found in any siddur, or prayer book. There are alternate...
View ArticleShabbat Blessings for Friday Night
Like most Jewish observances, Shabbat has a unique liturgy that is recited during communal prayer. But there are also a number of blessings that are traditionally recited in the home on Friday...
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