There are two interesting posts about Hanukkah-related liturgical issues. The first is by Ophir Münz-Manor of the Talmud Blog and is on Hanukkah and Piyyut. The second is in the Musaf Shabbat of Makor Rishon and is by Akiba Zimmerman. Zimmerman writes (Hebrew) about the irony that Hanukkah, the holiday that celebrates the battle against [...]
As we are nearing an important bi-annual change in Jewish liturgy, it might be worthwhile to (re)read the following two articles: Arnold and Daniel Lasker, “The Strange Case of December 4,” in Conservative Judaism, Fall 1985 (Vol. 38 No. 1). (here); and “VeTen Tal U-Matar: What is So Holy about the 4th (or 5th or [...]
Ruth Langer’s book on Birkat HaMinim, Cursing the Christians?: A History of the Birkat HaMinim has just been published. From the preview on Google Books it looks like an informative read. For a discussion of this blessing in an earlier historical context, see Yaakov Teppler’s Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in Conflict in the Ancient [...]
Religion Clause posted the following: AP reported Friday that Hertz, the rental car company, is firing 26 Somali Muslim employees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport because they refuse to clock out for their daily prayer breaks. The Teamsters local union that represents the workers says that the company agreed during negotiations last year that the employees [...]
May those who are observing Yom Kippur have a meaningful fast and holiday. Below is a recording of the piyyut El Norah Alilah (אל נורא עלילה) that is sung at the Neilah service that ends Yom Kippur. For no one who has ever prayed in synagogue that followed one of the Sephardic customs, this is [...]
A little Kol Nidre liturgical humor from the Israeli satirical website Nonews: חשש במשפחות הפשע: הפרקליטות תבטל את הרשות להתפלל עם העבריינים Translation: Fear Among Organized Crime Families: The Prosecutor’s Office Will Cancel the Permission to Pray with the Sinners.
Tzvee Zahavy was kind enough to send me a copy of his new book, God’s Favorite Prayers, to review. On the first page Tzvee wrote the following: My thesis in this book is simple. Jews pray every day in holy synagogues and in ordinary places throughout the world. When they do so, they engage in [...]
Here are some modern renditions of the traditional piyyut Adon ha-Selichot (English). The first is an instrumental version by Nikmat ha-Tractor (The Tractor’s Revenge). This version was released in 1990, years before modern renditions of piyyutim became very popular. http://glz.fm/music/traktor.mp3 The second version is another instrumental version performed by Eli Dali. This is by Koby [...]
Core Issues in Jewish Prayer A Signature Lecture Series by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer and Joey Weisenberg Dates: Mondays, September 19-October 3, 7:30-9:00pm Location: Mechon Hadar, 190 Amsterdam Avenue (@69th Street) Price: $5 per session, $10 for whole series Can’t make it in person? Watch live on UStream. Session I: Meaning (September 19, 2011) Taught by [...]
In Jerusalem from Sept. 19-22 will be Festival ha-Piyyut. Here is a list of performances and the schedule can be found here. For those who are able to attend, enjoy.
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