One of the most well-known songs associated with Yom ha-Zikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) is Haim Gouri’s Bab el-Wad, known by many through the singing of Yaffa Yarkoni. The song is a powerful and moving memorial for the soldiers who fought in order to bring supplies to Jerusalem during the War of Independence through Bab el-Wad [...]
Below is a source sheet from a talk that I gave about the commandment to remember the exodus from Egypt. The sources that I spoke about show the disagreement that exists about how the exodus from Egypt is remembered, when it is to be remembered, and the Biblical sources for such an obligation. I decided [...]
A recent article in the NYT on prayer at the Kotel included the followed statement. Jewish law requires only men to pray daily, though many women have taken on the obligation voluntarily. This statement is simply incorrect. While there are disagreements about the extant and frequency of a woman’s obligation to pray, almost every Jewish [...]
A while back there was a short discussion at the Talmud Blog about Biblical verses that are found in the liturgy. No one had knowledge of a comprehensive list, that is, until now. Tzvee Zahavy has posted about two new books by Reuven Brauner that are free to download and one of them is Shimush [...]
A few days ago Daf Yomi finished Masechet Tamid, the shortest tractate in the Babylonian Talmud. There is Gemara to only three chapters of Tamid, so most of what is included in the Babylonian Talmud is just what is found in Mishnah Tamid. There are also substantial differences in the division of the tractate as [...]
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 [...]
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