Menuchah Nechonah鈥擯erfect Rest
Dec 20, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
鈥淕od filled with mercy, grant perfect rest, menuchah nechonah, under the wings of Your Presence, the Shekhinah . . . to the souls of all those slain, young children and teachers, at Sandy Hook School. May their resting place be in Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden, and may their souls be bound up in the gathering of all life. May they come to be at peace in their place of rest and we say: Amen.鈥�
Read More
For the Sake of my Brothers, Sisters, and Friends
Dec 19, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
The siddur is full of selections and quotations, from the Bible, the Talmud, Midrash, and even the mystical Zohar. There is great fascination and reward to be found in 鈥渦npacking鈥� the paragraphs and pages to which we return so often in the cycles of community (and private) worship.
Read More
Or Chadash (New Light): Electromagnetic or Supernal?
Dec 12, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
鈥�Or chadash al Tsiyon ta鈥檌r, venizkeh kulanu m鈥檋eirah le鈥檕ro鈥� (Cause a new light to shine on Zion, and may we all quickly have the privilege to benefit from its radiance). Each morning, before reciting the Shema鈥�, there is a blessing that opens with a quote from Isaiah praising God, 鈥渨ho forms light and creates darkness,鈥� and looks back to the first great act of Creation鈥攖he creation of light and the establishment of cycles of light and darkness, designated as day and night.
Read More
These Lights Themselves Are Holy
Dec 4, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
Soon we light the candles of Hanukkah, which symbolize so many things. In this reflection, let us turn aside for a moment from the complex history and theology, and allow ourselves to enter the realm of kodesh鈥攖hat which is holy. Hanerot Halalu (Siddur Sim Shalom, 193) is a curious text that we read, or sing, after lighting the hanukkiyah. It is not a blessing or a prayer, for it is not addressed to God; rather, it is a reminder to all who are gathered around the Hanukkah lights that we should not make use of them for any worldly purpose, for they are holy (kodesh hem).
Read More
Shomer Yisra鈥檈l鈥擳he One Who Guards Israel
Nov 28, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
In the weekday liturgy, after the 鈥楢尘颈诲补丑, we find in the siddur a little-known sequence of prayer texts known as tachanun (supplications); it can be found in Siddur Sim Shalom of the Conservative Movement, pages 59 through 63. It is not difficult to detect some ambivalence about tachanun, for there is a long list of days on which it is to be omitted, including Shabbat and all Holy Days, and all days of celebration鈥攅ven the birthdays of famous rabbis.
Read More
Prayers for the State of Israel
Nov 21, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
With sorrow in our hearts, we turn this week to the dangers facing Medinat Yisrael, the State of Israel, and all who live there. The circulation of 鈥渃omposed prayer texts鈥� does not in any way preclude each person from pouring out his or her inner dreams and desires to God. It is the role of the rabbinic leaders of the community to prepare words that express the thoughts, hopes, and dreams within all of our hearts, and give concrete form to the value and ideals we cherish. Rabbi Reuven Hammer writes this week from the Jerusalem: 鈥� . . . I have added Psalm 91 to our services here during this period. I think it is particularly appropriate for this particular situation with its reference to arrows.鈥�
Read More
Could 鈥淎ll鈥� Be in Vain? A Liturgical Response to Ecclesiastes
Nov 14, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Sukkot
The opening words of the book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) have troubled those who read the Bible for a very long time, and remain a challenge鈥攁ncient, but still provocative. 鈥�Havel havalim, . . . hakol havel鈥� (In vain, in vain, . . . it is all futility) (Eccles. 1, 2). Last week we began to look at the passage 鈥�mah anu meh chayyeinu鈥� found in the preliminary service (daily and Shabbat), and I noted the extraordinary feature of this 鈥減rayer鈥濃�攖he questions included within the text (Who are we? What is our life? etc.). If we think of prayer as addressed to God, it is remarkable to find within this prayer that we ourselves are questioned. The final words of the paragraph (in the Ashkenazic version) bring us face to face with the troubling opening of Ecclesiastes: 鈥�ki hakol havel.鈥�(鈥渂ecause everything is futile鈥� or 鈥渂ecause everything is in vain鈥�).
Read More
鈥淲ho Are We?鈥� A 鈥淧rayer鈥� That Asks Questions (Part 1)
Nov 7, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
Many of us are accustomed to the idea that the 鈥減rayers鈥� we find in the siddur will be filled with praises for God or with requests. In the first paragraph of our core prayer, the 鈥楢尘颈诲补丑, we praise God as 鈥�ha鈥檈l hagadol hagibbor vehanora鈥� (the great, mighty and awesome God), and then continue a little further with requests for wisdom, health, good harvest, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, peace鈥攁nd that our prayer be heard. There are, of course, many further examples in the pslams, in rabbinic texts, and in the great medieval poems.
Read More