Prayer and Religious Articles
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Purpose of Prayer I
Why should we pray? Whats the point of it all? Its just a waste of time! Why pray? This is actually a very strong question. Assuming God exists, here are some reasons why we should not pray (of course, if…
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Why Aren’t My Prayers Answered?
… It seems like everything I try and do fails… I have asked G-D for forgiveness for all my sins and pray daily. I don’t know what more I can do or say ,or how to pray correctly, but it…
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Internet Minyan
Is it permissible to consider a group of of men on the Internet simultaneously a Minyan? If so, could Kaddish be recited at that moment? Thank you very much for your question. Although we commonly like to think that Cyberspace…
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Leaning on the Arm in Prayer
During prayer now-a-days why do people bow their heads and lean on their arms? What’s the purpose of this and how did it originate? This is done during a service called “Tachanun” – literally “Supplication”. It seems that bowing in…
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“You did not make me a woman”
The Torah uses positive expressions as much as possible. Why is it that the blessing that is said in the morning reads “You are blessed .. for You did not make me a Woman” and not “… for You made…
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Kaddish for an Uncle
My uncle passed away this week and I am almost certain that there will not be anyone saying Kaddish for him. Can a nephew say Kaddish for him? My parents are already in the next world. It would be a…
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Musical Notations for the Torah Reading
Regarding the musical notations associated with the public reading of the Torah, are there different traditions for the exact notations, or are the notations the same in every tradition but maybe linked differently, or embellished? There are significant differences among…
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Prayers for Non-Jews
I am currently studying to convert to Judaism and was wondering, since the daily prayers are centered around the idea that the one praying is in fact jewish, are there any rabinnical suggestions for prayer by those in the process…
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Hurried Blessings
Please excuse me if this question seems like criticism; it is not. I’m simply asking about something I observe. At several synagogues I have attended, each person called to the Torah zooms through the Blessings at a mile a minute.…