Prayer and Religious Articles
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Pinkie Pointing and Splitting the Sea
Why does everyone hold up their pinkie and point it toward the Torah during the part of the service when the Torah scroll is held up for all to see? Answer: There is no law recorded in Shulchan Aruch (Jewish Code…
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Praying for the Impossible
Having read the touching story of Abraham and Sarah’s, faith in G-d’s promise of a child, I must ask you: Can a woman above fifty years old, with a complete hysterectomy, who never gave birth, resign to renounce to pray…
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Challenging to Get to Prayer
I am 54 with many changes going on, physical and mental. I go to therapy sessions. I also have a challenging past. Sometimes I can’t go out to go to Shul (synagogue), it takes everything for me to get up.…
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Prayers for Livelihood and Well-being
Is there a chapter of Psalms that is a Segulah (spiritual remedy) for livelihood, to pay off credit cards bills? Also for health and finding a marriage partner? How can get my life unstuck? Answer: Sorry to hear about your…
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Free Will and Prayer
If you have someone close to you who has a dependency/addiction – one caused over years of prescription medication – and the person does not realize they have a dependency/addiction to the medication, yet they have realized they have a…
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The Blessing of the Kohain (Priest)
It is known that the kohanim (Priests) in the temple used to bless the people by holding their hands in a specific position. 1. Could you please explain more on the meaning of it? 2. Why was it not permitted…
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Washing the Hands in Innocence
How do we know that washing the hands is symbolic of innocence? Answer: The concept comes from the EGLAH ARUFAH ceremony in Deut. 21:6-7. See also Psalms 26:6 and 73:13, which speaks of “washing the hands in innocence”.
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A Minyan
What is the source for requiring ten men (a “minyan”) for certain religious services? Answer: Ten men are required for reciting prayers in which G-d’s name is sanctified (Megillah 23b), such as the Kaddish or Kedushah. This is derived from…
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Picturing G-d During Prayer
What is one supposed to picture when praying since we may not picture Hashem (G-d) in a form and since He has no image? Answer: Thank you for your questions. In Halacha it is stated that one should imagine the four…