Prayer and Blessings

Does G-d hear everyone's prayers? G-d hears the prayers of all righteous people, whether Jews or gentiles; see Isaiah 56:7, Psalms 65:3, and Proverbs 15:8,29. On the other hand, He doesn't listen to the prayers of the wicked; see Isaiah…

Do Jews ever kneel? Answer: In the Temple, Jews knelt and prostrated themselves when praying, and they still do it in synagogues on Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur. But since kneeling is quite rare for Jews, they often think of…

Was there a custom to read the Torah once every three years? The Talmud (Megillah 29b) says that in the Land of Israel it was customary to read through the Torah every three years. There are traditional subdivisions of the…

Can a person pray outside a synagogue? There is a statement in the Talmud that a person's prayer is heard "only" in a synagogue, but this is not intended literally; it means only that prayer in a synagogue is especially…

What is the Shema? The Shema consists of three Biblical passages (Deut.6:4-9, Deut.11:13-21, and Num.15:37-41) that contain basic principles of Judaism. The first verse, Deut. 6:4, which begins with the Hebrew word "Shema" (Hear!), affirms the unity of G-d.

What is the origin of the poem "L'chah Dodi"? L'chah Dodi was written by the kabbalist R.Sh'lomoh ha-Levi Alkabetz of Safed in the mid-1500s. Its stanzas begin with the letters of the author's name: SH-L-M-H H-L-V-Y. It was praised by…

What does "netilas yadayim" mean? It means "washing the hands", but the etymology of the "netilas" is obscure; it normally means "taking", not "washing". It has been suggested that it comes from the name of the vessel, "antal" (see Talmud…

Why do we sway when we pray? The Talmud Bavli (Berachos 28b) says that when a person prays, he must bow until all the segments of his spine are separated; the Talmud Yerushalmi says that a person who stands and…