Prayer and Blessings
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Jabez and Making “Deals” with God
What do we know about the man Jabez (Chronicles I 4:9-10)? What can we learn from him? Christians are making a big deal about him, is there anything to their discussions? Answer: Jabez is simply a story of human triumph…
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Sabbath Rituals
Where did the Friday night custom of saying blessings over candles, wine, and challah come from? Why did these three specific blessings become a ritual? Let’s begin with the most primary source – the fourth of the ten commandments: “Remember…
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Repetition of the Amida
Why is the amidah repeated? Due to the growing inability of many Jews to formulate their own prayers, and perhaps also due to the lessening primacy of the Hebrew language during the 2nd Temple era, the precise text of the…
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Evening Shema
There’s something that’s been bothering me for a while: In the evening we say the Shema prayer, and then we say it again when going to bed. Why say it twice at night? Shouldn’t once be enough! Your confusion about…
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Dress Code for Prayer
What is the “dress code” of formal Jewish Prayer (like the shemoneh esrei)? Thanks for asking this question. The code of Jewish law tells us that, for prayer, we should dress for the occasion of speaking to the King of…
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Blessing over Scent
What blessing is said over a scented candle? The question of reciting a blessing on a scented candle is really tied to the question of whether or not we recite a blessing on a synthetically produced smell. Although some rule…
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Silence After Washing Hands for Bread
Can you explain the origin of the custom not to speak between washing your hands and saying the blessing over the bread on the Sabbath? Basically, our Sages ruled that people should not do anything at all distracting after washing…
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Saying Kadish and the World to Come
My father passed a way two weeks ago. My only brother refuses to say kadish. Is that horrible? Will that effect my father getting to heaven? Can someone else say kadish? I am so sorry for your family’s loss. You…
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Meaning of the Word “Amen”
What is the real meaning of the use of the word “Amen”? I’ve heard that it “Amen” has more of a serious meaning than just the common translation of “So Be It”. Adapted from The Power of One Word at…