קדוש קדוש קדוש ה’ צבאות מלא כל הארץ כבודו / Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh Adonay Tzevaot, melo kol ha’aretz Kevodo, “Holy, Holy, Holy is God of hosts, the entire world is filled with God’s glory [Isaiah 6.3].” ברוך כבוד ה’ ממקומו/ Barukh Kevod Adonai mimekomo. “Blessed is the divine Glory, from its place [Ezekiel 3.12].” ימלוך… Read more »

אתה קדוש ושמך קדוש וקדושים בכל יום יהללוך/ Atah Kadosh v’Shimkha Kadosh; u’kedoshim bekhol yom yehallelukha. “You are holy, and Your name is holy, and holy beings praise You each day.” No holidays today! No Rosh HaShana, no erev Yom Kippur, no Sukkot, no Shmini Atzeret. (Well, actually, it is Rosh Hodesh Heshvan.) So let’s… Read more »

The Amidah’s second blessing is about divine might in resurrecting the dead. We typically understand this as a maximally mythic miracle for a redemptive future, when God will vivify deceased people who “sleep in the dust.” Well, maybe there is RESURRECTION, shouting with all-caps in bold face, and “resurrection,” whispered in small letters. The Hebrew… Read more »

מוריד הטל/Morid ha’tal, “Who makes the dew drop.” משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם/ Mashiv ha’ruah u’morid ha’geshem, “Who makes the wind blow and makes the rain fall.” The second blessing of the Amidah is marked with little prayerful weather reports: In the rainy season of the Land of Israel – from Shmini Atzeret at the end of Sukkot until… Read more »

Compared with Christianity, Judaism has always been light on dogma and heavy on behavior. Since the early church, Christians persecuted heretics for espousing the “wrong” version of Jesus’ divinity and the like. But we Jews have never been so numerous that we could afford to expel people too hastily. With the notable exception of Maimonides,… Read more »