Pesukei d’Zimra, the “verses of song” that open the morning liturgy, awaken us spiritually before the central prayer elements. Maybe you believe one or another Jewish teaching about God. Maybe you don’t. But if you want to daven, the minimum spiritual prerequisite is that you praise, that you gaze at each new morning and sing.… Read more »

The usage of Psalm 100 in Pesukei d’Zimra depends on how you interpret the title. Mizmor Le’Todah, מזמור לתודה, means either a “Song of Gratitude,” or the “Song for the Thanksgiving Sacrifice.” Those who associate the brief poem with free-willed – that is, optional – sacrifices, generally refrain from reciting this psalm on Shabbat or… Read more »

“One should always be God-fearing in private and in public, to confess the truth and speak the truth in one’s own heart.” This sentence begins a short paragraph in preliminary morning prayers, calling attention to the life’s fleeting ephemerality, and directing our attention to Ecclesiastes 3.19. “What are we? What is our kindness, righteousness, and… Read more »

Judaism is a perpetual “low-grade” meditation. A “low-grade” fever is not acute, but has a steady, global effect on us. Similarly, Judaism has scant tradition of extended acute meditations, withdrawing from the world for days on end. But it is saturated with reminders and exercises for creating a global God-consciousness to carry with you all… Read more »

“Blessed are You, God, King of the Cosmos, who did not make me a woman.” This may be the most infamous – to us liberals – passages in the classical Siddur. I would never say it, and even some modern Orthodox rabbis refuse to say it (or say it in an embarrassed undertone). Our Conservative… Read more »