A short tefillah comment this week, on a single phrase toward the conclusion of the first blessing before Shema. The paragraph לא’ל ברוך, La’El Barukh [to the God called “Blessed”], enumerates a number of fairly generic expressions of praise: to You sweet songs are sung, and for God alone does wonders, etc. To my ear… Read more »

נגילה ונשמחה בך, Nagila ve’nismeha bakh, Let us rejoice and delight in you. [Song of Songs 1.4]. Said Rabbi Yitzhak: “let us rejoice bakh [ב”ך] in the כ”ב, or 22 letters of the alphabet in which the Torah is written.” [Midrash Shir HaShirim Rabbah]. Many ancient Jewish texts – like the well-known Psalm 145, or… Read more »

The first blessing before the morning Shema goes on to praise Hashem, “Who, in goodness, perpetually renews creation every day,” or ובטובו מחדש בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית, mehadesh bekhol yom tamid ma’aseh bereshit. As we have seen in previous week’s postings, this first blessing expresses wonder at morning light, and recognizes that darkness, too,… Read more »

Continuing the theme of last week’s post, in which I discussed the opening blessing before the Shema, which speaks of God as “creating all.” This is a euphemism, softening the Bible verse [Isaiah 45.7] that God makes both light and darkness, “makes peace and creates suffering,” or “creates well-being and woe.” The Talmud [Berakhot 11b]… Read more »

The three paragraphs of Shema Israel are nestled among liturgical blessings: one always recites two blessings before Shema, and afterwards, either one blessing each morning or two each evening. The first blessing before is an ode to the dawn’s light. Nowadays, our relationship to light is shaped by our easy access to electricity. We stay… Read more »