#t'filah

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

G'mar Chatima Tova chaverim! We are almost to Yom Kippur and I want to wish you all a meaningful day and an easy fast for those fasting. To help you get into the spirit, I have made a list of some of my favorite Yamim Noraim music:

Shana tova tikateivu, may we all merit to be inscribed in the Book of Life and for a good year, and to have a clean slate entering 5784!

[ofshivelight]

hate having to wait for my intro to judaism class to start next month before i start integrating more aspects of jewish life into my own bc i'm just so EXCITED to be an observant jew but i will practice Patience and Calm and Be Normal while i wait

[merulanoir]

Thank you Amazon for telling me I ordered my siddur exactly three years ago, I'd appreciate it if you could still ship to Finland too.

[toa-greatmind-nothingislittle]

@ponyoisms // Supernatural 4x18 - "The Monster at the End of This Book" // quote by Julian K. Jarboe // Pomegranate Jews, by Esther Rosen // "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls // poem by Yehuda Amichai (taken from the "Mishkan T'filah for Travelers: A Reform Siddur") // "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet // "Cleopatra and Frankenstein" by Coco Mellors // "The Naval Treaty" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle // photo of La Piccola Gerusalemme, taken by my parents // "JEWISH LESBIANS" Gay Freedom Day Parade, San Francisco, California c. 1978 // "The Two Towers" directed by Peter Jackson // YEHUDIT, by Pinchas EL Segal // Mi Chamochah (taken from the "Mishkan T'filah for Travelers: A Reform Siddur") // Supernatural 8x16 - "Remember the Titans" // Supernatural 5x14 - "My Bloody Valentine" // Fantasy High 1x17 - "Prompocalypse Pt. 2" // "Seven Brief Lessons on Physics" by Carlo Rovelli // "K.-4-1976," by Peter Krasnow // "The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought" by Marilynne Robinson // Pirkei Avot, quote by Rabbi Tarfon // Jacob Wrestling With The Angel, by Ephraim Moses Lilien // photo of Judaica from La Piccola Gerusalemme, taken by my parents // "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkein // Supernatural 6x15 - "Live Free or Twihard" // Kneading Dough, by Katherine Hartel // Neverafter 1x17 - "The Last Wish" // Mirjam, by Ephraim Moses Lilien // "Rosh Hashanah Postcards." Hidden Treasures: Celebrating Jewish Archives in Britain

[on-my-way-to-jew]

Finally bought a siddur :D For most of my books, I try to find them from sites like archive.org bc Expensive, but this version of Mishkan T'filah is elusive! But I was going to buy one eventually anyways, since it's one of the few books that's better to have physically than digitally.

Anyways. I think I might start trying to make regular posts highlighting prayers or readings from it that speak to me. Both to share more of my journey on here, and to give me extra motivation to get more familiar with the siddur.

[germiyahu]

For background: my synagogue is nondenominational, but the Shabbat service is quite traditional. There is a prayer book provided to everyone for the service but I can't remember what it was called off the top of my head. It had Hebrew, English, transliteration and some commentary.

I need to practice קבע prayer at home, and I love the thrill of buying books so I'm too impatient to ask for my Rabbi's advice lol (she'd probably advise me to pick whichever one I felt the most affinity toward anyway). I know these four correspond to Movements, and I have some vague idea of which Movement speaks the most to me, but obviously I don't know enough, and I'm part of a congregation that doesn't put much stock in Movements to begin with.

Also, to those of you who own any of these, feel free to tell me how good the translations and commentary are, advocate for your favorite siddur. Oh and they all cost around the same for a "Weekend and Holiday" edition hard cover/flexicover, so that's not an issue.

[companionwolf]

brain: hey

me: it's 8:30am what do you want

brain: you know that song we sang in t'filah with the kids yesterday? the 'you shall be a blessing' one?

me: yes ... why?

brain: imagine Jacob singing that to Jay as the latter dies in his arms (:

me:

me, doing so:

[jeremy-queere]

I know that the tide is not an independent force, but merely the submission of the water to the movement of the moon in its orbit. And this orbit in its turn is subject to other orbits which are mightier far than it. And so the whole universe is held fast in the clinging grip of strong hands, the forces of Earth and Sun, planets, and comets, and galaxies, blindly erupting forces ceaselessly stirring in ripples of silence to the very depth of black space.

passage from Mishkan T'filah, attributed to Amos Oz

[shalomelohim]

Mashiaj El Mesias Viene Ya (Le Messie arrive) / subtitles Hebreo - Español / Hébreux - Espagnol

Chanson joyeuse au son de l’accordéon ! Happy song with accordion !

♥  ♥  ♥

Mashehu balev Yahalom tzorev Algo hay en el corazón cuál diamante encendida Il y a quelque chose dans le cœur comme un diamant enflammé There's something in the heart like a flaming diamond Menachesh bi Velochesh kochav gadol karev Que susurra en mi cual acentijo : “gran estrella luchad” Ce murmure en moi auquel je fais un signe de tête : « grand combat d’étoiles » This whisper within me to which I nod: "great battle of the stars"

Mi hamevochah Mi ha'anachah Desde el desconcierto y de el suspiro De la perplexité et du soupir Perplexity and sighing Na'aleh t'filah g'dolah Elevemos una gran oración Élevons une grande prière Let us raise a great prayer Unevakesh brajah E imploremos benedicion Et implorons la bénédiction And let us implore the blessing

[Refrain / Chorus] Al halechem al hamayim Por el sustento y el agua Pour la nourriture et l’eau For food and water Al ha'or sheba'einaim Por la luz resplandecente que podemos ver Pour la lumière vive que nous pouvons voir For the bright light we can see Vehachoref, vehakayitz, stav va'avivo Por el invierno y por el verano, Por el otoño y su primavera Pour l’hiver et pour l’été, pour l’automne et son printemps For winter and summer, for autumn and spring Od nisa t'filah bishnaim Aún elevamos una oración juntos Nous élevons toujours une prière ensemble We always raise a prayer together Ad el sha'arei shamaim Hacia los portones de los cielos Aux portes du ciel At the gates of heaven El hamashiach bo yavo He aquí el Mesías viene ya Voici, le Messie vient Behold, the Messiah is coming

Ish be'ish nabit Cuidémonos el uno al otro Prenons soin les uns des autres Let's take care of each other Yad el yad noshit Extendamonos la mano en Tendons la main les uns aux autres Let's reach out to each other Uveyachad uvli pachad Juntos y sin ningún temor Ensemble et sans crainte Together and without fear Nechapes atid Busquemos el futuro Tournons-nous vers l’avenir Let's look to the future Lasadot nered Na'aleh bahar Bajemas hacia los campos y subamos a los montes Descendons dans les champs et montons dans les montagnes Let's go down into the fields and up into the mountains Na'amin od na'amin beshemesh hamachar Confiando que el sol volver a salir mañana Confiant que le soleil se lèvera demain Confident that the sun will rise tomorrow

[Refrain / Chorus]

Ve'or yu'ar (Ve)shir yushar Y la luz se intensificará y un cantico de integridad Et la lumière s’intensifiera et un chant d’intégrité And the light will intensify and a song of integrity El Baraj bar la'ahavah  Y las flores silvestres serán para el amor Et les fleurs sauvages seront pour l’amour And the wildflowers will be for love Ulai pit'om K'mo bechalom Tal vez de pronto como un sueño Peut-être tout d’un coup comme un rêve Maybe all of a sudden like a dream Yavo shalom K'sheyavo mashi'ach Llegue la paz cuando llegue el Mesías La paix vient quand le Messie vient Peace comes when the Messiah comes

[Refrain / Chorus]

[the-lesser-light]

If I had walked into a synagogue and only seen the Hebrew and stood there while everyone chanted and sang and prayed and I couldn't have followed along, I would have never gone back.

Did it mean that the first time I looked at this I could even make intelligent sounds? Not even the slightest. The prayers were way too fast and half the time I just started at the page. But being able to listen to it and pick up the rhythm and then starting to put the sounds to the transliterations encouraged me to want to learn it, to want to get GOOD at it, and to want to learn Hebrew so I could just fly through it.

I've been taking a biblical Hebrew class for half a year now and when the prayers go slow enough, I follow along with the Hebrew side and am so happy that I can speak it without looking at the transliterations.

I think the argument of "Just learn Hebrew!" is so abelistic. Not everyone can afford to take classes, not every synagogue offers classes, and some people cannot learn things on their own without guidance. And some people just suck at learning languages. It happens. That Mishkan T'filah up there also offers foot notes at the bottom that tells you where and when to bow and WHY. Should ever Siddur offer both? No. I appreciate the people that just want to read the Hebrew and that can! But I also feel like the people that are new and want to understand should also be offered something to help them fall in love with the language and not learn to resent it.

Unpopular opinion: All Siddurim should have translations and transliterations for numerous reasons. 1) If you are teaching your kids Hebrew, transliteration helps a LOT 2) If you have family over, this allows them to participate such as with a Bar/Bat Mitzvah 3) If someone wants to convert, not having something they can understand to even figure out if they want to start the process is only harmful both to them and the wider Jewish community as we've shut them out of even the most basic aspect of Jewishness.

AMEN

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Chag sameach, Avital! I'm in the market for a new siddur, and I was hoping you might have some thoughts (or be able to broadcast this to those who do!). I'm Reform and can read Hebrew decently and I've used Conservative siddurim before. I've heard good things about the Mishkan T'filah, but I wanted to see if you or anyone else has any suggestions :)

Yeah! So the boring (but real) answer is that it's usually best to just use the siddur that your community uses. Now, if you're Reform and your community doesn't do weekday minyanim but you want to do weekday davening, that's a different story.

If your Hebrew is good enough that you don't need transliterations at all (or are committed to weaning yourself off of them) and you're willing to write in or verbally add in the egalitarian stuff on your own (or aren't bothered), I really like the Koren siddurim I have. I have a Nusach Sfard standard siddur with English translations and a Nusach Ashkenaz talpiot (mini travel siddur) with just the Hebrew. I love both.

I do not own, but I have used, multiple excellent ArtScroll siddurim, and I own an ArtScroll Tikkun (basically a giant chumash written in STAM script for the purposes of learning various parts of Torah leyning) that I really like. Some ArtScroll siddurim have in-line translation and transliteration under the Hebrew, if that interests you also. I will say that you will have to have some tolerance for Ashkenzish transliteration; it's very frum Ashkenazi that way.

Both Koren and ArtScroll are, however, definitely orthodox/non-egal. If you're looking for Masorti/Conservative/traditional egalitarian siddurim, I do really love my Lev Shalem (official Conservative movement siddur) for Shabbat and Festivals, and I am fine with using Sim Shalom for weekdays. (I don't dislike it personally, but I also hope they update it to match Lev Shalem soon.)

If you're interested in something both Sephardic and avant-garde, I definitely recommend checking out Or veShalom:

If you do, tell me about it! My primary community is Ashkenazi so that's been my default, but this honestly looks amazing and I've been meaning to invest in it for a while. (I am a little hesitant in that I'm worried that if I start davening out of this, I won't want to daven out of anything else, but that's a risk I'm willing to take when I have the money to buy it, lol.)

Hope that helps, and a belated chag sameach!!

[jewishconvertthings]

I was just reflecting recently about how gentle all of my interactions with Hashem have felt. Most of the time, Her presence feels more maternal than anything else, and it's just such a warm, loving, enveloping sensation. There's just this radical sort of vulnerability that comes from knowing that everything about you is known and that you are still okay in Her eyes. Everything, from your mistakes and weakest moments to your strengths and new insights are known, and you are still loved.

I've said in the past that this path feels very reciprocal - I do feel I've been called to become Jewish, but I am also deeply, willingly, and enthusiastically choosing to love Hashem and express that love by joining Her people.

What about the rest of you? Y'all should talk to me about prayer, and what it's like for you - I'm curious.

[chal-converts-archive]

Question for observant folks: 

So, in the past I’ve reblogged stuff like this: https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/prayer-putting-kippah as resources, and personally in my own life have found these to be very meaningful. (I will only use something like this if it’s something I’m regularly moved to want to pray about.) 

However, clearly these are recent creations and therefore I was wondering if they are considered brachot she’ayna tzricha? If so, is it possible “fix” them by reformulating them to not contain any names of Hashem? 

[awkwardpenguinproductions]

Hi Sam! I'm a Temple Administrator for a Reform Synagogue on the East Coast-- I don't want to get too specific online, but we're not located in the greater New York/Connecticut/New Jersey area, though we have a large number of members from that area. As such, our traditions are generally Ashkenazic in origin, though we'll try anything at least once.

The prayer book we use is the Mishkan T'filah, which is meant for a wide range of familiarity/skill with Prayer Hebrew (as opposed to Modern/Conversational Hebrew), and therefore has Hebrew (with vowels!), transliteration, and translation, as well as interpretations of prayers for alternative reading during services AND commentary in footnotes! It's published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and is the preferred siddur for the Union for Reform Judaism. It has several editions for various uses (we get the non-transliterated version for our b'nei mitzvah students, to encourage the growth of their Hebrew skills during their b'nei mitzvah tutoring period), and also has a Kindle edition! It's currently listed at $19.99 on Amazon.

I'm also a Hebrew teacher in my synagogue's religious school and have been for at least 8 years, and have been a b'nei mitzvah tutor for the last two, and have taught students to go from Aleph-Bet and vowel basics to singing prayers (my next b'nei mitzvah student has spent the last couple of years doing just that!). With this in mind, may I suggest exploring Behrman House? We get about 90% of our religious school Hebrew materials from them, and they have Hebrew learning materials for all ages. I'm using the Ten-Minute Hebrew Reader (Revised Edition) in my Intermediate Level Hebrew Class (knows letters and vowels and can decode, but needs practice before tackling prayers), and while it's written for 4th-6th graders, it's a great book of short little decoding exercises that I will recommend to everyone, regardless of age. (Some of the things that the exercises ask you to do are a little silly, but they make the tedium of practicing decoding fun!) There's also a series of Hebrew primers written for adults called Alef Isn't Tough that our Adult Hebrew teacher uses in her classes. Lastly, I've developed/am developing a few materials of my own that I will be happy to share-- mostly powerpoints about the Aleph-Bet and the silent vowel (שווה, shva) and English words transliterated into Hebrew for decoding practice, as well as a vowel pronunciation guide and a little poster about a funny thing the letter chet (ח) does under specific circumstances.

I apologize if any of this is repeat information for you and also for the length of this reblog, I nerd out about Hebrew learning (do not ask me about Torah cantillation or we'll be here all day)! PM me if you're interested in my homemade materials, I'll be happy to send you copies. (After I clean the decoding practice ones up-- my students have been great about pointing out typos and spelling mistakes!)

Shana tova! I was thinking about you during services today when I too was tearing up at the prayers and the sound of the shofar. Wishing you well on your journey. Regardless of if you convert, I hope you are able to find home and solace in the beauty of Judaism

Aw, thank you! Sorry this response is so very late, I'm digging through my backlog and it's...large. But I hope your high holidays were both sweet and meaningful, and glad you thought of me!

I'm slowly working towards gaining more of the knowledge I need -- I'm strong on the theology and culture but a bit weak on the actual prayer and ritual, and I could use more history. But, as I've said before, Judaism's been around for thousands of years; it'll be there when I get there. :)

I've made peace with the fact that written Hebrew will probably always be beyond my ability to learn, so I'm working towards learning the transliteration pronunciation and memorization instead. It's shockingly difficult to find a digital siddur that has Hebrew, transliteration, and translation, but I've got a line on some print versions.

[ask-jumblr]

I want to start davening at home but I'm having trouble finding a siddur that is transliterated, along with recordings of the melodies for me to learn with. I'm also a little unsure of what to leave out when davening alone and not in a minyan. Does anyone know a good resource for this? I prefer siddur sim shalom or mishkan t'filah.

.

[germiyahu]

So I haven't received it yet cuz shipping, but I ordered this one from Congregation Sha'ar Zahav because it was highly recommended!

https://shaarzahav.org/our-siddur/

I also discovered that Artscroll is currently giving away siddurim, including non-Ashki ones!

https://hashemlovesyou.net/

I also have and love Mishkan T'filah, and am currently waiting for my travel version to be delivered 😊

Thanks! I'll have to pass on the Sha'ar Zahav for now, it's awfully expensive and I just did a payment plan on my credit card for the Lev Shalem and the Mahzor Lev Shalem together. But I'd be interested to check that one out someday!

But I will take advantage of a free Siddur, if it's not inappropriate, I asked for a Nusach Edot haMizrach, because I would also like to have a Sfaradi perspective even if I'm 90% sure my congregation is Ashkenazi?