Prayer
Where is Jonah’s remorse?
Modern Orthodoxy vs. humility.
The two great liturgical songs of Yigdal and Adon Olam offer rival attempts to summarize the essence of Judaism.
More a contract than a prayer.
And its unique American variations.
Nishmat starts with the wide-open sky and the wings of eagles; it ends deep inside the recesses of the body, in our vital organs.
The ancient priesthood, the Pharisees, the kabbalists, the Ḥasidim—each of these and more have made a stand in the prayer book for what they think Judaism should be.
Saving the lowliest sinners from hellfire.
Praying for an unseen land.
As Close to Us as Breathing.
The importance of human feeling.
Jews and Muslims, tolerance and intolerance.
“Here am I, poor in deeds,” it begins. Where did it come from and, more importantly, what does it say to us?
Publishing prayers and rituals for the first time.