This letter, written in Imperial Aramaic in 419 BCE, is among the vast number of papyrus letters found in Elephantine, also known as Yeb. The Jewish (or more accurately, Judean) community of Yeb is a fascinating bit of history — a group of Judean mercenaries who settled in Egypt and built their own smaller temple! Although their origin was clearly Judean, and they referred to themselves as the ḥeila yehudaya = Judean garrison, their form of worship featured no Deuteronomic centralization, no discussion of the patriarchs, and questionable monotheism! Although the primary deity was YHW (note the difference in spelling), multiple other deities or hypostatized aspects of divinity were worshipped, and verbs for the word “God” are conjugated in the plural rather than the singular. This text is one of a series of letters written between the brothers Yedaniah and Ḥananiah. In this case, it is giving instructions for keeping the holiday of Pesaḥ. These instructions are interesting in their own right — the prohibition on beer could alternatively be read as a prohibition on any alcoholic drink, which would align with Karaite practice rather than rabbinic. But what’s even more interesting is what isn’t mentioned — the instructions given mention nothing whatsoever about the exodus from Egypt, or even God! The diktat to observe the holiday is accredited not to God or Moses, but to Darius, king of the Achaemenid Empire! This passage is a fascinating taste of a part of Judaism that we know very little about. Vocalization according to Tiberian norms and translation into English by the translator. . . .

When the first day of Ḥanukkah is a Shabbat, the last day of Ḥanukkah is also Shabbat. In most customs this is addressed by using the standard Shabbat Ḥanukkah haftarah from Zechariah on the first day and I Kings 7:40–50 on the last day. But this never sat well with me, since I Kings 7:40–50 (also the haftara for Vayakhel) is a very technical reading, and the last day of Ḥanukkah is more of a culmination. Conveniently, another minor prophet contemporary of Zechariah, Ḥaggai, discusses the reconstruction of the House as a process of national revitalization, *and* claims that the foundation of the temple was rebuilt on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month — i.e. the day before Ḥanukkah! This is historically fascinating since it suggests that Ḥanukkah as a rededication festival might predate the Maccabean Revolt entirely, but more importantly here, it makes it a very appropriate reading for the day before or the first day of Ḥanukkah. This is an alternative haftarah from the book of Ḥaggai , chapter 2 verses 2—23, that could be used as a replacement for the standard haftarah when Shabbat falls on the day before Ḥanukkah or on the first day of Ḥanukkah. When read on the first day of Ḥanukkah, the traditional Ḥanukkah haftarah reading of Zechariah 2:14–4:7 would be postponed to the eighth day in its place. . . .

According to Isaac Seligman Baer’s famed Seder Avodat Yisrael, one of the first scholarly siddurim critical editions ever published, there was a custom that on the day of a circumcision, the P’sukei d-Zimra reading of Shirat haYam along with a portion of its introduction would be recited aloud as a call and response by the mohel (circumcizer) and sandaḳ (godfather). Baer’s division of the verses (from Seder Avodat Yisrael, pp. 72-74) is included here, along with a new translation. . . .

The 4th psalm of the book of Psalms in Masoretic Hebrew accompanied by an English translation. . . .

The 8th psalm of the book of Psalms in Masoretic Hebrew accompanied by an English translation. . . .

Psalms 20 by David in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

A translation of Psalms 27 for the season of repentance, by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . .

Psalms 60 in Hebrew with English translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer, presented for the fast of the Tenth of Tevet. . . .

A new translation of Psalms 79 for the 17th of Tamuz fast day of mourning. . . .

A translation of Psalms 79 in response to the hostage taking at Beth Elohim in Colleyville, Texas. . . .

Psalms 84 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

In the communities of Morocco and Mumbai, the day after Yom Kippur was a holiday for priests known as Yom Simḥat Kohen. The origins of this practice can be found in Mishnah Yoma 7:4, where the high priest makes a festival for his loved ones after successfully completing the Yom Kippur rituals. In Mumbai, the practice (as recorded in Joseph Ezekiel Rajpurkar’s bilingual Hebrew/Marathi siddur) was to recite Psalms 85 on Yom Simḥat Kohen. The editor has included the text of Psalms 85, Rajpurkar’s Marathi translation, a new English translation, and a vocalized version of the Arabic tafsir of Rav Saadiah Gaon. . . .

An English translation of Psalms 92 set side-by-side with the Masoretic text. . . .

An English translation of Psalm 104 set side-by-side with the Masoretic text. . . .

Psalms 111, an alphabetic acrostic translated into English by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. . . .

Psalms 113 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 114 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 115 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 116 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .

Psalms 117 in Hebrew with English translation. . . .