This is an archive of articles, including primary sources, describing particular nusḥaot (liturgical “rites”, i.e., regional formulations and arrangements of prayers for communal public prayer services) — historic and contemporary.
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⋯ Miscellanea (Ketubot, Art, Essays on Prayer, &c.) —⟶ Liturgical traditions 🡄 (Previous category) :: 📁 Art & Craft 📁 Pedagogical Essays on Jewish Prayer :: (Next Category) 🡆 Liturgical traditionsThis is an archive of articles, including primary sources, describing particular nusḥaot (liturgical “rites”, i.e., regional formulations and arrangements of prayers for communal public prayer services) — historic and contemporary. Filter resources by Collaborator Name Isaac Seligman Baer | Amram ben Rav Sheshna | Reuven Brauner | Yehonatan Chipman | Gabbai Seth Fishman (translation) | Abe Katz (translation) | Dávid Kaufmann | Dalia Marx | Jessica Minnen | Laurie Rappeport | Zalman Schachter-Shalomi | Virginia Spatz | Ethan Tucker | Aharon N. Varady | Aharon N. Varady (transcription) Filter resources by Tag ascetic practice | Blues for Ḥalah | cannibalism | creativity | d'var t'fillah | אלול elul | English Jewry | etiquette | fasting | Feminism | gender | geonim | Grateful Dead | הדר Hadar | informatics | Jewish Women's Prayers | Joseph Heinemann | limits of change | liturgical rites | localization | מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael | מודים Modim | mourning | North America | Nusaḥ Anglia | Nusaḥ Ashkenaz | Nusaḥ Erets Yisrael | נוסחאות nusḥaöt | pluralism | predation | predatory nature | תהלים Psalms | Psalms 27 | Reform Movement | regional custom | Religious Zionism | Renewal | responsa | Sepharadi | פרשת שלח parashat Shlaḥ | Tehillim | תשובה teshuvah | thankfulness | tolerance of difference | ישראל Yisrael | זמן תשובה Zman teshuvah | 13th century C.E. | 19th century C.E. | 20th century C.E. | 21st century C.E. | 51st century A.M. | 57th century A.M. | 58th century A.M. Filter resources by Category Filter resources by Language Filter resources by Date Range Looking for something else? For essays on Jewish prayer as a spiritual practice, go here. Resources filtered by LANGUAGE: “Hebrew”” (clear filter) Sorted Chronologically (old to new). Sort most recent first? The opening letter of Rav Amram to a community in Spain from his 9th century order of prayer (Seder Rav Amram Gaon). . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): Jacob b. Jehuda of London, the author of that valuable contribution to the literary side of Anglo-Jewish history, the Talmudical compendium Etz Chaim, so providentially rescued and preserved for us, never dreamt, when he noted down, in the year 1287, the Ritual and Agada of the Seder Nights according to English usage, that he was fixing a permanent picture of what was doomed to destruction, and was recording not a mere portion of the liturgy, but a page of Jewish history. Faithfully copying his great prototype, Maimonides, the English Chazan also embodied in his work the texts of the Recitations on the Seder Nights in the form customary among his countrymen, and appended the correlated rites according to Minhag England. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): It is the responsibility of leadership in every generation to remove stumbling blocks from paths provided for seekers of Hashem. The needs of the faith community have dramatically changed. In our generation, many of the paths to Heaven that used to work very well in the past, don’t work any more. Why is that? For several reasons: . . . Categories: Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., etiquette, North America, pluralism, Renewal, tolerance of difference Contributor(s): Every year on Yom ha-Atzmaut I feel a certain sense of frustration about its liturgy, and the failure of Religious Zionism to shape the holiday into one that would make a clear and definite religious statement. The “festive” prayer for Yom ha-Atzmaut is a hotchpotch of Yom Kippur, Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat Mevarkhim, and Pesaḥ. One gets a sense that there is an avoidance of hard issues. Even such a simple thing as saying Hallel with a blessing is not yet self-evident, but a subject of constant debate. Every year, there seem to be more leading rabbis, who adopt crypto-Ḥaredi stances, issuing pronunciamentos as to why one must not enter into the doubt of saying a brakha levatala, an unnecessary blessing, in this case. (As I was typing these words, I was interrupted by a phone call from a friend with this very question!) Bimhila mikvodam (no affront to the honor due them intended), but what on earth do they think the Talmud is talking about when it says that “On every occasion that Israel are in distress and then delivered, they are to recite the Hallel” (Pesaḥim 116a), if not the likes of Yom ha-Atzmaut? . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): In Israel, the Reform movement, which is called the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), dates back to the 1950s, but a serious concern for women’s role in liturgy is a relatively recent development, namely since the last decade of the 20st century. This paper examines the modes of liturgical change with regard to the role and presentation of women in Jewish ritual and worship within Israel: what they do to regain their voice[s] through worship and how they are depicted in contemporary liturgies. Today, gender-related issues are among the most heated issues faced by contemporary liberal, non-Orthodox Jews; discussions on the subject dominate the religious and academic spheres as well as the socio-cultural arena. This paper is based upon the assumption that the Israeli case is a distinct one compared to the North American treatment of gender in the liturgy, because Hebrew is not only the liturgical language, but also the vernacular for Israeli Jews. This makes it much harder to change liturgy, as it is perceived as holy matter. Another unique aspect of the Israeli liberal liturgy is the fact that it operates in a rather conservative religious environment: both Orthodox and secular Jews in Israel are less prone to experimental approaches toward liturgy and ritual. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): A sourcesheet on the halakhic opinions and attitudes towards praying in languages besides Hebrew. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): Language is simultaneously a portal and a barrier to prayer. Jews have prayed in Hebrew for millennia, yet our oldest sources also speak of prayer in other languages. Come explore the history of the language of prayer, how our linguistic preferences define what prayer is about, and how we might approach this issue today. . . . Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): As the month of Elul wanes, we are preparing. We prepare for the new moon, we prepare for Rosh Hashanah, and we prepare for the zombie invasion. I have it on good authority, as do you, that the onslaught is imminent. The alarm blares every morning — a shofar blast and a warning… . . . Categories: Tags: cannibalism, d'var t'fillah, אלול elul, predation, predatory nature, תהלים Psalms, Psalms 27, Tehillim, תשובה teshuvah, זמן תשובה Zman teshuvah Contributor(s):
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A Historical Map of Jewish Liturgical Influence and Variation by Aharon Varady, version 0.3.5.4 (license: CC BY-SA) (This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)
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The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-commercial, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture.
ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
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