It's my privilege to share another siddur that we used here in Katzrin for Shaharit on the last day of חנוכה תשפ''ד. As with the previous siddur, the goal is to illustrate the theory of using open source liturgy to revive better forms of Jewish prayer. As before, my chief source is the siddur of Rav Shaki שליט''א, however, I'm particularly happy to have been able to include a poetic version of the shemoneh esreh by Rabi Pinchas haCohen, which I found in the collection produced by Shulamit …
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Reactionary arguments for normie tefillin
Probably the single most characteristically mekori'ist position is that modern tefilin, mezuzot and sifrei Torah are no good, or at the very least extremely inferior, because the klaf they are made from isn't properly tanned with afaztim (gall nuts), indeed hasn't been tanned at all. Modern klaf is actually parchment and thus doesn't meet the gemara's strict requirements, which are הלכה למשה מסיני. One reason this position is considered such a no-brainer for the Jewish Originalist is that …
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A prototype modular NEY Siddur
In previous posts, I have argued that (i) not only is it impossible to arbitrate disagreements about what constitutes the perfect version of Nusah Eretz Yisrael, there is no need to attempt to do so, since each congregation can make use of modern digital tools and printing facilities to create 'good enough' texts for specific days that can be shared and modified by others, and (ii) that the priority for improving communal prayer is neither finding the ideal combination of words nor per se making …
Making schul good: A roadmap to תפילה בציבור
Why go to schul? According to Rambam, the answer is obvious: תְּפִלַּת הַצִּבּוּר נִשְׁמַעַת תָּמִיד וַאֲפִלּוּ הָיוּ בָּהֶן חוֹטְאִים אֵין הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מוֹאֵס בִּתְפִלָּתָן שֶׁל רַבִּים. לְפִיכָךְ צָרִיךְ אָדָם לְשַׁתֵּף עַצְמוֹ עִם הַצִּבּוּר. וְלֹא יִתְפַּלֵּל בְּיָחִיד כָּל זְמַן שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל עִם הַצִּבּוּר. וּלְעוֹלָם יַשְׁכִּים אָדָם וְיַעֲרִיב לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת שֶׁאֵין תְּפִלָּתוֹ נִשְׁמַעַת בְּכָל עֵת אֶלָּא בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת. וְכָל מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ בֵּית …
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On pronouncing Hebrew correctly
Every language has its own mixture of phonological, morphological, and syntactic features that, taken together, constitute its unique character and identity. For the most part, these features are of interest only to a small minority of professionals and geeks; the better part of mankind remains obliviously content, interested only in how to practically manipulate the language so as to generate and absorb meaning. This is as true of Hebrew as it is of any other language. There is, however, one …
Why is Moshe not in the Haggadah?
One of the most frequently asked questions about the Haggadah is why the second most important character in the exodus story (after G-d!) is never even mentioned. A number of answers have been offered to this problem: The most famous answer is that Moshe is deliberately omitted from the Haggadah because including him would distract from the true message of the exodus story, which is that G-d alone saved the children of Israel without human help (Vilna Gaon and lots of others)Moshe was the the …