Judaism 101

The Moroccan Uniform Nusach? The Story of the Nachalat Avot Siddur

Judaism 101 Dr. Reuven Gafni

The siddur’s opening pages include an introduction by Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Toledano, who describes the uniqueness and ancient character of the Moroccan nusach, while addressing much broader historical processes, which are usually not to be found in conservative siddurim...

A Truly Israeli Merger: The Sefardic-Chassidic ‘Eit Ratzon’ Siddur

Judaism 101 Dr. Reuven Gafni

New prayer houses such as these, which mix and match different traditions of prayer and custom, continue to be created all the time in many places. It is thus entirely natural that the siddur bookshelf also be enriched with new siddurim expressing this new trend, with approaches to prayer which previous generations would have found difficult to imagine.

National Prayers In Meah Shearim: The Beit Tefilah – Har Tziyon Siddur

Judaism 101 Dr. Reuven Gafni

As a siddur meant for both religious Zionists and non-Zionist charedim, and much like siddurim of previous generations, the original Beis Tefilah also did not include the national prayers – those said every Shabbat and those said on Israel’s Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Jerusalem Day.

The Two Talmidei Chachamim In Our Holy City: Rabbi Aburbeh, Rabbi Shloush, and the...

Judaism 101 Dr. Reuven Gafni

The siddur itself was Sephardi for all intents and purposes, but its subheading – “according to the minhag of the holy community of Sefardim of the Ma’arav and the Mizrach” – hinted at Rabbi Aburbeh’s principled and consistent ideological line, which strove already at this early date to fuse all existing Sephardi and Mizrahi prayer nusachim into a single, unified prayer formula.

A Jewish Prayer Encyclopedia: The Minchat Yerushalayim Siddur

Judaism 101 Dr. Reuven Gafni

The prayers themselves, it should be noted, only appear after no fewer than 100 pages of prior content, and the book’s design is apparently based on the Siddur HaShalem previously published by Eshkol Press.

Two Hundred Years Of High Holiday Prayers: The Machzor Rabba and Its Predecessors

Judaism 101 Dr. Reuven Gafni

This highly popular machzor was so widely accepted that it was even quoted in the writings of major poskim, including the Chasam Sofer.

A Siddur For The Halachic Woman: The Korban Minchah

Judaism 101 Dr. Reuven Gafni

As mentioned, the siddur also included a complete Sefer Tehillim, divided according to the days of the week and month, something which was also considered part of the classical world of Jewish women’s prayer at the time.

What are the Three Weeks & Tisha B’Av?

Judaism 101 Rabbi Shraga Simmons

The Jewish national period of mourning.

Jerusalem Study Center Strives to Bolster Diaspora Community Leaders’ Torah Expertise

Judaism 101 Josh Hasten

The International Halacha Institute offers personalized online training in French, English, Hebrew and Spanish.

What are the Three Weeks & Tisha B’Av?

Judaism 101 Rabbi Shraga Simmons

The Jewish national period of mourning.

Our Yom HaAtzmaut Chassid

Judaism 101 Rabbi Adam Starr

his is not the standard look for someone who attends our shul even if just passing through, especially since there are other shuls on the block that may be considered a better fit. I'll be honest that if someone comes in looking like this, it's usually to collect tzedakah.

The Genizah Journey: Where Does Your Shaimos Go After You Drop It Off?

Judaism 101 Rachel Kohn

Genizah is not overseen by any national rabbinic authority in the United States, and it is a tradition practiced not only in the Orthodox world but by other streams of Judaism as well.

Off The Derech (Part III)

Judaism 101 Baruch Lytle

It was obvious I was in the wrong place with the wrong people and I needed to get out of there.

Off The Derech (Part II)

Judaism 101 Baruch Lytle

Makom, a branch of the organization Jew In The City (JITC), was founded in 2014 by Allison Josephs, to help Jews who feel they no longer want to stay in their community of birth find a new community of choice – instead of leaving Judaism altogether in frustration.

Off The Derech (Part I)

Judaism 101 Baruch Lytle

While his going OTD was painful for his mother, Boruch says she still accepted him – and worried more about the types of people he was hanging with.

The Religious Connection of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel

Judaism 101 Alex Grobman PhD.

Though demography was not an exact science, Jews may have numbered several million in the early Roman Empire. For more than a century before...

A Soul On A Mission

Judaism 101 Baruch Lytle

Among them was Aryeh Abramov, 17, who was to leave for a year in Israel two days later. “He was an all-around good person,” Abramov said, “he gave to all of us by always making the minyan, so it’s nice that I can be here and make a minyan for him.”

First Ever Book About the Jewish Festivals for Emerging Jewish Communities Released in Time...

Judaism 101 Jewish Press Staff

The author of the book Ronit Treatman, the daughter of Israeli diplomats who speaks several languages and lives in Philadelphia, was inspired to write the book after she became involved with the Bnei Anousim, the tens of millions of people around the world descended from forcibly converted Spanish and Portuguese Jews through the organization Reconectar.

Israeli Rabbi Forms After-School Program For Americans

Judaism 101 Tzvi Fishman

Rabbi Samson will teach a special 32-session course designed for bar mitzvah boys that will provide an overview on the 613 mitzvot, with a concentration on the daily mitzvot such as prayer and those related to Shabbat. A parallel course for bat mitzvah girls will also be offered.