Articles & reflections
22 articles on prayer, halacha, the Hebrew calendar, and the inner life of devotion.
Calendar
All calendar →Lag BaOmer: The Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (with Songs for Download)
Lag BaOmer, the thirty-third day of the Omer count, is celebrated as the hillula — the joyous yahrzeit — of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi), the great Talmudic sage and mystic. The article explains why his passing is marked with joy rather than mourning, traces the ancient custom of lighting bonfires at his tomb in Meron, and presents three classic liturgical poems composed in his honor.
The Manna Passage as a Segulah for Livelihood
Reciting the biblical passage describing the manna — known in Hebrew as Parashat HaMan — has long been considered a segulah (auspicious spiritual practice) for securing one's livelihood. This article traces the custom's sources, from the Shulchan Aruch and early rabbinic authorities through Hasidic tradition, and examines the popular practice of reciting it on the Tuesday of the week when Parashat Beshalach is read. The attribution to Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Riminov is explored, along with questions about its origins.
The Key-Shaped Challah: A Post-Passover Custom and Its Many Meanings
On the first Shabbat after Passover, many Jewish communities have the custom of baking challah in the shape of a key. This article collects a rich variety of explanations for this practice, drawn from Hasidic masters and traditional sources: opening heavenly gates after Passover, symbolizing livelihood and divine provision, hinting at the merit of Mishnah study, and recalling that certain divine 'keys' are never delegated to any intermediary. Together they reveal a tradition layered with spiritual meaning.
Mussar
All mussar →Faith, Prayer, and Abundance: Believing in the Power of Your Own Voice
Drawing on the teachings of Rabbi Natan of Breslov, this article addresses a common spiritual struggle: the feeling that one's prayers go unheard and are therefore pointless. It argues that this discouragement is the work of the evil inclination, and that every person has the power to effect real change through prayer. By persisting through the difficult early stages, a person builds genuine faith — and that faith becomes the vessel through which divine abundance flows.
It Is Permitted to Aspire to Success and Stability
The author wrestles with a genuine spiritual question: once a person trusts that God guides everything for their ultimate good, is there anything left to strive for? Turning to Psalm 1, he finds King David's answer — a vision of the righteous person as a deeply rooted, fruit-bearing tree. Far from discouraging ambition, the psalm reveals that God actively wants us to aspire to stability, productivity, and lasting contribution in this world.
The Exalted Thing We Overlook: On Shame, Need, and the Power of Asking God
Drawing on a verse from Psalms (12:9) and its two interpretations in the Talmud (Berakhot 6b), this article explores the human instinct to feel shame when asking others for help. It argues that God embedded this very capacity for shame within us — not as a weakness, but as the raw material for genuine prayer. King David teaches that the same inner force that makes us blush before other people is, when rightly directed toward God, among the most elevated acts of the human soul.
An Anthology: The Great Value of Prayer (IV)
This collection of classical Jewish teachings celebrates the power of sincere prayer in every circumstance. Drawing on sources from the Or HaChayyim to the Ramchal, it teaches that prayer born of distress reaches God directly, that one should pray constantly and informally throughout the day, that prayer must continue even after relief arrives, and that no one — however unworthy they feel — should ever despair of being heard.
An Anthology: The Greatness of Prayer (Part II)
This article is a curated collection of teachings from classical Jewish sources — including the Ya'arot Devash, Likutey Halakhot, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the Chafetz Chaim, and others — on the power and importance of prayer. The central message is that prayer is not reserved for crisis: every need, joy, and daily moment calls for turning to God. Prayer always helps, God desires our supplication, and the troubles we face are often a consequence of our failure to pray with depth and frequency.
The Value and Obligation of Prayer
This article draws on Midrash, medieval ethics, Hasidic teaching, and halachic sources to illuminate why prayer matters — and when. It teaches that prayer should precede trouble, not only follow it; that fear itself is a heavenly signal to pray; that tears and sincerity can open gates that merit alone cannot; and that even the humblest, most spontaneous cry reaches God. The guiding spirit throughout is that prayer is not a transaction but an act of surrender, trust, and relationship.
The Power of Prayer: A Collection of Teachings
This article gathers classic Jewish teachings on the value and importance of prayer. Drawing from the Sefer Hasidim, the Sefer Haredim, and the Ramban's glosses on Maimonides' Book of Commandments, it argues that sincere supplication — offered with tears and genuine longing — can move God to respond even when one lacks great merit. Prayer is presented not as a burden but as an act of divine kindness, inviting every person into an intimate relationship with the Creator.
Reflections
All reflections →The Child Born of Prayer
When Eli the High Priest threatened to punish the young Samuel for ruling on a point of Jewish law in his teacher's presence, his mother Hannah refused any substitute. Her biblical declaration — 'It was for this boy that I prayed' (1 Samuel 1) — becomes, in the reading of a Hasidic master, a profound statement about the bond between a child and the prayers that brought him into being. The child forged through tears and longing is irreplaceable precisely because of the spiritual struggle he embodies.
The Power of Prayer
Drawn from the introduction to the prayerbook 'Minhat Yerushalayim,' this passage addresses a universal spiritual worry: that we lack the tools to cultivate our inner lives. The answer it offers is prayer itself — described as a sacred instrument, bequeathed to us by the prophets and the Men of the Great Assembly, capable of transforming a heart of stone into a heart of flesh and clearing the soul of every obstacle rooted there since youth.
The Wise Man Has Eyes in His Head
Drawing on a verse from Ecclesiastes, this short essay uses the vivid image of someone navigating a dark room to explore how human beings cope with uncertainty and helplessness. The central message is simple and direct: when darkness persists and we are desperate for something we cannot find on our own, the only real response is to cry out — to God — and wait for the light to be turned on from the outside.
The Wholeness of Prayer: How We Worship Together
Drawing on a verse from Exodus and the Nishmat Kol Chai prayer, the Chatam Sofer (1826) explains why communal prayer achieves what no individual can accomplish alone. The Jewish people form a single spiritual body, each person contributing a different limb — intellect, heart, voice, or deed. When the community unites, its collective praise rises complete before God, with the great Torah leaders of the generation acting as agents on behalf of all.
The Landscapes of Prayer, Glimpsed from the Train Window
Rabbi Yaakov B. Friedman uses an eight-hour train journey through the Norwegian mountains as a metaphor for the challenge of fixed, repetitive prayer. The scenery changes constantly, he argues, even when the train car and seat stay the same — and prayer works the same way. When we connect the unchanging words of the Amidah to our real daily experiences, joys, and hurts, the liturgy stops being a recitation and becomes a living conversation with God.
The Prayer of the Poor: Why a Broken Heart Outranks Every Other Prayer
Drawing on a profound teaching from the Zohar, this article explores why the prayer of the 'poor person' — understood not as financial poverty but as a broken heart — takes precedence over all other prayers, even those of Moses and King David. The Zohar teaches that God sets aside every other prayer until this one enters first. The article closes with an encouragement: if you pray from a genuinely broken heart, your prayer is the most precious of all.
Does God Hear Me?
The author notices that doubts about whether God truly hears prayer tend to arise precisely when prayer feels like an effort — when it must be consciously worked at rather than felt. By contrast, in moments of genuine distress, prayer bursts forth naturally and completely. Reflecting on a verse from Psalms attributed to King David, the author concludes that the closeness of God is directly proportional to the sincerity with which we call out to Him.
A Gleanings Collection: The Greatness of Prayer (Part 5)
This collection of classical Jewish teachings celebrates the extraordinary power of prayer. Drawing from the Midrash, the Ramchal, the Shelah, and other sources, the passages together convey that God listens to every person who calls out — not only the righteous, not only in great crises. Prayer with a joyful heart, with tears, with persistence, and even without great merit is precious to God and never goes unanswered. The evil inclination's fiercest battles, the sources warn, are waged precisely against prayer.
A Gleaning: The Greatness of Prayer (III)
This collection of classical Jewish teachings celebrates the extraordinary power of prayer. Drawing on Sefer Hasidim, Rabbeinu Bachya, Chassidic masters, and Midrashic sources, the passages teach that sincere, persistent supplication — even without merit — can move the Almighty, overturn decrees, and alter the natural order. Prayer born from distress carries special weight, and even the smallest request is worthy of being brought before God.
An Anthology: The Profound Power of Prayer
This collection of classical Jewish teachings affirms that while a person's fate may seem sealed by nature or circumstance, the gates of prayer are never locked. Drawing on the Meiri, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's Derech Hashem, and Sefer HaChinuch, the passages together argue that prayer is not merely a petition but a cosmic mechanism: by turning toward God, we draw divine abundance toward ourselves and open what seemed forever closed.
Prayer and Fate: Why the Three Great Gifts Require More Than Merit
Drawing on a teaching from Rabbeinu Bachya's Kad HaKemach, this article explores a Talmudic saying that children, long life, and livelihood depend not on personal merit but on mazal — one's destined portion. Rather than diminishing the role of prayer, the teaching elevates it: prayer alone has the power to overturn fate itself. Scripture shows that all three gifts were granted specifically through prayer, making it the indispensable tool for the deepest human needs.
Prayer Is Like a Balm That Heals Every Illness
Drawing on biblical examples from Hezekiah to Hannah to Daniel, this article argues that prayer is uniquely powerful among all the commandments — capable of healing the sick, averting death, opening the womb, ending famine, winning wars, and securing redemption from exile. Quoting the Sefer HaIkkarim (Book of Principles), it concludes that prayer, like a universal balm, works for every person and every need, even for the most complete sinner.