Approaching Pesah, Part 1: “Turning the Heart”
Mar 13, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Pesah
Two seemingly disconnected texts offer an insight into the experience of Pesah. On Shabbat Hagadol (the Shabbat before Pesah, this year on March 23), the haftarah from Malachi ends with the powerful words, “before the coming of the great and awesome day of God I will send you the prophet Elijah; he will turn the hearts of parents to [their] children, and the hearts of children to parents” (Mal. 3:23).
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“In God’s Hand I Place My Soul” (Part 2)
Mar 6, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
Last week we took a brief look at the balance between the majestic theological description of God with which Adon Olam opens, and the more intimate, even tender recounting of the poet’s relationship with God in the final stanzas. These final verses begin with two short words that articulate a quite extraordinary claim: “Vehu Eli” (For He is my God).
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“In God’s Hand I Place My Soul” (Part 1)
Feb 27, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
There are moments when our prayers and spiritual poetry (piyyutim) make profound declarations about life and death, about humanity and God. Often these moments are recognized as awesome and important, and there is a sense within the synagogue community of this significance; for example, in asserting the unity of God (the Shema’), God’s holiness (the kedushah), and the role of destiny (“Unetaneh tokef” on Rosh Hashanah).
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Serve God With Joy
Feb 20, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
I recall reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer while in elementary school, and being stumped by a description of the powerful singing in church of “Old Hundred.” What might this “Old Hundred” be, and why was it being sung in church with such fervor? Eventually, I found out that this was Psalm 100, and was sung by the community as it learned that Tom Sawyer was alive, and had mischievously staged his own disappearance.
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“Fill Our Eyes with Light . . . Cause Our Heart to Cling” (Part 2)
Feb 13, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
Last week we looked at the phrase “ha’er eyenynu” (Fill our eyes with the light of Your Torah), and now let us look more closely at the continuation of the same sentence: “vedabek libeinu bemitzvotekha” (and make our hearts cleave to Your mitzvot) [Siddur Sim Shalom Daily, 32].
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“Fill Our Eyes With Light . . . Cause Our Hearts to Cling” (Part 1)
Feb 5, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
Phrases in the siddur are filled with echoes of earlier texts and give birth to newer metaphors and meanings. The blessing immediately before the Shema’ in every morning service contains the phrase “ha’er eyneinu beToratekha vedabek libeinu bemitzvotekha” (Fill our eyes with the light of Your Torah, and make our hearts cleave to Your mitzvot.) [Siddur Sim Shalom, 32.]
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Blessings
Jan 30, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
The famous Priestly Blessing (Num. 6: 24–26) is an ambiguous text in our liturgy that appears in various guises. It is presented as a selection for study from the Written Torah each morning (Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays, 5), and is chanted by the leader of the service at the end of the ‘Amidah (43). The text presents the Torah verses as a memory:
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Kol haneshamah tehallel Yah! (All that has breath shall praise God!)
Jan 23, 2013 By Samuel Barth | Commentary
This is the final verse of Psalm 150—the culmination of the book of Psalms. Every day our set liturgy includes the final six psalms (145 through 150), and, to my personal sorrow, the pacing of the so-called “preliminary service” generally allows a couple of minutes (at most) for a rushed recitation of these classic and profound poetic texts. Fortunately, in many communities—at least on Shabbat, and even on weekdays—a little more time is allowed for Psalm 150. We find a glorious array of musical interpretations of the text that exemplify the diverse approaches to religious music of contemporary Jewish life. Some examples will be found at the end of this essay.
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