Due to the positive feedback I received over the past two years (special shout-out to Michael Rapoport!), I decided to collect the best 60 of

Compared to some of our other prayers, the Hebrew in the daily Amidah is fairly straightforward. Nevertheless, there are some interesting words. I will now

Karpas: This word appears in the Tanach only one time, at Esther 1:6. There it means “fine fabric, linen.” In the Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud

The Mishnah in the 10th chapter of Pesacḥim includes a set of Ma Nishtana. If one opens a standard Babylonian Talmud (Pesacḥim 116a), one sees

Shavuot was the time that a portion of the first fruits were brought to the Temple for the priests, and Deut. 26:5-9 describes the prayer

I spent many years studying the period from 539-332 BC.E. This is the period when the Jews were subject to the rule of the kings

Since Parshat Zachor is upcoming, I thought it would be appropriate to deal with the root Z-C-R. I actually dealt with this topic before. (Do

We are all familiar with the four biblical fast days in Tishrei, Tammuz, Av and Tevet. We are also familiar with the post-Talmudic fast of

There is never an appropriate time to discuss this word. But at least Adar has not yet started, so I will squeeze this discussion in

The book of Esther jumps immediately into the reign of Achashverosh, but provides little background. Fortunately, we get some background from the book of Ezra.

There is much to discuss in this biblical poem. I am limiting myself to a brief selection. Azi ve-zimrat: God is described as “azi ve-zimrat.”

At the end of davening every Monday, we recite Psalm 48 as the “shir shel yom.” This Psalm ends: “This is God, our God forever