The Amidah (Hebrew: תפילת העמידה, Tefilat HaAmidah “The Standing Prayer”), also called the Shmoneh Esreh (שמנה עשרה, Shmoneh Esreh “The Eighteen,” in reference to the original number of constituent blessings; there are now nineteen), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book. Read More
The day we celebrate Queenship of Mary, let’s pray with Pope Francis the prayer he wrote in the end of his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudim: Mary, Virgin and Mother, you who, moved by the Holy Spirit, welcomed the word of life in the depths of your humble faith: as you gave yourself completely to Read More
by Alan Mintz In the Shema, three passages from the Bible form the theological center of the prayer book. The passages are Deuteronomy 6:4-8 and 11:13-22 and Numbers15:37-42. The first of these begins with one of the most famous and resonant statements in all of Jewish literature. During the service, the pray-er recites it with Read More
