Browsed by
Category: Siddur & Nusach

The RCA “Edition” (Or Lack Thereof) Siddur

The RCA “Edition” (Or Lack Thereof) Siddur

Comments 118 comments

When a Yom Tov falls out on Shabbat, we add additions to the standard Yom Tov shemonei esrei that relate to Shabbat. One of these additions is found in the V’haseanu והשיאנו blessing, where we add “elokenu v’lokei avosanu retzah bemunchatanu (אלקנו ולאקי אבותנו רצה במנוחתנו).” There is very little question about this addition is Shacharit. The more complex question is the Mussaf. The reason for the complexity is that in the Shaharit there is no place where the formula…

Read More Read More

Machnisei Rachamim and Plagerism

Machnisei Rachamim and Plagerism

Comments 2 comments

This Saturday night many begin to say the Selichot prayers. There is one prayer in particular that has raised question throughout the centuries, Machnisei Rachmim. This prayer, which asks the angels to take our prayers is controversial. The reason for the controversy is that we generally avoid praying to angels, instead, we pray to God. Now, in truth there are many, many prayers that are either directly or indirectly addressed at angels, but Machnesi Rachmim is perhaps the most overt…

Read More Read More

Controversial Book on the Development of the Siddur

Controversial Book on the Development of the Siddur

Comments 1 comment

In the Jewish liturgy there is a fundamental question dealing with the composition of the Hebrew found therein. There are two major types of Hebrew – Rabbinic and Biblical. The question becomes which should one be using when praying. This at first blush may appear to be of minor significance, however, most controversies regarding various words throughout the prayer book can be traced to this one point. This issue of which Hebrew to follow was brought to head in the…

Read More Read More

Errors in Seder Olam?

Errors in Seder Olam?

Comments 0 Comment

When one discusses the “Jewish” date of the world, the source used is the book Seder Olam. In fact, this is the source where we get to our counting of this being the 5766 year of the world. There was a rather intriguing controversy about whether the edition we have of Seder Olam is a corrupted edition or not. R. Moshe Hagiz, pehaps most well know for his campaign against R. Moshe Hayyim Luzzato, had a very interesting correspondence with…

Read More Read More

Hatikvah, Shir HaMa’alot, & Censorship

Hatikvah, Shir HaMa’alot, & Censorship

Comments 0 Comment

There is a rather interesting teshuva which appears in R. Avrohom Weinfeld’s Lev Avrohom. In it he discusses whether one can recite Shir HaMa’alot to the tune of Hatikvah. He first explains that this question involves the question of whether a tune from an impure source is appropriate to use. He begins by discussing the two well-known teshuvot (the Teshuvot haBakh and the Krach shel Romi) dealing with using non-Jewish tunes for Jewish songs. However, without getting into all of…

Read More Read More