The Tefilah Podcast

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/21/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we set out to finish the perek. The good news is that we made some nice progress, thanks to Rav Hirsch's commentary. The bad news is that we didn't finish. At least, not to my satisfaction. I feel like we're 90-95% of the way there, but it just feels like it lacks that "Ye...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/16/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we set out to finish the perek. However, we got sidetracked on a very important question about moshiach, Olam ha'Ba, and she'lo lishmah. This was a GREAT tangent and led to some nice ideas, but as a result, we didn't quite finish the perek - especially because the meforshim wer...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/9/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we continued our analysis of the perek we began on Tuesday. After reviewing our questions and the approaches we came up with last time, we began learning the Meiri's commentary. As predicted, his beautiful explanations shed light on both the ideas and the poetry in the text and helped us...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/7/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we began learning Tehilim 149. Although we initially found the pivot to be jarring and we raised a ton of questions on the particulars of the perek, we quickly develop a nice approach which fit in with our understanding of the surrounding perakim. Next time we hope to develop this approach and...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! FYI, this is being posted in my Machshavah Lab podcast because it's about a holiday and also in my Tefilah podcast because it's about tefilah. It's the same shiur, though. This evening (12/2/21), in our tefilah shiur, we attempted to take a fresh look at Al ha'Nissim, and when we did, we discovered a major theme that ha...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Q: Was this a Rambam Bekius chavurah or a Tefilah shiur? A: Both! This afternoon (11/29/21) I decided to "borrow" my Rambam Bekius slot to give a Tefilah shiur. We were scheduled to complete our current tefilah sugya this Tuesday, but I realized I'd be canceling that shiur on account of a Chanukah event that will take place...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Last Thursday we went over four reasons why we can't (and shouldn't) edit the text of davening. In this evening's tefilah shiur (11/23/21) we went over six additional reasons, bringing us to a total of ten. Only at the VERY end of the shiur did we get to the question, "What are the parameters for when we CAN change the...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this evening's tefilah shiur (11/18/21) we set out to answer the two questions we raised last time: (1) Why can't/shouldn't we change the scientifically inaccurate parts of tefilah to make them more accurate? (2) Why can't/shouldn't we change the text of tefilah in general? After a brief recap of Part 1, we lear...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this evening's tefilah shiur (11/16/21) we set out to answer two questions that were recently posed to me in a Q&A format: (1) Why don't we change the scientifically inaccurate passages in tefilah to be more accurate? (2) Why don't we change the text of tefilah for other reasons if it would improve our kavanah? I naiv...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (11/9/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we finished our analysis of Tehilim 148, thanks to the commentary (!) of the Rambam. Although we didn't answer every single question, we definitely got the main idea and import of this powerful psalm. We've now learned 4 out of the 6 chapters of pesukei de'zimra. All that remain...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (11/4/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we began learning Tehilim 148. We thought this would end up being similar to 147 because of the overlap in themes, but it looks like this one has a theme of its own. We spent this evening translating the perek, raising questions and problems, and trying to identify the pivot point. Next time w...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/28/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we finished our analysis of the perek, thanks to the Meiri! We answered all of our particular questions AND Adler's four questions. And now we can have kavanah when we say it every morning! :) Part 1 and Part 2 ---------- מקורות: תהלים פרק קמז מאירי - תהלים פרק קמז ישעיהו נה:ח-יא -------...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/26/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we continued our analysis of the seemingly "all over the place" Chapter 147. Thankfully, the Meiri provides a unifying theory. We began learning his commentary tonight and (God willing) he will help us tie everything together on Thursday. Part 1 and Part 3 ---------- מקורות: תהלים פ...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/21/21) in our Tehilim/Tefilah shiur we began learning Perek 147. After translating the pesukim, we spent the majority of the shiur trying to find some semblance of order in its chaos. Although we recite this every morning, we were shocked to discover how "all over the place" it was in its themes. Next time we'll...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this evening's tefilah shiur (10/19/21) we continued Rashba's commentary on Berachos 32a in which he explains the machlokess in Avodah Zarah 7b about whether we should engage in shevach (praise) first and bakashah (request) afterwards, or vice versa. We finished learning through the Rashba's commentary and - thanks to Rav...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! I was recently asked a question about what, exactly, we're doing when we praise Hashem in tefilah. I was also recently asked the same question about making requests in tefilah. In this evening's tefilah shiur (10/14/21) our goal was to address both topics simultaneously. We began learning the Rashba's commentary on Berachos...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/12/21) we concluded our analysis of Tehilim 20. Our goal was to tie it all together in a neat package, finish answering Adler's four questions, and explain the function of the perek in shacharis. With Hashem's help - we succeeded! Click here for Part 1 Click here for Part 2 ---------- מקורות: תהלים פרק כ רד"ק - ת...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/7/21) we continued our analysis of Tehilim 20. After reviewing the translation according to the Radak, we set out to try to understand the main idea. I mentioned that I only feel like I have 75% of an understanding, but I'd lay out everything I have on the table. As I did, we started to see the main idea materialize ... we...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (10/5/21 at YBT), after our Tehilim shiur, we took up a question that was asked about tefilah: "What should I do if the personal requests I make in shemoneh esrei feel somewhat childish?" After clarifying and unpacking the question, we suggesteed several answers/approaches which seemed to satisfy the one who asked th...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/5/21) we began our analysis of the familiar Tehilim 20, which we say after Ashrei in shacharis most mornings. In this first session we read and translated the entire perek formulated our impressions and questions, identified the pivot point, and then read through the Radak's entire commentary. Next time we will attempt to...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight was our first Tehilim shiur of the 2021-2022 year. Since we only had one 45 minute shiur before we break for Sukkos, we chose a perek that is short and familiar: Tehilim 150, which we say every day in pesukei d'zimra. We analyzed this perek using our usual methods, which we reviewed, and although we had to rush it a bit, I&apo...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this episode of "5-minute kavanah" (recorded on 9/25/20) we conclude our analysis of the first request we insert in the amidah during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah by explaining the second and fourth clauses, and then tying it all together. ---------- מקורות: ספר אבודרהם סדר תפלת ראש השנה יחזקאל יח:כא-כג דברים ל:יט ישעיהו מח:ט-יא -...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this episode of "5-minute kavanah" (recorded on 9/24/20) we continue our analysis of the first request we insert in the amidah during the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah, bringing support for the radical theory introduced in the previous video and explaining the idea based on the Radak's commentary on Malachi 3:16. In Part 3 we will...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this episode of "5-minute kavanah" (recorded on 9/23/20) we begin analyzing the first of the Aseres Ymei Teshuvah Amidah insertions, beginning with the phrase "remember us for life." Our analysis leads us to a theory some might consider to be "radical." You can be the judge of that. For the YouTube version...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! מֵסִיר אׇזְנוֹ מִשְּׁמֹעַ תּוֹרָה גַּם תְּפִלָּתוֹ תּוֹעֵבָה: This evening (8/3/21 at YBT), during our usual tefilah/Tehilim slot, we learned a Mishlei pasuk about tefilah. We were puzzled about what this pasuk is even doing in the sefer, but by the end of our analysis, we had several nice approaches. Turns out, your Mishleic development W...