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October 7, 2024 – 10:40 pm | Comments Off on The Power of Confession52 views

Jokes about confession abound, but confession is no laughing matter. Judaism takes confession seriously, especially on Yom Kippur. In Judaism, confession is an intensely private affair. It is only between you and G-d. No one else is invited or permitted to overhear your confession. We must confess silently. The public …

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Articles tagged with: Prayer

The Superbowl Grind

February 17, 2024 – 9:42 pm | Comments Off on The Superbowl Grind408 views
Praying

Every year, the world gears up for the Superbowl, and even people who don’t follow football take an interest. Somehow, the NFL has captured the imagination of the masses; the show, the glitz, the contest, and the party combine to make it an entertaining evening.
The fans see the final product. …

The Minyan Effect

May 20, 2022 – 8:00 pm | Comments Off on The Minyan Effect1,169 views
minyan-innerstream.ca

Minyan is a quorum of ten and it is a Jewish tradition to pray with a quorum. In fact, the holiest parts of prayer, the sanctification of G-d’s name and the chanting from the Torah, may only occur in the presence of a minyan. We believe that our prayers have …

Beshalach: Shabbat

January 13, 2019 – 2:37 pm | Comments Off on Beshalach: Shabbat2,592 views
love-innerstream.ca

When our ancestors traveled through the desert, they were nourished by Manna that fell miraculously from heaven every morning of the week with the exception of Shabbat. There was no Manna on Shabbat; instead two portions fell on Friday, one for Friday, the other for Shabbat.
Nevertheless, the Zohar, the seminal …

Bo: Ordinary Prayer

January 5, 2019 – 10:42 pm | Comments Off on Bo: Ordinary Prayer1,835 views
prayer-innerstream.ca

Does G-d listen to the prayer or ordinary people?
Would you pray for me, is a rather common request that people make of rabbis.
People assume that Rabbis are pious. They also assume that G-d listens to the pious more than He listens to ordinary people. I won’t quibble with the first …

Emor: Effective Perspective

April 29, 2018 – 12:16 am | Comments Off on Emor: Effective Perspective2,168 views
perspective-innerstrea.ca

Perspective is the key ingredient in life. Some people take the perspective that life owes them. Others take the perspective that no one owes them anything. The former, do nothing to help themselves, the latter do all that they can to help themselves. In our generation, too many are growing …

Vayikra: Coming to Shull

March 14, 2018 – 9:58 am | Comments Off on Vayikra: Coming to Shull2,413 views
coming-to-shull

When you live in a small Jewish community, you often need to recruit people to attend services at the synagogue just to ensure that you have a Minyan (quorum of ten men for prayer). Many grow frustrated with the process and wonder what value there is in attending only because …

Vayakhel Pekudei: Playing Host to G-d

March 3, 2018 – 9:29 pm | Comments Off on Vayakhel Pekudei: Playing Host to G-d6,606 views
host-innerstream.ca

A Wise Host
The host of the party was worried that there were too many people and not enough refreshments. He was sure that not everyone had been invited, but he had to identify the crashers. So, he called for silence and asked, “Will those from the bride’s side of the …

Vayikra: The Daily Offering

March 25, 2017 – 10:58 pm | Comments Off on Vayikra: The Daily Offering2,902 views
daily-offering-innerstream.ca

A Little is Enough
If you were a little fly on the wall of the Tabernacle or Temple you would notice a curious aspect of the sacrificial rite, namely the daily offerings. Each morning, at dawn’s earliest light, a sheep offering was made. Every day the same kind of sheep with …