Tag Archives: prayer

Avinu Malkeinu Splits the Difference

Posted on October 3, 2025 by zjb

Jewish tradition is internally oriented and self-reflecting. As the concluding refrain of Yom Kippur, the Avinu Malkeinu, Our Father Our King, splits the difference between maintaining vigilance vis-a-vis anti-Jewish violence and communal sin and iniquity. The prayer holds the tense … Continue reading →

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(Jewish) Prayer (Gentile Kings and Democratic Country)

Posted on January 11, 2021 by zjb

  This 16th prayer, of Portuguese origin, Ha’Noten Teshua (He Who Gives Salvation) was then translated into English and presented by  Menasseh ben Israel to Oliver Cromwell in 1655. It became the template in traditional Jewish prayer and still appears … Continue reading →

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U’netaneh Tokef is a Wolfish Prayer

Posted on September 12, 2018 by zjb

I used to think I understood the U’netaneh Tokef, the famous High Holiday piyyut, or liturgical poem. It’s expression centered on the sublime eternity of God, the fleeting and uncertain condition of human life (how many will live and how … Continue reading →

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