Shacharit (morning prayer)

There is a big castle that is surrounded by thorn bushes that we need to chop down in order to clear our path to get inside. The verses of praise, ‘pesukei d'zimra’, are those prayers that help us "chop down" and clear away all those external barriers tha...

The second section of prayer is called Pesukei D’zimra, or Verses of Song, primarily comprised of Psalms praising G-d in creation. We begin with the blessing of Baruch She’amar describing how G-d created the world through speech and the attribute of kings...

In this lesson we examine the succession of morning blessings, which express our thanksgiving for many special gifts we’re granted on a daily basis. We also don’t shy away from openly discussing the more controversial blessings at the end.

In this lesson we probe the deeper meaning of the blessing ‘Elokay Neshamah’, which acknowledges and thanks G-d for granting us life and a divine soul. We then proceed to explore the subsequent morning blessings of gratitude.

In this class we examine the deeper meaning and messages behind the various prayers describing the Temple service, as well as the many prayers expressing our praise and gratitude to G-d, which lead up to the Shema prayer.

The morning blessings thanking G-d for the land upon which we tread, our steps that G-d directs, for taking care of all our needs, girding us with might, and crowning us with glory.

A deeper understanding of the morning blessings; thanking G-d for keeping us upright, clothing us and giving to the weary strength and energy.

The meaning of the morning blessings, how they help us express gratitude and draw down G-dliness into our world.

The class discusses the issue of whether it’s appropriate to skip prayers in order to daven with a minyan.

In this lesson we look at the rationale for us blessing G-d in general and specifically in the morning, why Hebrew is the preferred language for prayer, and the layers of meaning to the ritual hand washing in the morning.