Maurice Lamm

Praying cannot be confined to moments of inspiration or desperation - praying only when one is moved by events and "feels like" praying

Anenu is a prayer for fast days recited during the silent amidah prayer at minchah, the afternoon service. It is found in the standard prayer books. Vidui and al chet are prayers of confession. They are recited even on days when no fast may be held. They ...

Although it is not recorded in the Talmud, an ancient tradition advises bride and groom to fast on the day of their wedding. (This applies both to those who are marrying for the first time and to those who are remarrying.) They fast from daybreak until af...

The Halakhah is concerned not only with the souls of Jews, but with their appearance. They must be modest as well as attractive. A normal amount of ornament and color in daily life are considered both innocent and proper, but excess ornamentation and loud...

The requirement that a congregation of at least ten adult Jewish males be present for the wedding service was evolved gradually. In Talmudic times, when the nuptials and betrothal were two distinct ceremonies separated by up to a year’s time, the nuptials...

The Groom’s Home Marriage is dramatically symbolized when the bride leaves her parents’ home and sets up house with her husband. In ancient times, the groom’s father built special quarters in the family home for the married couple (the chuppah represents ...

In the past, certain dates were considered auspicious for marriage. For example, some proposed that marriages be held only during the first half of the lunar Hebrew month because love and good fortune should increase as the moon increases. The last word o...

The wedding, as we have seen, is not simply a beautiful ceremony—it is an intricate web of laws and customs that the Torah has ordained and society has developed for the protection of the family and social morality. These traditions are far too complicate...

Te’naim—conditions—is the popular term for the shidukhin, a mutual agreement between two sets of parents for the date and financial conditions of the forthcoming marriage of their children. In the times of the Mishnah at the beginnings of the Common Era, ...

The style of the wedding celebration is a reflection of the personal values of the couple and their families, and of their perception of communal standards. The tradition calls for dignity, simplicity, and integrity. Coarseness, loudness, exhibitionist di...