Tag: T’filah

B’rachah vs. T’filah

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We have been discussing the differences and similarities between a B’rachah (Blessing) and a T’filah (Prayer). The students  discovered that all b’rachot (blessings) are t’filot (prayers), but not vice versa. Blessings can be defined by the Hebrew formula “Baruch Atah Adonai,” which sometimes continues, “Eloheinu Melech HaOlam…” or “Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe…”. Some b’rachot also include the words for fulfilling a mitzvah or commandment: “Asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu…” which translates as “who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to…”. Continue reading →

Exploring Prayer Both Ancient and Modern

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Through the winter we have been delving further into our Mishkan T’filah siddur (prayer book) in order to get to know more about t’filot or prayers.  We began our discussion with a history lesson about the destruction of The Temple in Jerusalem and how this eventually led to the concept of a local synagogue, and the need to replace sacrifice with a different kind of devotion to G-d, prayer.

That led us to explore our prayers to see where each one came from.  Continue reading →

T’filah Project

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Yesterday the students and I discussed our next assignment, the T’filah (Prayer) Project.  This is a year-long project where each student in class has the opportunity to be a teacher for the day.  They will research, practice, and present a prayer to the class in a creative and fun way.  We discussed the assignment in detail and what each student’s responsibility will be.  The entire assignment can be found here: https://marlaaviva.edublogs.org/tfilah-project/ Continue reading →