Archive for 2017

Debbie Friedman’s Shalom Aleichem with Onscreen Transliteration

Debbie Friedman’s Shalom Aleichem with Onscreen Transliteration

This video presents the operatic soprano, Rowna Sutin, performing Debbie Friedman’s original tune for Shalom Aleichem. Complete with onscreen transliterated text, this video is helpful for those who would like to learn the words

Friday Night & Beyond: Insights on Shalom Aleichem (Plus Text & Audio)

Friday Night & Beyond: Insights on Shalom Aleichem (Plus Text & Audio)

This thorough excerpt from “Friday Night and Beyond” by Lori Palatnik provides meaningful explanations as to why Shalom Aleichem is recited at the beginning of the Shabbat evening meal. Complete with the Hebrew, English and transliterated

Alone Time: Why We Usher the Shabbat Angels Out

Alone Time: Why We Usher the Shabbat Angels Out

In this article from Chabad.org, Rabbi Elly Krimsky explores why we bid farewell to the accompanying angels in Shalom Aleichem, focusing on a Chasidic idea that when we are alone we have the opportunity to be

A Creative Lesson Plan to Teach the Grace After Meals to Students

A Creative Lesson Plan to Teach the Grace After Meals to Students

This  twelve-part lesson plan from The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education aims to teach middle school students the meaning and purpose of the Grace after Meals, using it as a gateway to conveying the

Why We Recite Eishet Chayil on Friday Night

Why We Recite Eishet Chayil on Friday Night

In order to explain why Eishet Chayil is traditionally sung on Shabbat, this detailed article by Rabbi Yehuda Shuprin offers insight into the literal reading of the text, as well as several allegorical interpretations from

Guitar Chords for Ben Zion Shenker’s Popular Eishet Chayil Melody

Guitar Chords for Ben Zion Shenker’s Popular Eishet Chayil Melody

This website offers the guitar chords for the most popular melody for Eishet Chayil, composed by Ben Zion Shenker in 1953. The website offers the transliteration of the first eight verses of the song,

A Complete Guide to Eishet Chayil

A Complete Guide to Eishet Chayil

This thorough article offers a complete introduction to the custom of singing Eishet Chayil on Friday night, including the reasons behind the ritual, a step-by-step guide noting common customs, the Hebrew, English and transliterated

Reform: The “HaMotzi” Song

Reform: The “HaMotzi” Song

In this short video, Cantor Jan Lieberman plays guitar and sings a version of the blessing over the bread often used in Reform congregations and institutions. Composed by Professor Samuel Adler, the song is comprised of

Learn the HaMotzi Blessing with “Prayer-eoke”

Learn the HaMotzi Blessing with “Prayer-eoke”

This short, to the point video demonstrates the singing of the blessing over the bread on Shabbat clearly and slowly with Hebrew and transliterated subtitles. The video was created by Rabbi Ahuva Zaches of Congregation Or Ami

Washing for a Meal: The Practical, The Philosophical & The Mystical

Washing for a Meal: The Practical, The Philosophical & The Mystical

In these three long video lectures, Chabad Rabbi Mendel Kaplan breaks down the mitzvah of Netilat Yadayim at mealtime, with an in-depth exploration of the practical, philosophical and mystical aspects of the hand washing