At the beginning of his post, however, he links to Roman & Alaina, a messianic music group who have created melodies for the Avinu (the “Our Father”) in both Hebrew (based on the DHE) and English. As I listened to the sample of the English version I heard the following:

Our Father, Who is in Heaven
May we sanctify Your Name
Your Kingdome come
As Your will be done
In Heaven as it is on earth

Unfortunately, we see a problem immediately. The last line takes poetic license, and reverses the phrase from “On earth as it is in Heaven,” to become, “In Heaven as it is on earth.” I am definitely one for poetic license, but not when it reverses the sense of the text. So, now, rather than the will of the Almighty coming in perfection from His throne in Shammayim (“Heaven”) and bringing Ha’aretz (“the Earth”) into its submission, this top-down approach put forth by Yeshua has been turned on its head. In this version we see the will of Heaven submitting to that of Earth.

I see where they may have tried to work around this by changing a few of the conjunctions, but overall it has the same end result: the will of (perfect) Heaven being transformed into the image of what is done on (imperfect) Earth.

This goes against the entire mission and teaching of our Master. I would encourage Roman & Alaina to consider re-working the English version, even though they have probably sold many copies of their CD already, in order to maintain the integrity of the teachings of our MasterSimilar Posts:

• Binding & Loosing: From Torah to Yeshua
• Ashrei Melody in English
• Child-like Wonder
• Is “Barak Obama” behind the Hebrew of Luke 10:18?
• The Challenge of Prayer

It appears there has been a “marriage in heaven” between faith and technology. The Apple iPhone has a new “Confession” app, approved by the Roman Catholic church (this would probably akin to a hechsher in Judaism).

It appears that this virtual experience will allow a penitent to completely bypass the clergy. I asked a Catholic friend of mine his thoughts about the app, and this was his response:

Well, I think that anything that encourages Catholics to open themselves to the Grace afforded by Reconciliation is a good thing. I’m really surprised by this though. But since the apps purpose isn’t to provide Reconciliation, but only encourage and guide one through the process… I do think it should be free.

Now, as for the Sacrament of Reconciliation itself, I have 2 thoughts.

I don’t think that absolution comes through Reconciliation, only the Father can truly forgive us.

I do, however, think confession is good for the soul and it helps us as humans to have a counselor to help us acknowledge our faults. The penance that comes after Reconciliation gives us the means to be mindful of the times we have fallen short.

Well spoken.

Read more here and here.

Application site is here.Similar Posts:

• Discipleship – Misunderstanding (Part 2)
• Pirkei Avot—Chapter 1, Mishnah 6
• Terumah
• FFOZ-Boaz Michael Speaking Locally
• One Man Down

Jewish Worship by Abraham Millgram etextSimilar Posts:

• Apostolic Bible
• Book Review – Jewish Worship
• Didache text
• Complete Gutnick Edition Chumash Online
• Haggadah for Pesach

The theme of conference this year was “Shabbat Shalom.” And although there were lectures on the topic of Shabbat, from my point of view it could have just as easily been called the “Pray In The Spirit Extended Remix” conference. It seemed the primary focus of the conference was prayer and the introduction of the highly anticipated siddur project. And for all those who are anxiously awaiting the new siddur, here’s the scoop:

We were hoping to bring back the Shabbat siddur, but it is still incomplete. In defense of First Fruits, the main reason this has not been completed is because of their deep understanding of their responsibility of creating a resource such as this with excellence. (They compared it to trying to edit Shakespeare without it being obvious – a great analogy. I will explain more about this later.) We were, however, able to experience the first fruits of their labor in draft form in our day to day services during the conference. I plan on sharing more on this later, but need to cover my bases as to what is “shareable” or not. Keep your eyes peeled for more info on this in the next few days…Similar Posts:

• Shavuot Conference at Beth Immanuel
• Goodbye Hudson
• Evangelism from a Torah Perspective
• FFOZ Seminar – The Commandment to Bless
• Pirkei Avot text updates

This is sort of repeat material, but a little different approach. If you haven’t discovered Hashem’s missing moed…well, your missing out!

Right-click (pc) or Control-click (mac!) to download:

Similar Posts:

• To Whom Shall We Go?
• Letter vs. Spirit
• I Believe…
• Basic Haggadah for Pesach
• Discipleship, Part 3

Special thanks are due to both Sarah Croswell for putting together the initial draft of the English to the melody, and to my loving wife, Sabrina, for all of her hard work in helping me get the melody and creating the lyric sheet.

I’ve attached both the lyric sheet (which includes notes about how to remember the melody, including marking the downbeat) and an mp3 of yours truly demonstrating the melody. I hope you enjoy. (ps. I’ve got a few more things like this that will probably show up soon.)

Right-click (pc) or Control-click (mac!) to download: (links have been fixed!)

Similar Posts:

• Transliterated Ashrei
• I Believe…
• Downloadable Prayers for Israel
• FREE DOWNLOAD – Omer Counting Activity Sheet 5771/2011
• The Golden Rule

It seems that wisdom is an often desired middah (character trait), yet few know the secret of attaining this seemingly elusive trait.

Last week, as I was praying the daily Amidah, it occurred to me that both the mainstream of Judaism and the Apostolic Writings agreed by way of Hashem’s attitude towards His dispensation of wisdom.

You graciously endow man with wisdom and teach insight to a frail mortal. Endow us graciously from Yourself with wisdom, insight, and discernment. Blessed are You, Hashem, gracious Giver of wisdom.
(Daily Amidah)

This prayer makes use of the word “gracious” (from the Hebrew חן – chen) three times. It emphasizes that Hashem desires to freely give wisdom to all to ask. This, of course, corresponds to the words of Shlomo (Solomon) which state,

“I [wisdom] love those who love me, and those who seek me find me” (Mishlei/Proverbs 8:17).

“She [wisdom] will set a garland of grace [חן] on your head and present you with a crown of splendor” (Mishlei/Proverbs 4:9).

Hashem desires to give us wisdom “graciously”—freely, without reservation. However, we must first pursue wisdom and solicit Hashem for this precious gift. Ja’acov (James), the brother of the Master, gives us explicit instructions for seeking wisdom which corresponds with both the prayer from the Amidah and the words of Proverbs, saying:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
(James 1:5-8)

If we seek wisdom, it is waiting to be received. But it doesn’t come uninvited. If wisdom has always been elusive, honestly ask Hashem for it and expect to receive it. No, you won’t wake up one morning and start spouting off the Pythagorean theorem¹ like the Scarecrow on the Wizard of Oz (knowledge and wisdom are not synonymous). However, when that next difficult situation comes up, you will feel more confident in making the right decision with your newfound gift, graciously given by Hashem.

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
(Mishlei/Proverbs 4:7)

• Fruit of Humility
• Yeshua: The Tzaddik
• High Council of Bnei Noach
• The Challenge of Prayer
• “Knocking” Seminar Followup

“When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

- Acts 11:18 -

Daniel Lancaster, in his commentary, makes note that this sounds as if it could be formulated into a beracha (blessing):

Blessed are You, Oh L-rd, our G-d, King of the Universe Who has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.

I propose that for non-Jewish, Messianic believers, we substitute this blessing in place of the second blessing of the 15 Blessings recited during Shacharit (based on Berachot 60b). We definitely cannot say the standard blessing, “Blessed are You, Adonai, our G-d, King of the universe, for not having made me a gentile.” We can, however, thank Hashem for who He has made us: Gentiles who have repented unto life. I propose our blessing be as follows:

Blessed are You, Adonai, our G-d, King of the Universe Who has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.

Similar Posts:

• “Bless This Food”
• Prayer: Praise | Pruning | Power
• 5 Minute Torah – Rosh Hashanah
• Goodbye Hudson
• Peter’s Yarzheit

» Ashrei transliterated (PDF format)Similar Posts:

• Thanks, Aaron
• Ashrei Melody in English
• Apostolic Bible
• Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels Released
• Fall Feasts 2006 Overview

Update: Link to PDF has been fixed. Thanks to Aaron Sperry for the notification.Similar Posts:

• Tisha b’Av / Prayer
• Prayer Support Needed
• The Challenge of Prayer
• Recommended Reading
• Thanks, Aaron

Please increase your support of Israel through your prayers today.Similar Posts:

• Middle East Conflict Status 07/21/06
• Downloadable Prayers for Israel
• One Man Down
• Tisha b’Av / Prayer
• A VERY SAD DAY

As I was watching CBS News last night (during the 10 minutes of power before our blackout) I saw this image appear as they panned from a stockpile of ammunition to what you now see. Immediately after this image was one of another Israeli soldier folding his tallit gadol. It was an incredible feeling to first of all see this from the troops, and second to see this on a major US network. You would have thought this was an image from israelnn.com! This is how the real war will be won. And just like Boaz said, this is the front that we all need to be fighting on. Even Olmert seems to have turned to the Almighty in these tragic days. Let’s tighten up our tefillin and fight like we mean it!Similar Posts:

• Israeli Protestors Against Retaliation
• Hizbullah’s Media Manipulation-Part 2
• FREE DOWNLOAD: Passover Place Mats & Coloring Sheets
• PROBAR Winner
• United States supporting Hamas

One of the truisms of prayer is that it is a non-expedient activity. By this I mean that praying as long and as intensely as one likes accomplishes nothing practical, at least as far as is immediately obvious to the one involved in prayer. In essence, then, perhaps God will respond affirmatively to my prayer, perhaps not, but at the time that I pray, any response is almost always unseen. Even over time it is rare to see a direct correlation between a specific prayer and God’s response. I can spend an hour and a half in the synagogue praying with all my heart, and at the end of that time, not one thing has moved from my in-box to my out-box. Further, much of our liturgy consists of praise of God or thanks to Him, not requests.

This perfectly sums up my struggle with prayer for the past several years. My wife realized this, so much so that she said I could have very well written those words. If you have been struggling to incorporate prayer into your daily life I encourage you to do a few things:

1. Read the Aish article on prayer
2. Order the Knocking on Heaven’s Gates teaching (audio or video) from FFOZ
3. Review my article Prayer: Praise, Pruning, Power
4. Start praying TODAY

Similar Posts:

• Prayer Teaching
• The Good Stealing from The Best
• Tisha b’Av / Prayer
• Baruch’s Bar Mitzvah
• Prayer: Praise | Pruning | Power

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
—Mark 1:35, NIV—

“If you want to see change, it starts with prayer. It’s the most powerful tool we have.” ¹
—Boaz Michael—

Many have spoken and taught on the subject. Few truly understand or practice it. We must not only be People of The Book, but we must be People of Prayer. But how do we become this? This is a brief attempt to explore the topic of prayer, and encourage one another to become a People of Prayer.

Why Pray?

You have been designed to pray. You were created with the capacity to pray. Only you can bring forth the praises of Adonai. Only you can commune with the Creator of Heaven & Earth. Although nature has the capacity to praise the Creator perfectly, the perfect praise of nature does not compare to the imperfect praise of man. Here are some very basic reasons to pray regularly:

• Obligation—We were created to praise the Almighty. Prayer should be 95% praise, 5% petition.

• Discipline—Prayer is a discipline that will bear forth much fruit over time.
• Transformation—Through prayer we are transformed by renewing our minds.
• Community—Through common prayer we join our hearts and our voices with others, including those who have gone before us: the prophets, The Master, the disciples, etc.
• Prayer makes a difference—It may be the only difference you make in another person’s life, especially those who will not hear the message of Torah from you.

THE PURPOSE OF MAN: To change the world.

The talmidim were gathered together on Shavuot and of the same mind. They were together for a common purpose, and most likely common prayer & praise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were praying the Amidah or the Shema or one of the Psalms when the Ruach began to be poured upon each one of them. They were not renegades, but part of a body of believers that not only had common creeds, but common deeds. In this particular passage, we see the believing community gathered together for common prayer & celebration. It was during this time, the Almighty chose to meet them in a powerful way.

“We are called to single-handedly change the world—
and the only way we can do it is with other people.”
—Me

In the days of the judges, chaos reigned supreme. The most popular phrase I see in the book of Judges is that “each man did what was right in his own eyes.” What does this mean? It means that the Torah of Adonai had been forgotten already since the days of Joshua. Scripture says “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers [the generation that had come out of the wilderness], another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what He had done for Israel.”⁴ They had forgotten their Deliverer and His ways. There was not a standard by which life was governed. But not only that, there was division in how service to the Almighty was directed. They each were determining how to live life according to their own understanding. There was no communal unity other than in times of war.

Often prayer is thought to be a private thing, but this is only one aspect of prayer. Since ancient times, prayer has been communal, as well as private. It has been something to share as a community—a means by which a corporate voice could be lifted to the Almighty. In fact, in the Jewish understanding of prayer it is said that a prayer “not offered in the plural” is no prayer at all. This way of thinking has been crucial to the survival of the Jewish communities throughout the ages, especially during times of persecution. It has given the Jewish community a sense of solidarity in the most troubling times. It reminds one that he is not alone in life, that the cup of his lot is to be shared—the joys are multiplied, and the sorrows are divided.

In order to change the world, we must be in joined together for the purposes of Adonai. Communal prayer is a major key in this. When we have a true sense of community, rather than isolation—especially in our communication with the Almighty—we have a type of synergy unlike any other. In the times of the judges, the people had no common voice in addressing the Almighty. In the days of the disciples, they did.

How to Pray

Two most important things to remember about prayer:


1. START
   “It may be tempting to change your life all at once, but slow, steady progress is always more effective than a ‘crash course’… Remember, even the longest journey can only be completed one step at a time.” ⁵

2. STOP
   “Should circumstances make it necessary for a person to choose between saying more prayers without kavanah and saying fewer prayers with kavanah, the fewer are clearly preferred…Says the Talmud: ‘The Holy One, blessed be He, desires the heart’ (Sanhedrin 106b).”⁶

Knowing vs. Doing

Contrary to popular belief, the core difference between Christianity and Judaism is not Messiah. It is knowing verses doing. Christianity places the emphasis on the gnosis of messianic fulfillment, while Judaism places the emphasis on the application of messianic fulfillment.

Something Boaz Michael emphasized several times during his teaching on prayer is that majority of those within the Torah movement are a prayerless people. We do not have a consistent and active prayer life. We are more concerned with the trivia of the mitzvot than the performance of them. We would rather read a book on prayer, rather than pray.

We are a people of much knowledge, but little wisdom. What do I mean by this? How do we make a distinction difference between knowledge and wisdom? We can get into a huge discussion of the differences, going back to the original Hebrew, etc. but this is not my point. My point is practical and observable. To me, the core difference between knowledge and wisdom is application. Let me briefly elaborate. Was not Solomon the wisest man in all the earth? But was his decision to marry pagan women wise? The answer is obvious. This leads us to a profound question. Why did the wisest man on earth make such an unwise decision? Answer: Wisdom is the application of knowledge. Foolishness is the refusal to apply knowledge. And this is where the unspoken words of Boaz this weekend were deafening. Though he had a message of a disciplined prayer life, seeing his application of his knowledge of a disciplined prayer life this weekend spoke much louder than his words. It was incredibly inspiring, and challenged me to get on the boat in regard to not only prayer, but many others of structuring my life. Just seeing his siddur literally fall apart in his hands told me a story without any words at all from Boaz.

Inspiration can go a long way if we cultivate it. We can inspire one another to excel along the path of our spiritual marathon.

Know Before Whom You Stand

Too many times we are far too casual in our prayers to the Almighty. We speak to him flippantly and arrogantly, rather than remembering that we are speaking to the King of Kings and the Creator of the Universe. We should come before the Almighty in an attitude of reverence, no less that that of a mortal king, as our quote suggests.

Pesukei D’zimrah

The Pesukei D’zimrah (Verses of Song) is the section of praises in the siddur that immediately precedes the Shema and Amidah in the morning prayers.

Pesukei D’zimrah (פְּסוּקֵי דְזִמְרָה) literally means “Verses of Song”. However, the Αrtscroll siddur points out that many have related the word דְזִמְרָה to תִזְמֹר, which means “prune.” This section of the morning prayers, therefore, is viewed as “Verses of Pruning” whereby we “cut away” all of the distractions that would not allow us to enter into prayer with the proper kavannah. It strips us of ourself by magnifying the Holy One, and prepares us to take on the kingship of the Almighty in the subsequent prayers.

Why did Adonai lead B’nei Israel around the the midbar for forty years, when He had already removed them from Egypt? He had to remove Egypt from them.

“One who is so pressed for time that he finds it necessary to rush through the Pesukei d’Zimra should weigh the following advice from the Talmud: ‘A man’s words before the Holy One, blessed be He, should always be few’ (Berakhot 61a). It is better to say less and to say it wholeheartedly.”⁸

The praise of the Almighty is serious business, and it puts us in the proper perspective, it prunes us, and it will eventually bear much fruit in our lives.

Bridges for Peace has a great downloadable article (PDF format) on pruning that I recommend reading here: Bearing Fruit in God’s Kingdom.

Prayer is the key to self-discipline and communication with the Almighty. It’s not about me. It’s about Him. It’s about reducing me, and increasing Him. John made this statement about Yeshua: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). This was the essence of his prayer, and should be the essence of ours.

When To Pray

We have all found this principle to be true in our studies, and have grown frustrated with those who will not take the time to study. Now we must turn our attentions to the area of prayer. We cannot afford to use the excuse of lack of time. We are all allotted the same twenty-four hours in a day as anyone else, and must choose to use this time to our advantage.

Each moment is like a dollar in our hands—we choose how to spend each and every one. We can spend it wisely or foolishly. We can invest each of our moments, or spend them selfishly.
“The world says time is money, I say that time is life.” —The Rebbe⁹

The Time of Prayer

We have examples from Scripture that there are certain “favorable” times through which the Almighty chose to interact with man.

In the morning:

• Psalm 5:3 (Praise early in the morning)

• Acts 2:1-4, 15 (praying at the 3rd hour)
• Mark 1:35 (Yeshua praying early)
• Mark 15:25-37 (Yeshua on the cross)

In the afternoon:

• Acts 3:1 (Peter & John)

• Acts 10:1-3 (Cornelius)
• Acts 10:9 (Peter)

These may not be “specific” times, but we know that the day is divided into morning & afternoon. Why not praise the Almighty at each division of our day?

How Do I Start?

If you don’t know where to start, or how to start, and you don’t have much time to begin with, Psalm 145¹⁰ is a great place to begin.

א 1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
 And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
ב 2 Every day I will bless You,
 And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
ג 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
 And His greatness is unsearchable.
ד 4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
 And shall declare Your mighty acts.
ה 5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
 And on Your wondrous works.
ו 6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
 And I will declare Your greatness.
ז 7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
 And shall sing of Your righteousness.
ח 8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
 Slow to anger and great in mercy.
ט 9 The LORD is good to all,
 And His tender mercies are over all His works.
י 10 All Your works shall praise You, O LORD,
 And Your saints shall bless You.
כ 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
 And talk of Your power,
ל 12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
 And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
מ 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
 And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
ס 14 The LORD upholds all who fall,
 And raises up all who are bowed down.
ע 15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
 And You give them their food in due season.
פ 16 You open Your hand
 And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
צ 17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways,
 Gracious in all His works.
ק 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
 To all who call upon Him in truth.
ר 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
 He also will hear their cry and save them.
ש 20 The LORD preserves all who love Him,
 But all the wicked He will destroy.
ת 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,
 And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.

This one Psalm brings out multiple aspects of praise that require our attention. Following is a partial list:

• God’s Kingship

• Our praise is joined with creation itself
• Our praised is joined with those of other generations
• A reminder to speak of the glory of the Almighty
• God’s attributes of mercy
• God’s ability to restore & revive
• The closeness of the Almighty
• The protection of the Almighty

Footnotes

1 Verbal quote from Boaz Michael at the “Knocking on Heaven’s Gates” seminar, May 21, 2006.
2 Jacobson, Simon. Toward A Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe (a collection of teachings by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson), Copyright ©1995, p14.
3 This is a near literal reading of the Majority Text Greek, which uses the word ομοθυμαδου (of one mind) rather than ομου (together) of the NU.
4 Judges 2:10, NIV
5 Jacobson, p149.
6 Donin, Hayim. To Pray As A Jew, ©1980, p20.
7 Donim, p71.
8 Donin, p169.
9 Jacobson, p143.
10 In this listing of the Aleph-bet, the letter נ (nun) is curiously missing.Similar Posts:

• “Knocking” Seminar Followup
• 5 Minute Torah – Rosh Hashanah
• The Challenge of Prayer
• Gracious Giver of Wisdom
• FFOZ Seminar: Knocking on Heaven’s Gates

• The Challenge of Prayer
• Discipleship Update
• Book Review – Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus
• Tisha b’Av / Prayer
• Binding & Loosing: From Torah to Yeshua