DMC: Deep Meaningful Conversation

THE AMIDAH

Rabbi Ira Kosowsky

Mosaica / 223 pages

In this refreshing reader authored by Rabbi Ira Kosowsky, director of the Machon Maayan Women's Seminary in "Givat Washington", we are treated to a new and modern look at the Shemoneh Esrei we recite three times a day.

Each of the nineteen blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei are examined in individual chapters complete with thoughts, readings, and advice on how to make our prayer experience even better. Much of the material was gathered by "Rav K" (as he's called) from his students over the years. This unique angle, of a work on prayer being authored by a Torah scholar, combined with the input and ideas of students from diverse backgrounds (to say the least), makes for a very unique perspective on the Shemoneh Esrei.

What I found most distinctive in this work and what impressed me the most, compared to other works of this nature, is the outstanding and strategic use of secular sources, ideas, and authors to add menaing and relevance to our prayers. Such content is vital in assisting the modern, worldly Jew, exposed to everything under the sun, to better connect with his Creator at prayer.

DMC: Deep Meaningful Conversation is not only the newest sefer on the Shemoneh Esrei but likely the best for the modern Jew, certainly since Rav Zev Leff's 2008 sefer on the same topic.

Fun, clear, and inspirational. An absolute must-have for those studying Jewish prayer.

Popular posts from this blog

Food: A Halachic Analysis

Image
Food: A Halachic Analysis Rabbi Yehuda Spitz Mosaica, 480 pp I am unsure whether “outstanding,” “remarkable,” or “spectacular,” best describes Rabbi Yehuda Spitz’s sefer “Food: A Halachic Analysis”  -- though all three adjectives may not do justice. In over 30 chapters discussing various food and kashrut related halacha, Rabbi Spitz, a sho’el u’meishiv at Yeshivat Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, presents unprecedented clarity in explaining and demystifying the issues. Some of these issues include waiting between cheese and meat, using dishwashers for both milk and meat, fish and milk, eggs and onions left uncovered overnight, chalav Yisrael, marit ayin, and much much more. It is thorough, clear, and makes everything easy to understand. Definitely one of his flagship chapters is the appendix on the history of Gelatin and its kosher status. These chapters are not merely regurgitations of what readers have certainly seen in so many other places, but rather, original compositions in the aut...
Read more

Sexuality and Jewish Law

Image
Sexuality and Jewish Law Yaakov Shapiro 430 pages In his Sexuality and Jewish Law, Yaakov Shapiro, an ordained rabbi and non-conformist Lubavitcher chassid, offers a thorough, unapologetic, and uncensored presentation of everything relating to sexual activity and Jewish law.  All rabbinic texts that deal with sexual matters are cited along with the interpretations and comments of all the relevant rishonim , achronim , and poskim . There is also a full presentation of the various halachic opinions and resolutions to the contradictions between them. The exhaustive endnotes are essentially an additional book in their own right. While the book is extremely well researched and impressive in its scope, the author clearly has an agenda and bone to pick. As he writes in the introduction, the book was born out of a bad experience and frustrations with what he was being taught in chattan classes and the “one-sided” approach to the laws of intimacy. The author seeks to put a...
Read more

Aggadah: Sages, Stories & Secrets

Image
Aggadah: Sages, Stories, & Secrets Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein Mosaica / 266 pages The Talmudic and Midrashic texts known as Aggadah are the stories, folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice, words of inspiration, and most importantly, Jewish wisdom on how to best live our life in the service of God. In Aggadah: Sages, Stories, & Secrets, Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein, a rebbe in a number of yeshivot and seminaries, takes us on journey through 18 different Haggadic pieces. Some of the topics include free will, inspiration, gratitude, prayer, torah study, mitzva observance, Shabbat, and much more. It is also worth mentioning that the Introduction includes a primer (based on the Rambam [1] ) on the role and authority of Aggada, especially with regard to Aggadic pieces that are sensational, completely unrealistic, or otherwise difficult to digest. Every chapter begins with an Aggadic reading. Then, after asking a number of compelling q...
Read more