How to have an aliyyah to the Torah (with and without transliteration) and in textual form

Now you can find at this site:

a written description of how to have an aliyyah to the Torah (without transliteration);

and

a written description of how to have an aliyyah to the Torah (with transliteration).

This Is How I Put On Tefillin (& You Can Too!)

Check out my new visual guide to putting on tefillin! (It’s the latest craze all the cool kids are discussing.)

Tefillin, aliyyot, and torah, oh my!

I am happy to post links here to three instructional videos I created yesterday:

1) A video worth watching before you put on tefillin for the first time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg2XZOxhbl0
2) A video worth watching to learn how to put on tefillin (according to the methodology that I use): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A69m2nDFw8
3) A video worth watching to learn what to do during an aliyyah to the torah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-dBIUVJsxU

When Someone Says “Yashar Ko’aḥ:” What You’re Supposed To Do

Also, here’s another new resource:

“When Someone Says ‘Yashar Ko’aḥ:’ What You’re Supposed To Do.”

Hebrew Reading Resources

I’ve made some charts to help students of (most) ages learn read Hebrew.

Here is a basic introduction to all the consonants you might meet.

Here is an advanced introduction to all the consonants you might meet.

Here is a basic introduction to all the vowels you might meet.

Here is an advanced introduction to all the vowels you might meet.

Feel free to share!

Full TaNaKh (Hebrew Bible) PDFs and documents

Every once in a while, I do some project that requires me to search through the TaNaKh (תנ״ך). Therefore, I’ve created four very simple resources I–and now you too–can use to search through the TaNaKh:

1. A .pdf of the TaNaKh without any enumerations of chapters and verses and chapter/portion titles (as well as no indications of openings [פתוחות] or closings [סתומות] according to scribal traditions).

2. A .pdf of the TaNaKh with the regular enumerations, titles and openings/closings notices.

3. A .docx of the TaNaKh without any enumerations of chapters and verses and chapter/portion titles (as well as no indications of openings [פתוחות] or closings [סתומות] according to scribal traditions).

4. A .docx of the TaNaKh with the regular enumerations, titles and openings/closings notices.

Enjoy!

P. S. I am right now looking for verses that end and begin with certain combinations of letters. This will help me do this… somewhat.

 

Purim 5778 Materials

At this link–here–are the words to four parodies I wrote for Purim, and below videos of the performances:

1. “Some Monarch Named Achashverosh”

2. “Esther”

3. “Haman”

4. “One Less Purim Without Jews”

And I appeared in a music video my awesome spouse Rabbi Dr. Raysh Weiss made for “Talk Persian To Me.” This video is separate from the Jewish organization ABCs she also made.

Happy Purim!

A Few Gender-Neutral Torah Calls

A few years back, I was humbled to be asked by my friend and teacher Rabbi Becky Silverstein what recommendations I had regarding gender-neutral ways to call folks to the Torah.

Tonight, while going through some old files, I found a sheet I had made up for this purpose and realized I had never posted it online anywhere.

If these calls speak to you, please share wherever this is needed (and I suspect that, in reality, this is needed everywhere where non-male people can be called to the Torah).

How folks respond to the gender implications when mentioning lineages entails a chart I can provide at a future time.

New music up and on its way…

With my new recording studio set up, I am happy to be making new recordings again of which I’m proud. The two recent recordings I’ve made that are most relevant to the post are of piyyutim (פיוטים, “liturgical poems”) to which I’ve set music. Their words are by an anonymous Jewish poet from some time in the early Middle Ages; Ezra Fleischer (עזרא פליישר) collected these texts in his book Pizmoney Ha’Anonymus (פזמוני האנונימוס). Each of these piyyutim were intended to be sung for the Torah readings throughout the year (and likely–the years–as the division of the piyyutim in Fleischer’s book indicates that the author was probably used to the Torah reading not taking one year, but several years). I’ve matched the two short excerpts for which I’ve composed music in accordance with as presented below (and you can click also for text and sheet music):

Parashat Naso (פרשת נשא): “Yitbarekh Elohey Olam” (יתברך אלהי עולם) recording | sheet music | text.

Parashat Nitzavim (פרשת נצבים): “Attem Nitzavim” (״אתם נצבים״) recording | sheet music | text.

 

Parashah Im Peyrush (Torah Portion With Explanation) for Lekh Lekha (pilot?)

You can find at this link a short packet I created to introduce a little bit of the concept of midrash as well as a particular midrash for this week’s portion.  Enjoy!