Welcome to the Judaism community on Codidact!
Will you help us build our community of learners? Drop into our study hall, ask questions, help others with answers to their questions, share a d'var torah if you're so inclined, invite your friends, and join us in building this community together. Not an ask-the-rabbi service, just people at all levels learning together.
Search
Mishna, Tamid 7:2: בָּאוּ וְעָמְדוּ עַל מַעֲלוֹת הָאוּלָם עָמְדוּ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לִדְרוֹם אֲחֵיהֶם הַכֹּהֲנִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה כֵלִים בְּיָדָם הַטֶּנִי בְיַד אֶחָד וְהַכּוּז בְּיַד אֶחָד וְהַמַּחְתָּ...
Once moshiach comes, we will have resolution to all sorts of halachic issues which have been left unresolved (teikus for example and even, maybe eilu v'eilu cases). But what about minhagim, some of...
A tallit is normally worn only during the day, yet there is a custom to also wear it for all services of Yom Kippur including Kol Nidrei. Why? I've heard that it's because we take the torah scrol...
After Tisha b'Av we have seven special haftarah readings, which always align with the same torah portions. Every chumash I've seen gives these special readings for those parshiyot. I was taught t...
Every time I've made a Siyum in the past, it's been after learning all of the material in order. When making a siyum on a Seder of the Mishna, it was after learning every Masechet in order; when ma...
The original Babylonian haftara readings for these 10 Babylonian sections (3 prior to 9 Av and 7 after) are recorded by Rambam at the end of his siddur as follows: Mattot -- Joshua 13:15-14:5 (g...
I experienced a significant improvement in my focus on davening when I discovered that it is halachically preferable to omit much of davening in order to better focus on a smaller part. The Mishn...
The Arvei Nachal in Toldos writes that אנכי is used to mean 'me and no one else.'
Notice that the 10 Commandments begin "Anokhi Hashem Elokekha", while Shema ends "Ani, Hashem Elokeikhem." And how Yaakov says "וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל אָבִיו, "אָנֹכִי עֵשָׂו בְּכֹרֶךָ עָשִׂיתִי כַּ...
Sing the tefillos. That seems to work to help slow you down.
Some things that have been helpful to me personally: 1) Get enough sleep, which puts you in a better mood. 2) If you are a coffee or tea drinker, drink before davening (after the morning blessing...
Rabbi Dov Fischer (of Young Israel of Orange County) wrote a very nice article in which he discusses how adding personal prayers within the brachos of the Amidah increased his concentration and dev...
This is a great question that touches on an area that is so fundamental. Before mentioning any specific technique that has worked for me, I'd like to share a perspective that has significantly b...
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan in Jewish Meditation discusses visualizing the words as black fire on white fire. Focusing on visualizing one thing on its own is very hard. Doing it for the whole prayer takes a...
I was a major sufferer of the problem you describe, and to be honest, I have not completely cured myself of this; however, there are a few things that I have done recently that have made a huge dif...
Why does plant life precede the Sun in the order of creation given that plants need the Sun to do photosynthesis?
According to the work Perek Shirah, Yirmiyahu 22:13 is the verse associated with the fox (shual). What is the explanation for the link between the contents of that pasuk and the fox?
My rabbi told me a very nice suggestion which seems to help me every time I practice it and it's very simple: Follow along with your finger. If you have your finger below every word that you say, ...
I've heard an idea that a year (like 5772) in which parashas Sh'mini is read eight times1 is a particularly auspicious one: the wording of the maxim is something like "sh'mona Sh'mini sh'mena" ([a ...
I tend to daven (pray) without sufficient focus and very quickly. In particular, I find that most of the time that I'm praying, my mind is on things other than the words that I'm saying. And, not t...
One very important thing I would like to see here is people being more friendly. Mi Yodeya was the least friendly forum site I have ever visited. Whenever I am posting on Mi Yodeya and other forums...
As a personal example, I completed learning all of Shas Mishnayot (with the Kehati commentary) for my thirteenth birthday. At the time, I made a siyum; with the Hadran Alach, the special Kaddish, t...
I don't see these types of questions as being that different from the others. They're not Halacha or Gemara, but there is still plenty of overlap. There are questions about the Rambam about his Sef...
The practice is discussed and a source given here. A full answer would seem to be a combination of the first answer given there from the book Taamei Haminhagim (why the tefillin at that point - bec...
