Questions tagged [nuschaot]
liturgical wording and syntax
196
questions
18
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4
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Proper recitation of Hamakom Yenachem
Is the proper phrase to console a mourner always the plural המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים or should it be changed depending on whom it is said to (singluar, feminine, etc.)?
16
votes
2
answers
495
views
Why does almost every community say Lecha Dodi?
The prayer Lecha Dodi was composed in the 16th century which is relatively recent as the general Nusach of prayer was founded between 516 BCE – 70 CE by the Anshei K'neset Hagdolah, and its rare that ...
15
votes
1
answer
365
views
And let who say Amen?
In light of this answer, why do we say V'imru amen and V'nomar amen at various points in bentching and davening when saying that passage alone? (eg. bentching by yourself, or oseh shalom at the end of ...
11
votes
4
answers
2k
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Why do we comfort a mourner with Hamakom Yenachem Eschem?
Why, when comforting a mourner at the completion of a Shiva visit, do we refer to G-d as Hamakom? We say Hamakom Yanachem Eschem - why not Hashem Yenachem or Elokim Yenachem?
11
votes
4
answers
5k
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K'shaim Shenichnas L'Bris Kain Yikones L'Torah L'Chupa U'Lmaasim Tovim: why that order?
When a baby boy has his Bris we wish him "K'shaim Shenichnas L'Bris Kain Yikones L'Torah L'Chupa U'Lmaasim Tovim" - just like you entered the covenant so to should you enter into Torah, marriage, and ...
11
votes
2
answers
980
views
Should we say Al Naharos Bavel?
Tehillim 137 is printed in several bentchers before birkas hamazon, but from what I have seen most people do not say it. What is the correct thing to do: say or omit? Are there different minhagim?
10
votes
2
answers
526
views
Why do we start minchah, mussaf, and neilah shemoneh esrei differently?
Before reciting the verse from Psalms 51:17 that precedes the silent prayer, many traditions add the sentence from Haazinu (Devarim 32:3) before the minchah, musaf and neilah:
כִּ֛י שֵׁ֥ם יְהוָ֖ה ...
10
votes
2
answers
473
views
Why don't we follow the Shulchan Aruch's nusach of the blessing on a rainbow?
Background:
The Talmud (Berachot 59A) and the Rambam (Berachot 10:17), and Tur 229 tell us the blessing of the Rainbow is as follows:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר ...
10
votes
2
answers
234
views
Kohen k'rav ya'amod
Inspired by this question.
When we call up a Kohen (or when not present, a Levi or Yisrael) we use a special formula: ויעזר on Shabbat and yom tov (Shacharit) and ותיגלה on weekdays (and Minchah). In ...
10
votes
1
answer
377
views
Borei P'ri or Borei F'ri hagefen?
Have heard a few older mizrahi recordings for qiddush and am noticing that some of them use borei f'ri hagefen. When i looked up Qiddush in my Egyptian siddur (Farhi Siddur) i noticed the Pei had no ...
9
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Proper bracha on Chanuka candles: lhadlik ner (shel) Chanukah
Why do some people have the custom to say, in the blessing on the Chanukah lights, the word "Shel" before "Chanukah" and some do not? And I have been told some people put the words together as "...
9
votes
2
answers
251
views
V'Al Brischa SheChasamta Bivsoreinu - ועל בריתך שחתמת בבשרנו - does a lady say this?
In Bentching (grace after meals) - both in the Ashkenazic and in the Sefardic version - we say V'Al Brischa SheChasamta Bivsoreinu - ועל בריתך שחתמת בבשרנו - "and for Your covenant, which you sealed ...
9
votes
2
answers
302
views
Repeating Seder HaKitores
Why do Nusahos Ari, Sefard, Edot HaMizrah, and Ashkenaz of Eretz Yisrael repeat the order of the kitores (incense offering) at the end of Shaharis every day and why does Nusah Ashkenaz of Hutz LaAretz ...
9
votes
3
answers
168
views
In front of Moshe, why not all of Klal Yisrael?
We say in Tefillas Maariv
בוקע ים לפני משה
that the sea split before Moshe.
Why does it say "lifnei Moshe" (in front of Moshe) wasn't it lifnei (in front of) all of Klal Yisrael (the Jews)?
9
votes
2
answers
200
views
No mention of Korban Tamid in Amida
During Musaf, the specific sacrifices that were brought for Musaf are always mentioned, quoting the specific verses in the Torah that involve those sacrifices.
However, even though תפילות במקום ...
9
votes
1
answer
240
views
Different endings of Yishtabach
There are at least five nuschaos (liturgies) for the very end of Yishtabach between habocheir b'shirei zimrah (who chooses musical songs of praise) and chai/chei* haolamim (life/life-giver of the ...
8
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Saying kaddish when davening in a minyan that isn't your nusach
I have been to many minyanim where people are saying kaddish of a variety of nuschaot. What should one do with regards to this?
Some examples: In a sephardi minyan, should an ashkenazi person remain ...
8
votes
3
answers
452
views
"Chaparat Pesha" just through Adar II
We know that the phrase ולכפרת פשע is added to the Musaf Amidah of Rosh Chodesh during a leap year. However, in most minyanim I've davened in, the custom seems to be that one only adds it from ...
8
votes
1
answer
232
views
כּרְעוּתֵהּ (with a dagesh in the כּ) or כרְעוּתֵהּ (without the dagesh) in Kaddish?
Kaddish starts: יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא. אמן:
בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ
The siddur HaGr”a has כּרְעוּתֵהּ (with a dagesh in the כּ) and all my other siddurim have כרְעוּתֵהּ ...
8
votes
3
answers
722
views
Which Tachanun should I say when davening in a minyan with a different Nusach?
I daven Nusach Ashkenaz but I often daven mincha in minyanim with a different nuasach.
Should I say my ashekanzi tachanun or is there a minhag ha'mokom?
Moreover I have noticed sefardim davening their ...
8
votes
1
answer
288
views
Does minhag hamakom apply to a college minyan?
At my university our minyan davens nusach Ashkenaz. Recently some have expressed the desire to allow the shatz to daven nusach Sefard, under the logic that since there are basically no permanent ...
8
votes
2
answers
133
views
Phrasing in unetanah tokef
This question bothers me each time the High Holidays come around. In the text for Unetaneh Tokef, we find the sequence:
מִי יָנוּחַ, וּמִי יָנוּעַ; מִי יִשָּׁקֵט, וּמִי יְטֹּרֵף; מִי יִשָּׁלֵו, ...
8
votes
3
answers
190
views
Can you pray something that isn't true or (at least) that the petitioner doesn't believe to be true?
In the Aruch HaShulchan OH 581:4, he writes regarding the selichos we recite before Rosh HaShanah:
האחת: דאלו שאינם מתענים, ובהסליחה מוזכר לשון "תענית" או "צום" – לא יאמרו זה, דלא ליהוי כדובר שקרים. ...
7
votes
1
answer
243
views
Did Rav Saadiah Gaon really phrase the bracha as "Sim shalom b'olam . . ."?
In Or Hadash, the commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom (the American Conservative siddur), it states that the nineteenth bracha of the Amidah was intentionally reworded from the the standard
...שׂים ...
7
votes
1
answer
168
views
What authority is there for the text of Kaddish Derabonon regarding the words וארעא, טובים, and ברחמיו?
There are variations of the text in Kaddish Derabonon. My questions are how they have arisen and whether there is any authority for each form.
1) The use or non-use of the word וארעא in the phrase
...
7
votes
1
answer
80
views
"Uvesorascha kasuv lemor shema Yisrael..." before Yishtabach
Some siddurim have the following phrase in between "ושמו אחד" and "ישתבח":
ובתורתך כתוב לאמר
שמע ישראל ה׳ אלקינו ה׳ אחד
"And in Your Torah it is written to say
Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem ...
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Does anyone pray according to Rambam's Seder Tefila?
I wonder if among the new wave of Talmidei haRambam, there might be anyone using a siddur that uses Rambam's language of prayer exclusively, as recorded in the Mishneh Torah (here).
7
votes
1
answer
177
views
Commonly ommited from Arur Haman
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 690:16 says
One must say "Accursed is Haman, blessed is Mordechai, accursed is Zeresh, blessed is Esther, accursed are all who hate HaShem, blessed are all who believe ...
7
votes
0
answers
169
views
Why does Mishneh Torah have Shem uMalchut for Yishtabach?
I was looking into the Seder haTefillot as well as other siddurim based on it, and something always bothered me about Birkat Yishtabach, which as most of you know "closes" the Pesuqei deZimra section ...
6
votes
5
answers
1k
views
What siddur do Satmerer Chasidim use?
Many Chasidic groups have a particular siddur that is used by most in that group. Does Satmer have such a siddur?
6
votes
2
answers
630
views
Source of shabbat evening kiddush text?
The beginning of the shabbat evening kiddush (vayehi erev, vayehi boker, yom hashishi...) is from Bereshit, 1:31 ff. Where does the second part (khi hu yom tehilah lemikraei kodesh...) come from? Is ...
6
votes
2
answers
156
views
Why is "Tzidkas'cha" ordered as it is?
Toward the end of mincha on Shabas, nusach S'farad and S'faradim say Psalms 36:7, 71:19, and 119:142, in that order. However, nusach Ashk'naz says the same verses in the reverse order: 119:142, 71:19, ...
6
votes
2
answers
541
views
Chabad beginner visiting a Modern Orthodox shul
I have been practicing my observance with a super-friendly Chabad congregation but my area, predominantly secular and Modern Orthodox, has a bunch of MO congregations that I'm very curious to visit, ...
6
votes
2
answers
619
views
Didn't Rambam say Aleinu leshabeach?
Siddur Mesorat Moshe is a siddur whose text follows the rulings of the Rambam. I received a copy a couple of weeks ago and am now using it daily. A completely never-seen-before thing is that there's ...
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
V'Nomar Amen (וְנאמַר אָמֵן) vs. V'Imru Amen (ואמרוּ אָמֵן)
In Bentching by the end of the Harachamon's we say וְנאמַר אָמֵן and at the end of Magdil we say ואמרוּ אָמֵן. Is there a difference? What is the difference? Why the difference?
6
votes
3
answers
842
views
multiple versions for Baruch She'amar
Being that Baruch She'amar fell from the sky (as said in the Baeir Heiteiv Orach Chaim 51:1), how is it that the Rambam (seder tefilos kal hashna) has a different version than what we have in our ...
6
votes
3
answers
199
views
Correct Niqqud for ואטהר in Sefira Nusach
Context: In the Ashkenaz / Sefard (and possibly others) Nuschaos of Sefira, there is a prayer starting with the words "Ribbono Shel Olam [רבונו של עולם]" that is said. Towards the end of this prayer ...
6
votes
1
answer
165
views
Does 'atah chonantanu' replace the first line of 'atah chonein,' or is it said in addition?
In my Koren Sacks siddur, the reader is instructed to substitute the first line of the usual אתה חונן with the אתה חוננתנו paragraph on Motzaei Shabbos and Motzaei Yom Tov. In my Artscroll siddur, ...
6
votes
1
answer
180
views
Are you required to say YiHyu LeRatzon before Elokai Netzor?
After Sim Shalom/Shalom Rav in Shemoneh 'Esreh, many Siddurim print YiHyu LeRatzon (Tehillim 19:15) before Elokai Netzor.
Not every Siddur prints this. I don't recall which editions I've seen without ...
6
votes
1
answer
125
views
Order of words (Oizer U'Moshia) in Shemona Esrei
In Shemona Esrei in the first Bracha it ends with Melech Oizer U'Moshia U'Magen מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן, however towards the end of the Bracha of Modim it says HaKail Yeshuasainu V'Ezrasainu Selah האל ...
6
votes
2
answers
394
views
Is there any contemporary posek who says you can deviate from the wording in the shmona esrei?
I am reading Kavvana: Directing the Heart in Jewish Prayer by Rabbi Dr. Avi (Seth) Kadish. There he makes the argument that the Anshei Kneset Hagedolah never established the exacting wording for the ...
6
votes
1
answer
198
views
"Hayom yom X b'shabas" or "bashabas"?
A sidur I used this morning had the introductory line of the shir shel yom as "hayom yom sheni b'shabas". When I checked the two sidurim I trust the most for excatitude in these matters, one had "...
6
votes
3
answers
459
views
Should you say "Mah Tovu" when you daven at home?
There is a widespread custom amongst many to recite "Mah Tovu" upon entering the synagogue.* My question is whether you should recite it when you daven at home.
For what it's worth, I daven Nusach ...
6
votes
1
answer
127
views
Using a different text of Birkat Minim
It is known that we remove a sha"tz for omitting Birkat Minim. However, there are multiple texts that I know of, including: Vilmalshinim, Laminim, and Vilam'shumadim. There are also small variants in ...
6
votes
2
answers
349
views
Reason for various positioning of "An'im Zemirot"
I am aware of 3 different customs of when to say An'im Zemirot on Shabbat:
Beginning of Shacharit, Between Bircot Hashachar and Psukei D'Zimrah
After Chazarat Hashat"z of Shacharit
End of Musaph ...
6
votes
1
answer
189
views
Why Doesn't Rasag Mention "Modim D'Rabbanan" As Part Of Tefillah?
In his siddur, Rav Sa`adya haGaon (Rasa"g) explains in practical detail the various tefilloth be-ssibur (prayers performed with a congregation) and never mentions or gives the text for 'Modhim ...
6
votes
0
answers
171
views
What Nusach did the Twansa use?
In most of the places that Sefardim settled after being kicked out of Iberia, there were already Jews living there, usually called "Musta'arabi". In most places, these communities ...
5
votes
7
answers
448
views
Marovis on Yom Tov
Does anyone know of shuls that still say Marovis (piyutim) on Yom Tov nights? I'm particularly interested in any place in Teaneck.
Many seem to think that it's a yekki minhag but it's pretty clear ...
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What are the differences between Teimani and Ashkenazi/Sefardi sifrei torah?
I have heard that there is a small number of textual differences between Teimani torah scrolls and Ashkenazi/Sefardi ones. What are these differences? If I encounter a manuscript of unknown origin ...
5
votes
3
answers
166
views
Does poseach es yadecha belong in the first paragraph of bentching?
Some bentchers include the pasuk 'poseach es yadecha..." at the end of the first paragraph of bentching (before the closing bracha), while others do not. What is the correct girsa? Are there different ...