Joe Rosenstein

Sample Pages

The Beginning of the Morning Blessings

The Beginning of the Morning Blessings

Transliteration
The transliteration provides the pronunciation of every Hebrew word.

You can use it to:

  • follow along as the prayers are recited aloud
  • join in the singing (verses commonly sung are bold)
  • learn how to read the prayers in Hebrew

Hebrew Text
The text used in this Siddur is the traditional text with modest alterations

  • provides alternate phrases reflecting different philosophical perspectives
  • includes appropriate references to the matriarchs
  • has punctuation to facilitate proper parsing

Meditations
This Siddur includes meditations

  • that we can read silently
  • that can be used as guided meditations read aloud by a leader
  • that enhance our experience of a single theme or prayer

Guideposts
This Siddur has guideposts that help the participant find out the answers to questions like

  • where are we in the service?
  • what’s happening now?
  • and why?

Translation

The translation, prepared especially for this Siddur,

  • uses gender-free language to refer to God
  • conveys the essence of the text rather than its literal meaning
  • is inviting and inclusive rather than distancing
  • uses language that makes sense
  • can be used to daven in English as well as explain the Hebrew

Kavvanot

This Siddur has “kavvanot” — brief prayers or statements that can be read silently or aloud

  • that help us focus on the prayer that we are about to recite
  • that help bring us back into the flow of the service

Alternatives

This Siddur provides alternatives

  • alternative versions of prayers
    • reflecting different traditions
    • offering optional substitutes for philosophically difficult statements
  • alternative selections of how prayers can be used
  • alternative modes of reciting the prayers

The Blessing after the Sh’ma

The Blessing after the Sh'ma

Comments
Comments in this Siddur are used

  • to elaborate on the meaning of a phrase or prayer
  • to highlight the spiritual content of a prayer
  • to discuss the source of a phrase or prayer
  • to link the prayer to others in the Siddur

Perpectives
This Siddur discusses directly many of our philosophical concerns with traditional prayers, and offers alternative theological perspectives on the prayers.

Literal Translation

When the main translation diverges substantially from the literal translation, that is provided for purposes of comparison or contrast.

Guide to the Spiritual Journey of the Prayers

  • presents the morning prayers as a spiritual journey
  • and guides you through that journey
  • involving six stages leading up the the central Amidah prayer
  • and four phases within the Amidah
  • with markers that indicate where in the journey you are

The End of the Amidah

New Prayers
This Siddur includes new prayers that reflect its philosophical and spiritual perspective, including
this prayer that can be recited at the end of the central Amidah prayer.