Learn Hebrew Prayers
There are five basic parts to a Jewish prayer service:
(An Afternoon Shabbat Havdalah service has the same parts except for #2.)
1) Introductory blessings and songs (including Ashrei, which is Psalm 145, and concluding with the Chatsi Kaddish)
2) The Call to Worship (Barchu), the Sh'ma and V'ahavta, and their surrounding blessings, which declares the unity of God
3) The T'filah, or central prayer in the name of our ancestors (beginning with Avot & G'vurot)
4) The Torah service and/or sermon (including Torah and Haftarah blessings)
5) Concluding prayers (including Kiddush)
To become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Temple Sinai students must learn certain prayers and blessings, study a Torah and Haftarah portion, and write a D'var Torah, or sermon, with the rabbi.
To help you learn these prayers, click on the text (PDF) or audio (MP3) link next to the prayer name. Each text file includes the Hebrew prayer in an easy-to-read format, transliteration of the Hebrew words, a contemporary translation into English, and an introduction to the prayer's context and meaning. You can then hear the correctly chanted version by clicking on the audio file. Even if you're an adult, it's never too late to learn!
The following prayers are all required to be learned for our Bar/Bat Mitzvah program:
