Al Ha VeDa על הא ודא

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Posted 11:47 AM by Simon

Ideas for teaching liturgy

I realized during Rosh Hashana services last week that Aviad doesn't know half as much as I had assumed that he did about the structure of the Mahzor. The middle of the silent Amida wasn't a very helpful time to realize this, but I gave him a whispered overview of Malchuyot Zichronot and Shofarot before the repetition while resolving to do the job properly in the time remaining before his Bar Mitzvah.

So … I have been trying to think up a lesson plan, and had the idea of approaching it as a system of cycles, something like this:

• Three times a day: the Amidah
  • Sources: the patriarchs vs. the Temple services
  • Structure and content
    • First three blessings
    • Middle thirteen blessings
    • Last three blessings
  • Live example: Minha
    • Parshat haTamid and Pitum haKetoret
    • Ashrei
    • Kaddish as liturgical punctuation
    • Amida
    • Tahanun
    • Alenu
• Twice a day: the Shema
  • Sources
  • Structure and content
  • Live example: Arvit
    • Blessings before the Shema
    • Shema
    • Blessings after the Shema
    • Amida
    • Alenu
• Every Monday and Thursday: weekday Torah reading
  • Sources
  • Live example: Shahrit
    • Morning blessings and readings
    • Pesukei deZimra
    • Blessings before the Shema
    • Shema
    • Blessings after the Shema
    • Amida
    • Tahanun
    • Torah reading
    • Alenu
• Once a week: Shabbat
  • Shabbat forms of the Amida, including Musaf
    • First three blessings
    • Middle blessing
    • Last three blessings
  • Other extras
    • Kabbalat Shabbat
    • Expanded Pesukei deZimra
    • Minha Torah reading
    • Havdala
• Once a month: Rosh Hodesh
  • Ya'ale veyavo
  • Hallel
  • Torah reading
  • Musaf
  • Birkat haLevana and Kiddush Levana
• Four times a year: public fast days
  • Selihot
  • Anenu and Nahem
  • Torah reading
• Three times a year: Pilgrim Festivals
  • Festival forms of the Amida, including Musaf
    • First three blessings
    • Middle blessing
    • Last three blessings
  • Other extras
    • Hallel
    • Torah reading
    • Hosha'anot
  • Special festival services
    • Seder
    • Tikkun Leil Shavu'ot
    • Tikkun Hosha'ana Rabba
• Once a year: High Holidays
  • Selihot
  • Shofar
  • Rosh haShana Musaf
  • Yom Kippur Amidot
  • Ne'ila
• Once a year: Minor Festivals
  • Purim and Hanukka
    • Al haNissim
    • Hallel
    • Megillat Esther
  • Others
    • Tu biShvat
    • Lag Ba'omer
    • Tu beAv
• Every now and then: life-cycle events

I don't know if this approach would work for everybody, but I'm sure it would have worked for me when I was a kid, and I suspect it will work for Aviad too.