“…we should note the tension between these kinnot seminars and the classical image of Tisha be-Av”
The second change relates to the in-synagogue services on Tisha be-Av morning. Traditionally, people sat on the synagogue floor until midday reciting complex liturgical elegies known as kinnot in a low, dirge-like tune with little embellishment or explanation. Few had any idea what these poems meant, such that sitting uncomfortably on the floor in a […]continued…
“Where are the Torah graphic novels?”
For many people, the texts of Torah learning are themselves the biggest obstacles. They are dense, difficult, often unpunctuated and written in a foreign language. Where are the Torah graphic novels? Where are the books of halacha, Mishna and Talmud that communicate the depth of our tradition with illustrations and stories, that can be absorbed […]continued…