The Tefilah Podcast

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Length: 1 hour 7 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (1/28/26), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we took a brief detour from our we've so-called "Kabbalas Shabbos" perakim of Tehilim. We recently finished 95-99, and although the next perek according to the mainstream Ashkenazi minhag is 29, we unanimously decided to (re)learn 100, since it's part of ...

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Length: 1 hour 6 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (1/14/26), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we managed to "land the plane"! After reviewing the translation, questions, and observations from last time, we tossed around a few approaches, and then learned the Meiri, who held the key to a unified theory with a very practical message. And with that, we finishe...

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Length: 1 hour
Synopsis: This evening (1/7/26), in our first Wednesday night Tehilim shiur of 2026, we commenced our analysis of the next perek in our "Kabbalas Shabbos" series, which also happens to be the last perek in the 95-99 cluster before the minhag takes us back to 29. As usual, we spent the first two thirds of shiur translating the perek and the last ...

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Length: 1 hour 15 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (12/24/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we learned through the Radak's commentary a second time, refining our understanding of the main idea we developed by trying to discern every phrase in every pasuk. We may not have figured out every single nuance, but I am SUPER happy with how our analysis turns out. T...

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Length: 1 hour 11 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (12/17/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we began with a quick review, then made it our mission to learn through the entire commentary of the Radak. Thankfully, he states his main idea at the very beginning, so we were able to see how he develops it in his commentary on each pasuk. We went a bit overtime so that ...

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Length: 1 hour 6 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (12/10/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we (read: I) decided that we needed a break from the "Kabbalas Shabbos" series we've been learning. Since Chanukah is right around the corner, we took up the Shir shel Yom of Chanukah, which many people also recite every day. The translation took a bit more e...

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Length: 1 hour
Synopsis: This evening (12/3/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we experienced a small miracle: we learned an entire perek in one sitting! It helped that this chapter clearly builds on the previous two, although that created its own challenge. This one was so similar to the last two that the similarities made our work both easier and harder. By ze...

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Length: 1 hour
Synopsis: This evening (11/26/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we completed our analysis of Tehilim 97. After reviewing what we covered last time in 97 and the ideas we developed in 96, we focused in on the central problems, all of which were in the last three pesukim. Turns out, they held the key for unlocking the entire thing. Not only did we ...

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Tehilim 97: Hashem Malach Tageil ha'Aretz (Part 1: Translation, Questions, and Opening Moves)

Length: 1 hour 6 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (11/12/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we began the next perek in (what we're unofficially calling) the "Kabbalat Shabbat series." I don't know about you, but whenever I've read th...

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Length: 1 hour 3 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (11/5/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we had something of a “do-over” of last week’s session, which didn’t record because of a hardware failure. Thankfully, this version turned out far better! We managed to explain the entire perek and address all four of our major Tehilim methodology questions. Although we won’...

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Length: 2 hours 6 minutes
Synopsis: The halachah states: “One who davens must have kavanah during all the berachos, but if one is unable to have kavanah in all of them, one should at least have kavanah in Avos” (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 101:1). Last year, in my Machshavah Lab tefilah shiurim for women, I gave an eleven-part series aimed at elucidating each word of t...

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Length: 1 hour 2 minutes
Synopsis: This evening (10/22/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we began the next perek in our "Tehilim we say at Kabbalas Shabbos" series. This one was very ... "Tehilimmy"! As usual, we spent the bulk of the first session translating the perek with all its nuances. I couldn't help but add my commentary as to w...

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Length: 45 minutes
Synopsis: This morning (10/1/25), in place of our Morning Mishlei shiur, we attempted to understand the preface to the Vidui Yom ha'Kippurim: what are we saying, and why? Drawing on the Rambam's framework for teshuvah, we developed an approach that will unlock a new level of functionality in the vidui, for those who follow through.
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Length: 58 minutes
Synopsis: Tonight (9/17/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we (read: I) realized that we're going to miss the next FOUR Wednesdays on account of the Moadim! Given that consideration, I decided to expedite our usual process and attempt to arrive at a main idea and practical takeaway TONIGHT instead of developing an approach with meforshim ...

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Length: 56 minutes
Synopsis: Tonight (9/10/25), in our first Wednesday night Tehilim shiur of the 2025-2026 season, we began Tehilim 95, a.k.a. the first perek in Kabbalas Shabbos. I didn't choose it because of Kabbalas Shabbos (though it's always nice to learn perakim we're already somewhat familiar with), but because I noticed during Kabbalas Shabbos la...

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Length: 1 hour 1 minute
Synopsis: Tonight (6/4/25),  in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we started and finished (?) an extremely short perek about an unfortunately relevant topic: How should we approach Hashem when we, the Jewish people, are held in contempt by the nations of the world in our exile? Since this perek only had four pesukim, we managed to conduct a full...

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Length: 57 minutes
Synopsis: Tonight (5/28/25),  in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we concluded our experimental learn-through of Sforno and R' Elia di Nola on our perek. We began by clarifying Sforno’s nuanced take on Torah u’Mada, then explored his view of the role Moshiach will play in educating humanity. We wrapped up with a summary of the perek’s purpose, ...

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Length: 57 minutes
Synopsis: Tonight (5/21/25), in our Wednesday night Tehilim shiur, we continued our experiment of learning through Sforno (and R' Elia di Nola) on Tehilim 45! After a recap and a re-pitch of the perek, we continued on, making past the pivot point into the next section. It was ... interesting! We definitely gained some ideas about how to engage in...

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Length: 1 hour 30 minutes
Synopsis: This Friday morning (5/16/25), in our tefilah-focused Machshavah Lab series for women, we finished our analysis of the first berachah! Not that anyone can truly finish it, but we completed THIS round. After a quick review, we spent the bulk of the time analyzing the penultimate clause in the berachah, and rode that momentum through th...