Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky spends Three Minutes on Tefilah

The Blessing of Asher Bachar Banu Praises Hashem for Choosing Us from all the Nations. The term "Chosen People" has become a bane for us as well. Is it Racist?

The Blessing of V'Ha'arev Nah ends by praising the Almighty as the One who teaches Torah to Israel, What does that mean? When was the last time you received a lesson from G-d?

In addition to being a prayer for Torah to continue for generations, the Second Part of the Birchas HaTorah, V'Haarev Nah, includes a supplication to make Torah sweet in our mouths, a very fascinating prayer that we do not find for other Mitzvos.

The first of the set of the blessings of Birchas HaTorah uses the term, "sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to engross (L'asok) ourselves in the words of Torah." We are commanded to learn, but where is there a command to engage or engross ourselves in Torah?

Birchas HaTorah (the blessings recited before Torah Study) are so significant that the Gemara in Nedarim 81 tells us that the absence of those pre-Torah-learning blessings was the reason for the destruction of the Temple and the ensuing exile. The Shulchan Aruch even forbids Torah study without reciting those blessings. Why?

Hashem tells Avraham to go out and count the stars, "if you can count them" Hashem then adds, "thus shall be your children." What does the attempt to count have to do with the number of stars. There are billions of stars whether or not they are countable?

The blessing of Asher Yatzar which gives thanks and recognition for proper bodily functions, we segue into the tefilah of Elokai Neshama with its recognition of the importance and essence of the soul. The reason why we say this prayer each morning and the explanation of the words "You Secure it within me" are explored in this three-minute podcast that is sponsored in memory of Shmuel Moshe ben Shimshon Avraham HaKohen Sternberg

Asher Yatzer ends with the characterization of Hashem as the Healer of All Flesh and the One who Does Wondrous Things. How does that tie in with a blessing in recognition of our daily bodily functions?

Asher Yatzar is a fascinating prayer that recognizes the miracles of human excretions and the ramifications of malfunction. But there are subtle messages in that prayer that refer to our relationship with the Almighty as well.

The prayer of Asher Yatzer is an amazingly crafted supplication of thanks that presents an overview of the brilliance and divinity of Hashem's marvelous creation -- The Human Being. Today's podcast is dedicated in honor of and for a refuah shlaimah of my dear friend Yossi Hecht, Yosef Chaim Ben Dvora Leah, and in memory of his beloved mother, Devorah Leah Bas Rav Yeshaya Dovid, ob"m.