Prayer

Freed Israeli hostages recite Shema prayer on New York City stage in front of thousands

This event was part of the Chabad-Lubavitch CTeen International Summit, an annual conference for Jewish teens from around the world. 

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Freed Israeli hostages Matan Zangauker, Ilana Gritzewsky, and Segev Kalfon, recite the Shema prayer on stage in Times Square on February 21, 2026.
A general view of Jerusalem's Old City shows the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in the foreground as the Dome of the Rock, located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, is seen in the background.

Coalition lawmakers vow to advance bill granting Chief Rabbinate authority over Western Wall prayer

A new bill aims to give the Chief Rabbinate control over Western Wall prayer arrangements, with coalition lawmakers pushing for its passage.

|ByKESHET NEEV
A Jewish woman covered in a white prayer shawl prays in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Jewish holiday of Passover, April 2, 2018

Israel must advance permits for egalitarian Western Wall plaza, High Court orders

The ruling followed a hearing earlier last week, during which justices pressed state and municipal representatives over why worshippers at the egalitarian section still cannot reach the Wall.

|BySARAH BEN-NUN
An illustrative photograph of a man wearing tefillin

When prayer is weaponized: Preserving faith’s sincerity in a politicized world - opinion

True prayer lights the heart and softens the soul; it cannot be weaponized without losing meaning.

|ByJONATHAN LIEBERMAN

Independence and partnership: A Rosh Hashanah prayer for Israel - opinion

KNOW COMMENT: This 5786, let's embrace a plot of purpose and a belief in inevitable, righteous movement towards peace and stability.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025ByDAVID M. WEINBERG
US SECRETARY of State Marco Rubio inserts a note between stones of the Western Wall as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on, this week. In the US, at least for the moment, President Donald Trump has Israel’s back, the writer states.

Two-thirds of a 15th-century Portuguese High Holiday prayer book were lost to history. Until now.

The Lisbon Mahzor is now complete after the National Library of Israel reclaims its missing parts, preserving a key piece of Jewish history.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2025ByGRACE GILSON/JTA
The Musaf prayer for Rosh Hashanah in a page of the rare 15th century Lisbon Mahzor now at the National Library of Israel.

A danger to Israel: Our nation’s rift is an existential threat - opinion

The holiday prayer calling for Jews to be a united group carries existential meaning for the nation's collective future.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2025ByILAN GEAL-DOR
Family members of hostages from Kibbutz Nir Oz who are held in Gaza, together with former hostages, hold a protest in Carmei Gat, marking the 700th day of captivity and calling for the release of all hostages, September 5, 2025.

WATCH: Dozens of religious activists ascend Temple Mount in honor of Charlie Kirk

"Just as Charlie fought tirelessly for freedom of speech, we will continue to fight for freedom of worship and equal rights for Jews on the Temple Mount," one activist said.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Activists ascend the Temple Mount in honor of Charlie Kirk on September 17,2025.

Why do American Jews pray facing Jerusalem? - opinion

After 2,000 years, God has finally answered the prayers of millions of Jews and allowed them to return to their homeland

SEPTEMBER 14, 2025ByURI PILICHOWSKI
JEWS PRAY for forgiveness during this month of Elul, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. After 2,000 years, God has finally answered the prayers of millions of Jews and allowed them to return to their homeland.

Are Jews forbidden from praying on Shabbat?

“On Shabbat, we do not escape either the state or the sense of need. That would deny our creaturely humanity. We do, however, reorient our needs.”

SEPTEMBER 6, 2025BySHLOMO BRODY
WOMEN PRAYING in the Western Wall tunnels.

Israelis gather at Western Wall for Selichot dedicated to 50 hostages in Gaza

Former hostage Keith Siegel addressed US President Trump in a video statement from the Western Wall, where he urged the president to push for a deal to free the 50 remaining hostages.

AUGUST 26, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israelis participate in selichot and call to bring back the 50 hostages held in Gaza at the Western Wall, August 25, 2025.

Parashat Eikev: Service of the heart

Prayer is one of the foundations of Judaism. A hallmark of the eternal Jew is speaking with his creator...Is it reasonable that such a central mitzvah is not directly addressed in the Torah?

AUGUST 15, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
AT MOUNT SINAI, the Jewish people were metaphorically ‘married’ to God.

New on Rikers Island: a Jewish prayerbook designed with incarcerated congregants in mind

The one-of-a-kind siddur features bright colors, bold text and an amalgam of Hebrew, English, Russian and Ladino prayers, as well as meditations on healing and recovery and poems.

AUGUST 12, 2025ByMARLA BROWN FOGELMAN/JTA
"The Very Narrow Bridge" is a prayer book designed for people who are incarcerated on Rikers Island, New York City's jail that's accessible only by bridge.

It began in Neveh Dekalim: How the Gaza Disengagement led to judicial reform

For Religious Zionists, who link Torah, people, and land, the state’s bulldozers felt like a theological betrayal.

AUGUST 1, 2025ByZVIKA KLEIN
A GIRL is evacuated from Neveh Dekalim, Aug. 2005.