The Beurei Hatefila Institute was established in order to encourage the study of the words of the Siddur as a Jewish text in Jewish schools. To assist educators develop
courses on Tefila, the Institute published a weekly e-mail newsletter in which it traced the sources for the words and structure of the prayers within the Siddur.    
Newsletters covering all parts of the Siddur have been published.  The individual newsletters and  compilations of the newsletters as e-books are available to be
downloaded at no charge.  
The Beurei

Hatefila

Institute
Understanding The Words, Structure, and Development of the Siddur-The Jewish Prayer Book
Abe Katz, is available to meet with
school administrators to assist them in
establishing a course in Beurei Hatefila
at their schools and to train teachers on
using Hebrew-English word processing
and Judaic libraries on CD-ROM.   
Mr. Katz is also available to teach
courses on Tefila at your synagogue or
Jewish Community Center and as a
scholar-in-residence
Recommended Reading List
To gain a greater understanding of Tefila, you may
want to consider creating a Tefila library
Download Individual Newsletters
Abe Katz
Executive Director
Author and Publisher
of the
Weekly E-Mail Newsletter
להבין את התפלה
To Contact Abe Katz directly:
beureihatefila@yahoo.com

Man’s true function is to know
G-d, and to make G-d known:
he can know G-d only through His
revelation, and he can comprehend that
revelation only by continued study - Philo
The Beurei Hatefila Institute
remembers Rabbi Isaiah Wohlgemuth,
zt"l, who taught Beurei Hatefila at
Maimonides School, Brookline, MA
for over 35 years by establishing the
ספרי מנהגים
Books Of Customs
Books of customs are excellent sources for
researching the history of Tefila.  Thanks to
hebrewbook.org many of these books are now
available in digital form.  
Test Your Knowledge Of Tefilas Shacharis
The Synagogue
The More You Know About Its Past-
The More You Want To Be A Part Of Its Future
Service Mark Of The Beurei Hatefila Institute
A Handbook To Jewish Prayer
The Beurei Hatefila Institute One Year
Course On Tefila
The Topics Covered Include:
  • Defining Jewish Prayer
  • The Origin Of The Synagogue
  • The Purpose Of Kriyas Ha'Torah
  • The Origin Of The Mourner's
    Kaddish
  • The Link Between Studying
    Torah And Jewish Prayer
  • The Origin Of The Jewish Prayer
    Rites
Abe Katz Drafted The Fourteen Principles
Of Jewish Prayer
To Read A Sample Chapter
Contact Abe Katz if you would like him to teach the
Fourteen Principles of Jewish Prayer at your school or
at your synagogue.
Abe Katz recently edited and annotated the book: Guide
To Jewish Prayer by Rabbi Isaiah Wohlgemuth, z"l.  You
can order a copy of the book from Maimonides School,
Brookline, MA by contacting mike@maimonides.org
News From The Beurei Hatefila Institute
The Beurei Hatefila Library
Abe Katz Presented Three Lectures On-Line
Through Torahinmotion.org.  On Tracing The
Structure Of The Siddur
On Line Class-What We Can Learn About Tefila
From The Machzor Roma
Download Source Sheets And Recordings
On Line Class-Preparing Bnei Mitzvah For Participation
in Communal Prayer
Download Source Sheets And Listen To Recordings
On Line Class-What We Can Learn About The
Tefilos Of Lail Shabbos By Comparing Versions
Of Those Tefilos-
On Line Class-The Origin Of The Haggadah.  
On Line Class-Tefila 101-Three Steps Towards
More Meaningful Tefila.  
Search this site (English only)
On Line Class-Womens Tefila Class
On Line Class-Birkat Hamazone
Every Tuesday Night At 9:00
PM EST For An Invitation Send
An E-Mail To:
beureihatefila@yahoo.com
Welcome to the website of the Beurei Hatefila Institute.  Here you will find many
resources that you can study to gain a deeper understanding of Jewish prayer; in
particular, the words and structure of the Jewish prayer book, the Siddur.  I employ a
source based method of study;  i.e. I reproduce original Hebrew sources and provide
the English translation for each.  Most of those sources are taken from Rabbinic
material but you will also find sources that are borrowed from academic scholarship.   
Where should you begin?  I recommend that you listen to a series of on-line classes
that I delivered for women in which I discuss various aspects of communal prayer
after introducing general concepts about Jewish prayer.
Search this site (Hebrew only)
On Line Class-Shemona Esrei