Published:
2010
Source: SiddurAudio
Rabbi Mark Zimmerman of Congregation Beth Shalom of Atlanta has produced SiddurAudio, a convenient online resource for learning to chant the Hebrew liturgy of the Siddur (Jewish prayer book), for brushing up on davening skills, learning to chant and sing the Shabbat services or preparing for Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah!
The website contains downloadable recordings of the Shabbat, week day and holiday services accompanied by the Hebrew prayer text from the new "Siddur Sim Shalom" (1998) Sabbath and Festival prayer book published jointly by the Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagogue (Conservative). The free audio tracks recorded here are mostly consistent with the text found in other traditional Siddurim.
Rabbi Zimmerman writes:
"Unfamiliarity with the Hebrew liturgy is an obstacle which keeps many from experiencing the joy and ruach of participating fully in their synagogue services. This website's aim is to help people acquire the skills to overcome that hurdle.
My goal was to get most of the liturgy uploaded, including the home rituals, Torah trop, zemirot, etc. So far, most of these objectives have been achieved. Recently, audio CD's of the siddur clips were made available for those who wanted to have easier access to the sound tracks and avoid the cumbersome process of downloading and saving all the individual tracks.
It is my hope that many of you will benefit from this new learning tool that will in turn create a more siddur-proficient and knowledgeable Jewish community. And by mastering the liturgy, hopefully you will be able to heighten your sense of Jewish spirituality and enhance your kavanah (inner devotion) during your own prayers."
Recently, Rabbi Zimmerman has launched a sister site for SiddurAudio, Haftarah Audio, a convenient online resource for learning to chant the Haftorah and to learn the sounds of the cantillation marks, or Trop. This free site can be very helpful as for preparing for a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah.
Each Haftarah link leads to a web page containing the complete Hebrew text of the Haftarah, along with a link to download audio for chanting the entire Haftarah and its blessings.
Recently a new iPhone application which teaches the recitation of the Kaddish, the mourner's prayer recited daily in synagogue.
The free tutorial program iKaddish 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch was released by the Chicago-based Davka Corp.
iKaddish displays the text of the Kaddish in the original Aramaic and English transliteration, and chants the text, highlighting each word as it is read. The application includes both the Sephardic and Ashkenazi pronunciations.
The application also contains an explanatory section about the Kaddish that includes the English translation, as well as additional information about its recitation.