SHUL REVIEW: Nava Tehila (Friday Night)
Rating: 6/5 — By far the best Friday Night service I’ve been to in my life. Lively, musical,…
September 5, 2014
Writings
Thoughts & Torah
Sam loves to write on a number of subjects — from prayer leadership and Jewish stories, to Torah reflections and travel experiences.
Substack
Exploring Good Davening
Thoughts on prayer leadership, creating meaningful and potentially transformative prayer communities. Subscribe to get new posts directly in your inbox.
June 24, 2025
Praying Your Announcements - Part 2
Matching tone, allowing breath, and techniques for delivering them
May 27, 2025
Praying Your Announcements - Part 1
Tips and Tricks Calling Pages and Giving Kavannot
April 21, 2025
Late For Kiddush
How do we hold a spiritual container when we're on a time clock?
March 14, 2025
Distracted Davenning
What should we be thinking about when leading prayer?
March 13, 2025
Reflections on the Fast of Esther
How her model might help us through chaotic and troubling times.
March 4, 2025
One Hour, One Melody
All you need is one
Archive
From the Blog
SHUL REVIEW: Beit Yisrael at Yemin Moshe — Ashkenazi (Saturday Morning)
Rating: 5/5 — Friendly, with good kavanah and harmony, and an excellent kiddush. Beit Yisrael, also known as…
August 30, 2014
SHUL REVIEW: Moreshet Yisrael (Friday)
Rating: 3/5 — Typical American Conservative service, with participation in the service likewise. One of Israel’s few fully…
August 29, 2014
SHUL REVIEW: Yakar — Upstairs Minyan (Friday)
Rating: 4/5 — Solid service with lots of ruach, lacking in harmony. Yakar is an extremely welcoming congregation…
August 23, 2014
SHUL REVIEW: Shira Hadasha (Friday Night and Saturday Morning)
Rating: Friday Night 4/5, Saturday Morning 5/5. Shira Hadasha is an Orthodox, Feminist Congregation in Jerusalem located at…
August 16, 2014
Israel: Weekend #1
My first weekend in Israel while leading a USY group during Operation Protective Edge. Due to safety concerns…
August 10, 2014
The Third Temple
Yesterday was Tisha B’Av — the saddest day of the Jewish year, commemorating the destruction of the First…
August 5, 2014
Why Isn’t My Kid Jewish? Lessons of a USY Pilgrimage Madrich
It’s the last day of USY Poland-Israel Pilgrimage. We’re standing at Robinson’s Arch, at the egalitarian section of…
July 20, 2014
Israel!
We’ve transitioned from Poland to Israel. Our group concluded their time in Poland by visiting Tykochin synagogue and…
July 18, 2014
SHUL REVIEW: The Great Synagogue (Saturday Morning)
Rating: 4/5 — One of the few remaining synagogues with an old-time feel, led by a world-renowned Chazzan.…
July 15, 2014
Synagogues, Synagogues, Synagogues
Thursday was filled with travel and visits to houses of worship. We began by journeying to the Temple…
July 10, 2014
Never Forget
We visited Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. At Auschwitz I, we toured exhibits documenting transportation routes and evolving…
July 8, 2014