Rabbi Joshua Cahan

Prayer books people actually want to open.

Siddurim and a Haggadah built for the way prayer really happens in schools, camps, and around the Seder table — accessible, beautifully designed, and unafraid of a good story.

See the Books Look Inside Siddur Pnei Shabbat
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The Books

A shelf built one siddur at a time.

Each book starts from the same question: what actually helps someone find their way into tefilah — not just follow along with it.

Cover of Siddur Pnei Shabbat, showing a starry night sky fading into an orange sunrise
New · Camp Kabbalat Shabbat

Siddur Pnei Shabbat

A camp siddur for Kabbalat Shabbat

Designed with campers in mind: the full traditional text stays centered, with everything else built to open it up rather than talk around it. Weekday and Shabbat-day volumes are next.

  • Full transliteration, Hebrew centered
  • Clear stage directions & icons
  • Reflection questions and stories
  • Warm, camp-style illustration
Look Inside Bring it to your camp

Available now

The Yedid Nefesh Haggadah

Cover of the Yedid Nefesh Haggadah

The last Haggadah you'll ever need to buy

Full traditional text with clear guideposts, transliteration, and contemporary translation — sized and priced to put a copy in every hand at the table. Original artwork by Tilla Crowne.

“Focused on making the Haggadah text accessible and easy to navigate for the widest possible range of users.”Reviewed in Jewish Currents & Jewish News
$8.95–$17.95
Per copy, by quantity
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The original · Since 2009

Yedid Nefesh Bencher

An egalitarian bencher with full translation & transliteration

Precise commentary and the full array of prayers and song connecting life's celebrations to text — still finding its way into new hands, one simcha at a time.

“A crucial step forward and a valuable addition to any Jewish community with members of different skill levels and backgrounds.”Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, Mechon Hadar
100,000+
Copies in print
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In development · Seeking school partners

Weekday Siddur for Day Schools

Modeled on Siddur Pnei Shabbat, for middle and high schoolers — all weekday services plus school-relevant additions, condensed translations that surface each tefilah's core idea, and weekday Torah readings in accessible translation. Schools that join the development process help shape its stories, questions, and content.

~220 pages 6×9 softcover $16–18 projected per copy
Help shape this book

Look Inside

A few pages of Siddur Pnei Shabbat.

Hebrew, transliteration, and a conceptual translation on every spread — plus the questions, stories, and art built around them.

Look Inside

A few pages of the Haggadah.

The full traditional text with contemporary translation, transliteration, and brief commentary throughout — illustrated by Tilla Crowne.

As reviewed by David Wilensky, J. The Jewish News of Northern California · Hazzan Matt Austerklein, Beyond the Music · Raphael Magarik, Jewish Currents

From the Desk

Writing on prayer, Shabbat, and the Seder.

Translation

What's in a Translation?

A poet's take on Dante suggests a different model for the siddur: translation that helps you hear a prayer, not just decode it. “I have been experimenting with what I call a ‘prayer-centered translation.’”

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Passover

Dayenu: Holding on to Gratitude

“Dayenu isn’t a retrospective song, sung from the safety of the end of the story. It is meant to be sung in the middle of the journey, precisely at the moments when the outcome was still unknown.”

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Seder

Finding the Right Questions

A working list of “Big Questions” to open real conversation at your table — mapped to the moments in the Haggadah where they fit.

Read the post →

Other Publications

Academic & long-form writing.

Audio & Video

Hear the nusach, not just read it.

Recordings organized by service, plus the Haggadah's own video walkthroughs.

Shabbat Morning Nusach

Listen ↓
  1. Torah service1
  2. Torah svc B
  3. vetigaleh A
  4. miSheberach
  5. kaddish
  6. Musaf Kaddish2
  7. Musaf kedusha
  8. Hallel Nusach
  9. hallel-nusach
  10. kedusha

This set picks up partway through the service (parts 1–7 aren’t here yet), and there are two takes of the Hallel nusach — let me know which to drop and what’s still missing.

Weekday Nusach

Listen ↓
  1. Birkhot Hashachar
  2. barukh sheamar
  3. ashrei
  4. Shacharit A
  5. Shacharit B
  6. Shacharit C
  7. Amida 1
  8. Kedusha
  9. Amida 3
  10. Amida 4
  11. Amida 5

High Holidays

Listen ↓
  1. Avot HHD Musaf
  2. Berosh Hashana
  3. Gevurot HHD Musaf
  4. HHD Musaf Kaddish
  5. Hamol
  6. Hayom Harat Olam
  7. Hineni
  8. Kedusha HHD Musaf
  9. Simcha l'artzecha
  10. Unetaneh Tokef
  11. Vechol Maaminim

Listed alphabetically for now — tell me the order you’d like (e.g. service order) and I’ll rearrange them.

Seuda Shlishit

Listen →

Haggadah Video Walkthroughs

Watch on YouTube →

The Light Lab Podcast — “Nerding Out on T’fillah”

Listen on Spotify →

Shabbat Morning, Weekday, and High Holidays nusach now play directly from this site. Seuda Shlishit recordings still point to the current WordPress site until those files are sent over.

Rabbi Joshua Cahan

Rabbi Joshua Cahan writes and edits siddurim built for the people actually using them — campers, students, and anyone who has ever felt like the prayerbook was written for someone else.

He holds a Ph.D. in Talmud and Rabbinic Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary and was ordained as a rabbi in 2004. His Yedid Nefesh Bencher (2009) has sold over 100,000 copies; the Yedid Nefesh Haggadah followed in 2024. He edits Cahan Corner, a newsletter on Jewish prayer and community.

Ph.D., JTS Ordained Rabbi, 2004 Author, 3 Books

Get in Touch

Bring one of these books to your community.

Whether you're considering the Haggadah for your seder tables, Siddur Pnei Shabbat for camp, or want to help shape the weekday siddur — tell us a bit about what you need.

What are you interested in?

Opens an email to joshcahan@gmail.com with your details filled in.