Activities Before Morning Prayers in the Army

 

Translated and adapted by Rabbi Eliezer Kwass

  

Question:

 

            During our active duty, we were faced with a dilemma:  If we prayed at dawn, the other religious soldiers in our platoon would be left without a minyan.  If, on the other hand, we waited until later, everyone would be able to take part in the minyan, but we would need to do some of our army duties, such as morning line-up and the like, before prayer.  Which is preferable?

 

Answer:

 

            Let us reformulate the question.  Is doing army activities prohibited before Shacharit, and if so, how stringently?  Does enabling everyone to pray in a minyan warrant scheduling minyan after the morning army duties?

 

Basic sources

 

Aside from eating, the sources mention three different types of activities which may not be done before praying:

 

1.  Work:  "One should not sit for a haircut before Mincha.  Neither should he enter the bath house or the tannery." (Shabbat 9a)

2.  Traveling:  "Rav Yitzchak son of Ashian said, 'It is forbidden for one to go out on a journey before he prays.'" (The Rif's and the Rosh's version of Berakhot 14a)

3.  Activities:  R. Idi son of Avin said in the name of R. Yitzchak son of Ashian, 'It is forbidden to go about one's daily activities before he prays.'" (Rashi's version of the same gemara)

            Work is prohibited in order to prevent one from becoming too involved and thus forgetting to pray.  Though our mishna in Shabbat refers to Mincha, the same would obviously be true for Shacharit.  The Meiri, quoted in the Biur Halakha, limits this prohibition to work which one must see through until its end without interruption.  Leaving a tannery before the leather has been finished might ruin it; similarly, interrupting a haircut or bath is unthinkable.  Writing or sewing, however, which can be put down without harm and picked up later, would not be prohibited before prayer according to the Meiri.  In any case, those army duties which are clearly defined and do not tend to drag on would not be prohibited under the mishna's ruling.

 

            The gemara in Berakhot 14a, however, does seem to rule out getting involved in such activities before praying in the morning.  The gemara quotes a verse (Psalms 85:14), "Righteousness goes out before him, and he sets forth on a journey," reading it as, "Only after being involved in righteousness should one go out on a journey."  Rashi's version expands the passage to include all activities, not just traveling.  The Rif's and Rosh's text, however, only prohibits embarking on a journey, which neutralizes this as a source prohibiting army duties before prayer.

 

            A statement by Abba Binyamin in Berakhot 5b might be relevant to our discussion:  "During my whole life I was very scrupulous about praying adjacent to my bed [Rashi and Tosafot: not working before praying] and setting up my bed north to south [as opposed to east-west]."  This is not, however, a compelling source for prohibiting army work.  First, Abba Binyamin seems to be speaking of a personal pious practice without setting down a general ruling for others.  Second, Rashi and Tosafot see it as referring to work, which might, as in the previous source, be limited to long, involved types of work which we fear will cause one to become distracted and forget to pray.

 

Halakhic Authorities

 

            The Shulchan Arukh (OH 99:63) writes: "It is forbidden to get involved in one's activities or to go on a trip before praying the Shemoneh Esrei."  The Gra cites Abba Binyamin's statement in Berakhot 5b as the source of the Shulchan Arukh's ruling.  Unlike Rashi and Tosafot on the spot, he does not distinguish between different types of activities.  This also explains why the Chayei Adam (16) permits doing work "if it is urgent", a seemingly original addition.  If one assumes that the source of the Shulchan Arukh's ruling is Abba Binyamin's behavior, it can be seen merely as a type of highly recommended custom which does not carry the severity of Rabbinic law.

 

            The Arukh Hashulchan introduces another fact into our discussion.  One factor underlying the prohibition of eating before prayer is the arrogance of getting involved in one's own pursuits before relating to the Divine, as the prophet says (Kings I 14:9), "You cast Me behind your back."  According to the Arukh Hashulchan, herein lies the reason for the Shulchan Arukh's (and the Rambam's) categorical prohibition of all activities before morning prayer.  If this  indeed is the problem, one might then rely on a lenient opinion quoted by the Rema, permitting one to work once he has said the morning blessings or Pesukei Dezimra.  In a similar vein, the Mishna Berura permits work after one has accepted God's sovereignty through Keriat Shema.

 

Final Decision

 

            Ideally, prayer must be one's first activity of the day.  However, in a situation where there is pressure because of the army's schedule, one may do other activities before morning prayers, under two conditions:  1.  They can only be activities which are unlikely to drag on a long time and do not involve much effort.  2.  One should first say Keriat Shema, or at least the morning blessings.

 

 

(This article originally appeared in Daf Kesher #100, vol. 1, pp. 406-408.)

 

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Copyright (c) 1996 Yeshivat Har Etzion.  All rights reserved.

 

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