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Siman 12-13 - Introduction to Prayer and the Synagogue

21.09.2014
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1. INTRODUCTION TO TEFILLA

 

The entire next section of the Kitzur Shulchan Arukh - more than twenty simanim - is devoted to halakhot related to prayer and the prayer service.  Let us introduce some basic ideas on prayer - ideas which will help us to understand many of these forthcoming halakhot.

 

The Hebrew word for prayer is "hitpallel." Many commentators view this as the reflexive form of the root "pallel," meaning to distinguish.  So prayer is discerning oneself - discovering who we are.  Rav Kook refers to prayer as "berur ha-chayim" - sorting life out. (1)

 

The way most people relate to prayer reflects this idea.  If we ask a person what he "wants," he will probably relate some superficial need related to his current circumstances.  But if we ask him what he PRAYS for, he is likely to reveal some deeper desire more essential to his identity.  A person's will is indeed profoundly tied to his identity.

 

This idea is easy enough to understand when we talk about a person's private prayer, but what about the fixed prayers - the benedictions in the Shmoneh Esrei which refer to the spiritual needs of the nation as a whole?  These benedictions challenge us to assimilate NATIONAL aspirations into our PERSONAL identity - to make them part of ourselves.

 

So through prayer, we DISCOVER our identity, REVEAL our identity, and ultimately SHAPE our identity.  It is only natural that we strive for this encounter to find us at our best.

 

2. PROPER DEMEANOR FOR PRAYER (se'if 1)

 

It follows that we should be dressed in a way which is dignified but not opulent - so we are ourselves at our best, but still our own selves and not trying to be somebody else.

 

The Kitzur mentions the importance of praying with a belt in places where this is customary attire.  This requirement is also part of being honest with ourselves.  Despite the fact that the body is an organic whole, we acknowledge that different parts of the body have different roles in achieving this potential.  The heart and brain are the leaders, while the lower parts of the body support and follow.

 

A necktie or collar is nice too, but they symbolize the distinction between heart and mind, and in prayer we strive to unify them.

 

3. GIVING CHARITY (se'if 2)

 

The Kitzur mentions that giving charity creates unity among our BODIES.  One Beit Mikdash is the answer to every Jew's prayers, but when it comes to personal bodily needs, such as "children, health, and livelihood," it SEEMS that no communal aspect is present; we have a state of "every man for himself."  But by giving charity before prayers, we show HaShem that we are united even in these aspects, "all for one and one for all."  In this way we make our private needs relevant to the communal prayers, and this enables HaShem's special blessing on the Jewish people (and on mankind) as a whole to express itself in the fulfillment of these mundane requests.

 

We have pointed out above that compelling each individual to recite the communal requests as part of their "tefilla" - their self-discernment - challenges each person to identify his or her self with communal aspirations, instead of being limited to private ones.  This se'if shows that this identification is a "two-way street."

 

4. BODILY CLEANLINESS (se'ifim 3-4)

 

We have pointed out several times the negative symbolism of bodily wastes and the need to be clean of them when we approach holiness.  (See the end of siman 2.)  Cleanliness is particularly important in prayer, when we strive to present ourselves in the best possible manner.

 

The text of the Kitzur may be a little confusing.  In se'if 3 he rules that one may not pray if one feels a need to go to the bathroom, whereas in se'if 4 he rules that one should not start reciting Shema when one feels a pressing need to pass wind.  The halakha is that one may not pray even if one FEELS A NEED to eliminate, whereas passing wind is a problem only if one ACTUALLY comes to this state.  However, even though it is permissible to pray if one feels a need to pass wind, the Kitzur rules that one can not start praying knowing that later on he or she will certainly come to this breach of decorum in prayer.

 

Many authorities don't rule this way and conclude that one should recite Shema within the proper time even if one is quite likely to pass wind in the middle.  But prayers should be delayed, as Rav Ganzfried rules.  In addition, it is accepted that a need to urinate does not disqualify one's tefilla even in those cases where one was not really permitted to pray in this state.

 

5. WASHING HANDS

 

We pointed out in siman 2 the symbolism of washing hands before approaching holiness; clean hands are the symbol of MORAL righteousness.  Washing hands before prayer demonstrates that proper ethical behavior is the foundation upon which our spiritual elevation is based.

 

6. PRAYING WITH A MINYAN (QUORUM) (se'ifim 7-8)

 

Praying with a minyan is another way of demonstrating that we are united in our petitions to HaShem - both our communal petitions for gathering of the exiles, restoration of Sanhedrin, etc. and also our private petitions for "children, health, and livelihood."

 

The Talmud refers to praying in a minyan as "a mitzva of the community" (mitzva de-rabim) (2).  This suggests that it is a mitzva of the community AS A WHOLE, including those members who are not actually present.  Just as the Shaliach Tzibbur who leads prayers represents those present, those present in turn represent the entire congregation.

 

It is easy to understand why men and women can not form a quorum together - that would be a breach of modesty.  But in fact, women do not form a minyan even among themselves, and ten ladies can not say kaddish, barkhu, and so on.  Perhaps this is related to our last point - that of "representation."  If the fact that the participants in a minyan represent the congregation as a whole is an essential part of the idea of communal prayer, then one can see why this participation would be limited to men; they are able to act as the "foreign ministers" of families in all possible situations, even those which could be considered immodest for women.

 

According to this approach, women are an essential element of communal prayer even though they do not personally take part in it.  It is exactly because there are families to represent that men can attain the stature of "representatives" which entitles them to make collective petitions to HaShem.

 

7. PRAYER IN A BEIT KNESSET (SYNAGOGUE) (se'ifim 9-10)

 

Our place of worship is called a "Beit Knesset."  This term (like its translation "synagogue") means a place of gathering together - not a place of prayer. (3)  This reminds us that Jewish worship is inherently community based.  HaShem made a covenant to the Jews as a people and gave them the Torah as a people; our mission is a national one.  The converse is also true.  A truly Jewish gathering is inherently a gathering to honor God's name.  Even our seemingly secular needs, when they are viewed on the level of the people as a whole, are only a means to sanctifying God's name in the world.

 

So the message of identification of the individual with the community, the message that we have seen over and over in the laws of tefilla - in the idea of fixed prayers; in the importance of charity as preparation for prayer; and in the importance of praying with the congregation - is reflected in the very name of a Jewish house of worship.

 

 

SIMAN 13 - SANCTITY OF BEIT KNESSET

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Whereas many laws seem obscure or arbitrary until their meaning is explicated, there is nothing difficult to understand or identify with in this siman.  All the rules mentioned here are followed by everyone in any place which they respect and awe.  You never see people coming to the theater dirty or using the hall as a short-cut during the show.  People don't read a book or talk about business if they find the show boring, and they don't ignore the theater rules which forbid eating and drinking outside the lobby.  (You do sometimes find someone snoozing, but it is considered bad form.)  And of course, no one would dream of bringing a toddler to a Broadway show.

 

It sometimes seems that the rules of the sanctity of Beit Knesset are useless if the congregants don't have the proper attitude of respect and awe, and superfluous if they do.  Since the awe of a place largely depends on how the community as a whole relates to it, it is important to break the vicious circle of improper conduct which leads to and follows from an improper attitude.

 

Very often, it is helpful if the reader is instructed to pause whenever someone creates a distraction such as an audible conversation, a disruptive child, or the like.  This is especially effective since the most disruptive people are usually those most anxious to finish quickly. 

 

Parents should definitely be discouraged from bringing young children to shul.  Some parents erroneously harbor the opposite attitude - that young children should be compelled to stay in services.  In fact, this only encourages a lax attitude towards synagogue.  A young child will develop awe for the Beit Knesset if he knows it is a place he is allowed into only occasionally, and only when he is on his best behavior.

 

 

Endnotes:

 

 

(1) Musar Avikha, entry on "tefilla."

 

(2) Berakhot 47b.

 

(3) Unlike the terms for a Christian or Moslem prayer houses, which stem from terms related to prayer and worship.


 

 

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