Is it OK to Talk during Davening?

The following is a long and in-depth looking into why people talk during davening.  Written by Irving N. Levitz PhD, it is titled: Talking During Tefilla: Understanding the Phenomenon?  I do NOT recommend that you discuss it during shul (sort of creates a paradox) but it is definitely a worthwhile read.

The author thoroughly covers the factors that lead to ongoing chatter in shul despite the obvious prohibition - I anecdotal have noticed a direct correlation between shuls that have "no talking" signs prominently displayed the higher amount of chit-chat during the tefilla.

While I mostly agree with the proposed steps to change the atmosphere of davening in shuls, I think there is a significant lack of rigor or desire exists to implement them.  I also fear that the author agrees with me; note the final sentence:

For those who believe that the Final Redemption is dependent on halachic standards of communal prayer, redemption itself may have to wait until the collective conscience of the Orthodox community can be awakened to feel a discomfort with the current norm, and a determination to change it.

 I will be thinking of this article every friday night when we chant:

הִתְעורְרִי הִתְעורְרִי 

כִּי בָא אורֵךְ קוּמִי אורִי 

עוּרִי עוּרִי שִׁיר דַּבֵּרִי 

כְּבוד ה' עָלַיִךְ נִגְלָּהּ 

Rouse yourselves, Rouse yourselves

Your light is coming, ruse up and shine

Awaken! Awaken! Utter a song

The glory of Hashem is revealed upon you

Why Don't we Pray for Happiness?

It's a good question and one that I never noticed much about before.  Except for on the High Holy Days, when we say "Simcha b'Artzeka" asking for 'Happiness in our land', there aren't too many places in the siddur where our tefilla requests happiness.

Someone on Mi Yodeya asked the same question and there are several good opinionated answers there, including one that points to the special nature of Yom Tov that has a joyous element to it.

To this point, I once heard a great idea by Nechemia Coopersmith who asked, what is the opposite of happiness?  Most people immediately suggested pain or negativity as paradoxical emotions.  I remember, now 15 years since I heard this, how he eloquently argued the natural opposite of happiness is the inability to feel anything, total numbness.  A marathon athlete or anyone who has a drive or passion for a sport or activity pushes through a difficult period of pain, frustration and negativity.  This is a (healthy) part of the process to growth and the exultation of happiness upon crossing the finish line or succeeding to launch a venture is the highest of emotions.  Having no feelings is to miss out on emotion, the highs and lows, and to be indifferent to the context and climate around you - a very scary reality.

Perhaps this is why our tefilla exclude a notion of happiness.

Tiered Tefilla Options

The following was posted on Lookjed on July 15th asking an important question of educators to reapproach how davening happens in schools.  Please share your experiences and ideas:
_____________________________________________

As an administrator in a middle school, I am sure I share a passion and concern with many others to consider new options that might help engender a more interested and involved connection for our students to have during Tefillah. While individual programs, speakers and Yemei Iyun have certainly brought about short term interest, I am eager to touch base with anyone who has seen or used an approach that has brought about a more sustained and inherent growth, relative to what they had previously observed.  

In our school, we are currently considering offering three tiers of Tefillah options. One would be designed for those students who feel most ready and capable of being self-motivated throughout Tefillah. Perhaps there would be 1 teacher on each side of the Mechitza to facilitate, but the students would really run the Minyan. A 2nd option would be for the group of ms students who benefit from reminders to open their siddur, not to have side conversations etc. This group would benefit from the largest presence of teachers. A 3rd option would be for those students that have real difficulty or disinterest in the concept of Tefillah and would possibly benefit from a shortened Tefillah enhanced with more discussions, readings, etc.
If anyone has tried a similar approach and could help guide our attempt by sharing your successes or challenges met, I would greatly appreciate it.  

Tavi Koslowe
tkoslowe@yeshivatnoam.org

Sefati

Sometimes a word or nickname becomes synonymous with an object and a part of our traditional practice. A great example of this in the Jewish world is a shviti - a meditative plaque usually placed in front of the shaliach tzibur in a synagogue.

Some siddurim have them on inside cover as an place for inspiration or direction and despite the variety of the verses or text on a page, they all have the verse from Psalms 16:8 - "I have set (shiviti) the Lord always before me".

Today I'd like to offer a similar conceptual leap to share a 'sefati' - from the verse that opens every davening:

אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶךָ

 Hashem open my lips and let my mouth declare Your Praise

In reflecting about much of the Jewish political atmosphere around Tisha B'Av I was really reminded about the power of our words.  Two Haredi voices here and here really pointed out how there is a significant element lacking in the language used between religious Jews - urging great caution and care.  With this in mind, and looking forward to the introspective days of Elul and Rosh Hashana (spoiler alert: they are six weeks away), I recommend pausing and asking for some divine help to get the right words out of one's mouth before decrying, criticizing, or even commenting on the public domain.  Perhaps if we had that everpresent feeling that a judge or recorder of all of our thoughts and actions was in our very midst - always before me - we would be more careful to make this world a better place. 

Will there be Animal Sacrifices in the Third Temple?

This is a question my third grader often asks me - I am happy to share Shlomo Brody's response in the Jpost.
_________________________

Ask The Rabbi: Making a Sacrifice 
Shlomo Brody - Published 16/7/2013

Q:  Can we pray for the rebuilding of the Temple without wanting the restoration of animal sacrifices? Does God really expect us to slaughter animals in the Temple? - H.W., Houston 

A:  When I was an active member of Harvard Hillel, I always found it interesting to compare the various prayer books of the groups that prayed in the same building. Flipping through them, one could see that the answer to your question might depend on what siddur you use, as the denominations sharply disagree over the potential abrogation of animal sacrifices in the messianic era. In the 19th century, Reform siddurim excised all references to the Temple and sacrifices, deeming them primitive and uncouth for their progressive temples (modern synagogues). Recent Conservative siddurim have also omitted prayers to restore sacrifices, although many allude to them (in the past tense) within prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple. Orthodox Jews, on the other hand, continue to pray in numerous contexts for the complete restoration of the Temple service. This debate relates to a larger question regarding the abrogation of biblical mitzvot in the messianic era. In his 13 Principles of Faith, Maimonides (12th century, Spain/Egypt) interpreted the Torah's prohibition of adding or subtracting commandments (Deuteronomy 4:2) to mean that following Sinai, even a prophet cannot nullify or add to the 613 commandments. In the messianic era, he asserts, Jews will reinstate all dormant mitzvot, including Temple sacrifices (Hilchot Melachim 11:1-3). Maimonides seemingly bases this dogma on a rabbinic assertion that prophets cannot institute new commandments (Sifra Behukotai 8:7) Nonetheless, as Prof. Marc Shapiro has shown, a few scholars challenged this dogma. Maimonides' most important detractors was the esteemed medieval philosopher R. Yosef Albo (Spain, d. 1444). Albo asserted that the Bible merely prohibits adding or subtracting to the details of the commandments, fearing that the changes will stem from foreign influences (Sefer Ha'ikarim 3:14). More fundamentally, he contended that God always retains the power to change the mitzvot, and that a bona fide prophet in the messianic era might one day receive such a declaration (3:19). He further suggested that this is particularly logical with regard to prohibitions, such as the proscription of consuming certain animal fats, whose historical logic has expired (3:16). This notion, shared by R. Ya'acov Emden (18th century, Germany), echoes earlier rabbinic texts that speak of the nullification of commandments in the messianic era (Nidda 61b, Midrash Tehillim 146). Interestingly, in Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides stated that God only permitted animal sacrifices because the Israelites could not easily abandon the idolatrous religious culture of Egypt (3:32). Rather than banning them, God regulated the sacrifices, ordaining that they be directed exclusively toward Him and performed under specific circumstances. Comparing them to breast milk that a baby needs before eating on her own, Maimonides implies that the Jewish people will ultimately be weaned from sacrifices toward a different form of worship. This position seems to contradict the above-cited Maimonidean vision of an unchanged Halacha in the messianic era, and scholars have spilled much ink trying to resolve this tension. Moreover, Maimonides was severely criticized by the prominent legalist and exegete Nahmanides (13th century, Spain), who contended that animal sacrifices contain integral value, as seen from the fact that Abel, Noah and Abraham offered sacrifices long before the Israelites descended to Egypt (Leviticus 1:9). Nahmanides further asserted that sacrifices have integral meaning and mystical significance, a position shared by many classic rabbinic figures. Zionism renewed interest in this topic, even as the issue remained entirely theoretical. Though the majority of Orthodox rabbis continue to believe in the restoration of sacrifices in a rebuilt Temple, two prominent religious Zionist rabbis, R. Abraham I. Kook (d. 1935) and R. Haim D. Halevi (d.1998), both asserted that at some point in the messianic era, Jews will only offer sacrifices from grains, but not from animals. This position resonates with a rabbinic dictum that with the exception of the thanksgiving offering, sacrifices will be nullified in the messianic era (Leviticus Rabba 9:7), although this passage has been differently interpreted by others. One less prominent yet fascinating American rabbi, R. Haim Hirschensohn (d. 1935), went further, contending that modern religious Jews will not be able to adapt to the sacrificial culture and that therefore a future Temple will not restore sacrifices. Interestingly, R. Kook himself ostracized R. Hirschensohn, claiming that he was overly influenced by Western thought, and that it was preferable to believe that the complete sacrificial order will be restored (Igrot Hare'iya 4:994). In a separate essay promoting vegetarianism, R. Kook further challenged modern critics of sacrifices for hypocritically failing to abstain from slaughtering animals for their mundane dietary needs. This intricate array of factors makes this a fascinating topic in Judaism's vision for the future of religious worship. 

The writer, editor of TraditionOnline.org, teaches at Yeshivat Hakotel and is pursuing a doctorate in Jewish philosophy in Hebrew University.  JPostRabbi@yahoo.com

Don't Pray Today

Excellent post from TorahMusing.com on why prayer is de-emphasized on Tisha B'av.
___________________________________________

A Non-Prayer Day

July 15, 2013

We spend so much time in synagogue on Tisha B’Av yet it is not a day of prayer. As we shall see, we say the minimal amounts of prayer, less than on a regular weekday. Our time is spent mourning, remembering. Prayer is about the future; Tisha B’Av is about the past.

R. Menachem Genack (Birkas Yitzchak Al Ha-Torah, Deut. 1:45) finds a hint to this unique status in the Torah reading that always precedes Tisha B’Av. R. Genack quotes his mentor, R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, who connected a number of Tisha B’Av rules with an underlying theory. Lamentations (3:8) states:

ותשבו ותבכו לפני ה’ ולא שמע ה’ בקלכם ולא האזין אליכםEven when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer.

The final phrase implies that on Tisha B’Av, our ability to pray is limited. Due to the overwhelming sorrow, we are unable to look to the future. We cannot even fathom what we have lost, much less look for a path out of the darkness.

The Beis Yosef (Orach Chaim 559) quotes the Rokei’ach, who cites this verse as an explanation why we do not recite the Tachanun prayers on Tisha B’Av. Of course, we cannot avoid obligatory prayers such as the Amidah but Tachanun is technically optional, even though we say it (almost) every day. On Tisha B’Av, when prayer is out of the spirit of the day, we omit this optional prayer.1

Similarly, on all other fast days we recite Selichos. Why is Tisha B’Av the one fast day on which we skip Selichos? R. Soloveitchik attributed this omission to the same reason, the absence of prayer on this day of mourning.2

Talmudic law requires the addition of an extra prayer service to a fast day. We are accustomed to thinking of Ne’ilah as unique to Yom Kippur but it is supposed to be part of any full fast day. All our other fasts only begin at sunrise and are not complete fasts. But why don’t we recite Ne’ilah on Tisha B’Av? Again, R. Soloveitchik returns to the theme of the cessation of prayer.

And similarly, we do not recite the paragraph Tiskabel in the full Kaddish. That paragraph asks God to accept our prayers. On a day when prayer is shunted, we cannot recite Tiskabel.

While R. Soloveitchik bases his analysis in the scroll of Eikhah, R. Genack sees a hint to this in the Torah. After retelling the story of the Spies and its aftermath, the Torah (Deut. 1:45) describes the Jews’ attempt to forestall their punishment through prayer. “Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not listen to your voice nor pay any attention to you.” The aftermath of the Spies episode, which the Gemara (Ta’anis 29a) tells us continues throughout the generations, includes dismissal of prayers.

On Tisha B’Av, we sit on the floor all morning and try to fathom the magnitude of the disasters we have encountered over the centuries. We spend all year planning for the future, charting our personal and communal paths. But if we are not grounded in our past, if we fail to carry our history with us, we have no rudder to faithfully guide us. All year we pray; today we remember.

---

Others suggest an entirely different reason for omitting Tachanun: Tisha B’Av is considered a holiday and we do not recite Tachanun on a holiday. ↩

Elsewhere, R. Soloveitchik connects Selichos to prayers. See Nefesh Ha-Rav, p. 199.  

Minor Questions on a Major Fast Day

Did you use a different tune for the third perek of Eicha?

Did you know about the Nahem controversy?

Other good Tisha B'Av questions and answers - feel free to join that discussion.