In the Tefilla/Davening forum, readers have raised the following interesting topics (just to give you a sampling if you are weary to make the jump):
- Cellphones in Shul
- Good Kedusha Tunes
- Davening at Fast Minyanim
- Shul in Louisville, Kentucky
- Non-slip Taleisim
- "Prayer" for jobless people
and my personal favorite with 91 talkbacks:
- Something I noticed a lot of people do because they probably don't know this
But the topic of today's post is titled "A problem with tefillah":
my problem is that i find it EXTREMELY difficult to daven well. i am always in a rush to get out to work in the morning, and my tefilla is often lip service. and it pains me greatly. ive tried the makom kavua, ive tried concentrating on one small part of davening, and i even tried getting myself an interliner siddur so that i can read the translations of the words. nothing seems to help. and i know, especially in this time period of my life, that i need my teffilos. everyone always says that teffila is a direct connection to Hashem. the thing is, i dont feel in any way that my connection with Hashem is suffering. i talk to Him all the time. and i have a much easier time with saying tehillim then i do with davening. i guess because i dont know the words of tehillim and i HAVE to look inside and concentrate on what im saying. but i REALLY want to improve my daily davening. any suggestions?
I like the honesty of the post and the maturity of the person who seems to be undergoing a process and a struggle. And the readers responded with some sincere suggestions and a calm debate whether it is better or easier to pray with other people watching or by oneself.
This comment also stood out:
This always works: Leave time before Shemonah Esrei for 2 minutes to completely empty your head and medidate on the fact that you are literally standing in front of G-d to ask Him for your daily needs and those of the Klal.
Do we teach this concept to our students? Or provide for a quiet, less rushed moment to reflect before we shuffle and shuckle? Again I think one of the challenges for educators is that the techniques of meditation are not often taught and sometimes has a bit of hippy dippy stigma to it that pushes many mainstreamers away from trying it. If davening is a skill that can me taught to the masses, are we really succeeding in imparting the proper tools and desire to practice when they are out of school? How do you measure this? We are looking for a set of standards.
