questions about Jewish prayer
7
votes
1answer
214 views
Are there any ill-effects for mis-directed prayers?
Inspired by the end of this answer:
Just remember that all non-Jews don't follow the Sheva Mitzvot and could [even] be in Avodah Zarah and then would...a blessing [of theirs] matter? It might even ...
4
votes
1answer
94 views
Is there a halachik problem with wearing shorts while davening?
I have often heard that one should not wear shorts while davening. This makes intuitive sense to me that we should do this out of respect. But is there any halachic reasoning behind this? Is it ...
3
votes
1answer
44 views
What do the words מְנָת כּוֹסִי mean in the hymn “Adon Olam”
In Adon Olam some translate the words מְנָת כּוֹסִי in the antepenultimate stanza as “the portion of my cup”. (Wikipedia translates as “Filling my cup” but I do not see that meaning in מְנָת.)
For ...
3
votes
1answer
58 views
Is the bracha of Retzei (avodah) a Bakasha?
In a standard shmoneh esrei, we have a middle section of bakashot. Because we do not make bakashot on Shabbat (as evidenced in this question), the middle 13 brachot are omitted. However, the final ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
How is the prayer of אל ארך אפים on Mondays and Thursdays different from tachanun?
Ashkenazim say a short paragraph starting אל ארך אפים on most Mondays and Thursdays before reading from the Torah.
It is a request to Hashem not to rebuke us in His anger and to give us ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
Which is the height considered 3 tefachim for not “praying in height”? (30cm?)
Recently we had to make a synagogue for one day at a hall, and we used a scaffold for the Shaliach tzibbur to be well heard by all the public.
The Scaffold was 1m x 1.5m, and I don't remember the ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Is there a limit to what you can pray for?
Must one, should one, or can one pray every little detail of life? For example, can one pray for his sports team to win? Is there a limit of what to pray for?
0
votes
1answer
37 views
Kedusha after Tefila
Today, in our Shul (in Shaharit) a man walked in a little late and I guess he didn't have enough time to catch up to our Minyan. After Tefila, he asked the Gabbai if he could say his own Shemona Esre, ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
Shema in any language - Kel Melech Ne'eman?
I have heard that it is permissible to recite the Shema in any language, if one does not know Hebrew.
Rama quotes one opinion that reciting the words Kel Melech Ne'eman when praying without a minyan ...
-1
votes
1answer
91 views
What are the most recited verses during Jewish prayer?
What are the top three most recited/used verses/supplications (from or not from Torah) in Jewish prayers? Not asking about the single most used one only.
I think, if a passage or a sentence is ...
9
votes
0answers
69 views
Can you ask God to kill you?
I know that out of desperation Moshe asks God to kill him and I don't necessarily see any reason it would be forbidden but I was curious if there was any discussion, halachic or otherwise, as to ...
8
votes
0answers
136 views
Inhaling prayers?
Elsewhere I ask whether it's sufficient to pray in a whisper. See there, please, for a description of whispering and how it differs from speaking quietly.
Answers to that question indicate that ...
6
votes
0answers
84 views
May Hallel be said on Yom Nicanor?
I know that usually, Yom Nicanor is displaced by the Fast of Esther. But in years (such as 2013 / 5773) when the Fast of Esther is displaced due to Shabbat, may Hallel be said on the 13th of Adar, ...
6
votes
0answers
39 views
Division of Al Cheit
Al Cheit has a chorus line ועל כולם, אלוה סליחות, סלח לנו, מחל לנו, כפר לנו after the first 20 Al Cheits, then after the next 12, then after the next 12. Who made this division? Why was it not divided ...
5
votes
0answers
67 views
Any good sources for Ashkenazi prayer modes and melodies for the whole year?
Anyone know of any good sources for Ashkenazi prayer modes and melodies for the whole year? I'm looking for traditional Ashkenazi nusach, but perhaps not embellished like concert chazzanut. A good ...
5
votes
0answers
79 views
Why are the kinos about Jeremiah's appeal to the avos out of order?
The kina (elegy, said on the ninth of Av) about Jeremiah's going to ask the avos to pray (kina 21 in at least some versions) is said before the one about Tziyon's telling him to do so (22). Why this ...
4
votes
0answers
76 views
What should I do if my synagogue faces away from Jerusalem?
Due to an major oversight in its design the synagogue in my home town (London) is built with the Aron facing north west instead of east. A while ago I asked someone about this and they said that it ...
4
votes
0answers
169 views
How do people daven so quickly, and what's the support for it?
I learned that one must clearly enunciate every word of tefila. At the least this would include Shemoneh Esreh and Shema, but one might presume it includes all of davening. This question can easily ...
4
votes
0answers
75 views
Ose shalom post shemona esre
Basic Background:
Following the shemona esre prayer, the sages instituted concluding the prayer with the verse "yihyu leratzon" followed by "petira"- symbolically exiting from before G-d through ...
4
votes
0answers
110 views
Why do most of the shuls in Manhattan face the wrong direction?
As a first time visitor to Manhattan, I was very surprised to see that most shuls (with a few notable exceptions) are facing roughly south-south-west. This is nowhere near the direction to face ...
4
votes
0answers
79 views
Why would a siddur choose תתברֵך instead of תתברַך?
My siddur of choice is the סדור תפילת השלם but I am wondering about one bit of vocalization used therein.
In the davening of shacharit for both weekdays and shabbat, there is a sentence before shma ...
4
votes
0answers
76 views
Prayer in a chapel (bes midrash room) vs. in the main synagogue
Some synagogues have a room for prayers that's used on a regular basis: weekdays, Shabasos, holidays. If there are two simultaneous minyanim, then one will be elsewhere, of course, but otherwise the ...
4
votes
0answers
193 views
Why does shacharit repeat kaddish yatom?
Ashkenazi nussach ends the weekday shacharit service with two kaddish yatoms: one after "Aleinu" and another after the psalm for the day (and seasonal insertions if applicable). Ismar Elbogen's ...
3
votes
0answers
68 views
When is it permissible to collect charity during prayer?
In my shul someone usually brings around the pushka (charity box) during the chazzan's repetition of shmoneh esrei. I have also heard that it is appropriate to give tzedaka during v'yivarech Dovid. ...
3
votes
0answers
39 views
Catching Up When Saying Tachanun M/Th
On Mondays and Thursdays I often fall very behind during tachanun. I see two options — I can start with the congregation after having listened with proper intent during chazarat hashatz, or I can ...
3
votes
0answers
25 views
Shliach Tzibbur and Tashlumim for missed tefillah
The M"B in Siman 108 Sif-Katan 4 brings that someone who missed a tefillah and is now the shliach tzibbur may use the chazaras ha'shatz for his tashlumim.
(Makor in Radbaz Siman 361.)
The Radbaz ...
3
votes
0answers
122 views
If my kavanah is towards the Islamic idea of God, am I yotzei?
I have been reading through the various questions about Islam and its relationship to Judaism, and about the Rambam's view that Islam is a monotheistic religion and not idolatry and I am wondering: If ...
3
votes
0answers
63 views
Which kings stay in bed to the third hour of the day?
It says in the Gemara that we can say Shma until the third hour since that's when kings get up.
What kings are we talking about? Jewish kings weren't around until much later, so Sof Zman Krias Shema ...
2
votes
0answers
56 views
Facing east when standing in prayers
I was praying with my kid in a synagogue wherein the aron was against the eastern wall, and most of the seats were facing north or south. My kid wondered why the people around us turned to face east ...
2
votes
0answers
58 views
Agnostic Jew serving as the tenth for a minyan
I remember reading a responsum on the issue of agnostic Jew's serving as the tenth for a minyan, but do not remember the outcome. Does anyone know the rule?
Also, do we count, as the tenth man, a ...
2
votes
0answers
47 views
Times where one must refrain from flatulence?
From my understanding one should refrain from passing gas during the amidah prayer and when wearing tefillin. Are there other times where one is adjured not to flatulate, perhaps when holding a sacred ...
2
votes
0answers
37 views
What does it mean to make up for prayers unavoidably missed - Tashlumin?
The laws of Tashlumin (making up for prayers unavoidably missed) are delineated in Halachipedia
“If one forgot to say Shacharit one should say Mincha twice, the first
for Mincha and the second ...
2
votes
0answers
139 views
Aneni prayer for pregnancy best practice
What is best practice with regards to saying the Aneni prayer by a husband whose wife is in her 3rd month of pregnancy?
Should the prayer be said only once, or daily?
If daily, then is this only for ...
2
votes
0answers
43 views
Reasons for the laws of the prayers in Aramaic
Parts of the davenning are in Aramaic. I understood that the Malochim (Angels) do not understand Aramaic. Since HKB”H does not “attend” prayers with less than a Minyan, one does not say the Aramaic ...
2
votes
0answers
48 views
The father's or mother's name in the “Ribbono Shel Olam” (Yom Tov)
In the "Ribonno Shel Olam" prayer which we say on Yom Tov prior to taking out the Torah, there seems to be a major difference of opinion between certain siddurim (prayer books). Some have the ...
2
votes
0answers
170 views
Can't use the name of Gd during spontaneous prayer?
What is the rationale in suggesting that a person who wishes to pray to Hashem outside the context of formal communal prayer, that they may not use Gd's name in doing so?
This seems to me to go ...
1
vote
0answers
35 views
When do we add Ye'aleh V'yaboh?
According to Shulchan Aruch, (please cite Saeef and Siman so I can read further):
What are all the days we add Ye'aleh V'yaboh?
What happens if we forget to say it?
1
vote
0answers
25 views
Meditation before Mitzvah activities
Who invented the meditation that is often printed before such things as counting the 'Omer, inviting the Ushpizin, and other Mitzvoth or Mitzvah-related activities, and what is the basis for it?
1
vote
0answers
24 views
What exactly constitutes the 13 attributes for the purpose of not saying them without a minyan?
The answers to this question mention that the 13 attirubtes of God are not said in selichos when davening without a minyan. If one is saying selichot without a minyan, exactly what parts constitute ...
1
vote
0answers
41 views
MiSheBerach for someone who doesn't like his/her own name
Another question asked about a case in which someone does not want to use his/her mother's name in a MiSheBerach.
What if someone dislikes his/her own given name and goes by a different name? What ...
1
vote
0answers
81 views
Has anyone since Rashbi been considered so regularly involved in Torah study so as to be exempt from prayer?
In SA OC Siman 106 Sif 2, the Machaber says that someone that for whom "Toraso Umanaso" ("his torah is his occupation", ie a person that is constantly engaged in Torah study) like Rebbe Shimon Bar ...
1
vote
0answers
99 views
Non-Jews praying with the Jewish community
I read a comment made on another question that regardless of how they are worded, blessings that are made in communal prayer can only be prayed by someone who is obligated to them.
The idea that ...
1
vote
0answers
73 views
Why are Ashre and Alenu considered communal prayers?
Shulchan Aruch (OC 65) says to say "Sh'ma" with the congregation when they say it, and Mishna B'rura 9 there says the same is true of other things recited as a congregation such as "Ashre" and ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
How to conjugate “their resting place(s)” in Kel Malei Rachamim?
The memorial prayer Kel Malei Rachamim concludes "may they rest in peace in their resting place[s], and let us say Amen."
Okay, how to say "resting place[s]." Mishkavam? Mishkaveihem? Mishkevoseihem? ...
1
vote
0answers
80 views
Saying Misod and Reshut (introduction) for piyutim, then skipping them
I have seen that many yeshivos (and recently, even some shuls) often say just Misod and the Reshus on RH and YK, and then skip the actual piyutim they are meant to introduce!
This is even more evident ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
Additional names for refuah shlema
When praying for someone's refuah shlema (fully recovered health), is it halakhically required to use their additional names on top of their first names? Is it simply custom?
If someone is named ...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
What should one do if he forgets the changes in the tefilla during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva?
What should one do if he forgets all the changes in the Tefilla during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva? When should he go back, when may he continue?
0
votes
0answers
23 views
When do we add Avinu Malchenu?
According to Shulchan Aruch, (please cite Saeef and Siman so I can read further):
What are all the days we add Avinu Malchenu?
What should one do if he forgets to say it?
0
votes
0answers
40 views
How to act when somebody walks into a minyan?
According to Shulchan Aruch, (please cite Saeef and Siman so I can read further):
How must one conduct himself when he is in a minyan that hasn't yet begun, or a Minyan that has already begun, and ...
0
votes
0answers
52 views
Davening by a Tzaddik on Rosh HaShanah
Where does the inyan of davening with a Tzaddik on Rosh HaShanah come from? Where did it start? Was there ever such a minhag before chassidus come along? (Assuming it started with the Chassidim -- my ...
