I have a question about the daily prayers of Judaism. I noticed on my trip to Jerusalem that a lot of those practicing Judaism got up at a certain time in the morning on the plane and faced a wall and prayed with a book in their hand. My question is why did they do this? Is there an obligation in Judaism to recite certain prayers at certain times, or do Jews pray only when they are inspired to do so?
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4@ironman99, thanks for bringing your question here. Another aspect of what you saw that you didn't explicitly ask about: when possible we are to pray in a community (minyan) consisting of at leat 10 adults (men for Orthodox, men and women for some others). This is why the people on the plane all gathered in one place instead of praying individually.– Monica CellioCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 17:52
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3 Answers
Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer, Chapter 1) outlines the basic obligations of prayer. He writes that originally there was no fixed prayers, only an obligation to pray somewhat every day. Everyone would pray different amounts based on how 'inspired' they were.
After the destruction of the Jewish Kingdom by the Babylonians (586 BCE), the Sages of the time established fixed times for prayer with fixed content AS A MINIMUM to be recited each day. There are 5 fixed prayers:
- Shacharit: recited in the first third of the day, every day.
- Mincha: recited in the second half of the day, every day.
- Maariv (also called Arvit): recited at night every day.
- Mussaf: recited only on the Sabbath and Holidays. (after Shacharit and before Mincha)
- Ne'ila: recited only on communal fast days, particularly on Yom Kippur. (Recited after Mincha)
These prayers are viewed as obligatory. Other personal prayers to God outside of a formal structure are certainly not discouraged, and can be recited whenever and however depending on the desires of the individual.
answered Jun 15, 2012 at 16:40
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when you say "viewed as obligatory", does this mean if not recited exactly as written then you are in error? Or, does this mean that it's a obligation to pray at these specific times?– ironmanCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 16:44
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@ironman99 The prayer consists of 19 Blessings on specific topics (forgiveness, health, thanks, peace etc.). There is a traditional base text to use, but so long as you have not changed any of the 19 topics, even if you change the wording, than you have fulfilled your obligation. (This is what I meant by fixed content.)– Double AA ♦Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 16:46
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1I'm a little confuse on Halacha 4 "Consequently, when someone would pray, he would be limited in his ability to request his needs or to praise the Holy One, blessed be He, in Hebrew, unless other languages were mixed in with it. When Ezra and his court saw this, they established eighteen blessings in sequence." ..... is this saying that G-d only hears Hebrew?– ironmanCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 17:10
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1@ironman99, for your reference, see this question and also this question.– Seth JCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 17:34
The specific daily prayers - morning, afternoon, and evening - are not Biblically mandated. In the Talmud (Berachos 26b) there is a disagreement about what their source/basis is. One opinion is that they were originally established respectively by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the other opinion is that they were established by the rabbis of the early Second Temple era and they represent the sacrifices that were offered in the Temple in the morning and afternoon, and the leftovers that were burnt at night.
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Even according to the former opinion, the Jews in Egypt weren't praying three time a day (I think). It's more of a representing them vs representing the korbanot.– Double AA ♦Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 16:58
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1How do you know? Besides, that man d'amar's position is clearly that the patriarchs actually prayed, not merely that the prayers represent them, as the Gemara says.– Dov FCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 17:02
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@DoubleAA, I don't follow. Does it matter (for purposes of Dov's answer) if they prayed in 3x daily in Egypt?– Seth JCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 17:54
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@SethJ As regards this question, not really. But that doesn't make it right.– Double AA ♦Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 19:51
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Jews pray 3 times a day, facing Jerusalem. The text is mostly fixed, which is why they were holding prayer books, although certain additions can be made on an as-needed basis, such as asking for healing of a specific person. There are differences of opinion as to whether on an air plane the rules for how to pray are like the rules of someone praying on a large vessel (in which someone can easily stand and face towards Jerusalem) or whether it is like praying on a smaller vessel in which it is difficult or dangerous to stand. But I think that's a subject for another question.
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"There are differences of opinion as to whether on an air plane the rules for how to pray are like the rules of someone praying on a large vessel (in which someone can easily stand and face towards Jerusalem) or whether it is like praying on a smaller vessel in which it is difficult or dangerous to stand." What are these differences of opinion?– b aCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 21:04
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Too long for here, but my Rav discouraged making a Minyan on a plane for a couple of different reasons.– Seth JCommented Jun 15, 2012 at 21:59
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@ba judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/ask SethJ: I'm with you.– Double AA ♦Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 22:41
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@doubleaa, I didn't say I follow his recommendation on the matter, btw. I'm just showing that there is a range of opinions.– Seth JCommented Jun 17, 2012 at 2:51
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@SethJ Fine, edit to: I'm with your Rav. (That comment was waaay more controversial than I thought it would be!)– Double AA ♦Commented Jun 17, 2012 at 2:53