LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

“Pharaoh sent and summoned Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “This time I have sinned; Hashem is the righteous One, and I and my people are the wicked ones. Entreat Hashem – there has been an overabundance of Godly thunder and hail; I shall send you out and you shall not remain.” Moshe said to him, “When I leave the city I shall spread out my hands to Hashem; the thunder will cease and the hail will no longer be, so that you shall know that the earth is Hashem’s.” (Shmot 9:27-29)

After a week of devastating hail which was a combination of ice and fire, the king of Egypt was ready to relent. He summoned Moshe and Aharon and asked them to communicate with Hashem to stop the hail. He committed to releasing the Hebrew slaves thereafter. However, a few verses later the Torah tells us that he reneged on his promise and failed to free the Israelites. Moshe responded to Pharaoh’s request by stating that “When I leave the city I shall spread out my hands to Hashem.” The Midrash (Mechilta, Bo) notes that Moshe would only pray after leaving the city but not within the city because it was full of idolatrous images.

Egypt had many deities and just as many statues, temples and structures dedicated to those deities. The well preserved ruins of ancient Egypt are a testament to a society that was obsessed with their gods. The city where Pharaoh held court (most probably Tanis) must have been a veritable sculpture garden, not unlike the city of Rome till this day. Such a place was entirely inappropriate for prayer. Moshe had to exit the city and only then could he beseech God for an end to the plague.

Not every place is ideal for prayer. There are numerous halakhot that one has to keep in mind before selecting a place (other than a shul) to pray. Rambam (Hilchot Tefillah 4:1) states: “Five things prevent one from praying, even though the time [for prayer] has arrived: 1) the purification of one’s hands; 2) the covering of nakedness; 3) the purity of the place of prayer; 4) things that might bother and distract one; and
5) the proper intention of one’s heart.” Regarding the fourth point, he elaborates (Halacha 8): “The purity of the place of prayer: What is implied? One should not pray in a place of filth, a bathhouse, a latrine or a garbage heap. [Similarly, one should not pray] in a place that is not presumed to be clean until he checks it.
The general rule is that one should not pray in any place in which one would not recite the Shema. [Thus,] just as one separates oneself from excreta, urine, a foul odor, a corpse and the sight of nakedness for Kri’at Shema, so too, he should separate himself for Shemoneh Esreh.”

Even if the room or area where one would like to pray is very clean and free from any odour, there could still be reasons to pray elsewhere and those would be distractions. These could include a crying child; a telephone that rings frequently; a screen with moving images; extreme heat or cold or the potential for disturbances, such as a co-worker walking in. Thus, if one is praying at home or at the office, one must seek the most conducive location where the chances of distraction or disturbance are minimal. In a later chapter (5:6-7), Rambam describes the ideal place for prayer: “One should stand in a low place and turn his face towards the wall. Also, one should open windows or doors that face Jerusalem and pray opposite them, as [Daniel 6:11] states: “…and he had windows open in his room facing Jerusalem.” A person should establish a fixed place where he always prays. One should not pray in a destroyed building, nor [should one pray] behind a synagogue, unless he turns his face towards the synagogue…One should not stand in a place three or more handbreadths high and pray. [Similarly, he should not pray while standing] on a bed, bench, or chair. A raised platform that has a surface area of four cubits by four cubits which is the [minimum] size of a house, is considered like an attic. Thus, one is permitted to pray there.”

In general, the Sages were not keen on praying outdoors. As beautiful and inspirational as some natural scenes may be, it is quite distracting to pray when there is a beautiful field, mountain or river in the distance.  They preferred praying indoors while facing a wall. Moreover, one should try to pray in a low spot. This is based on the verse from Tehillim (130:1), “A Song of Ascents. From the depths I called you Hashem.” There are some shuls (such as the ancient Altneu shul in Prague) when the chazzan’s lectern (amud) is slightly lower than the rest of the shul. The Sages, taking their cue from Avraham (Bereishit 19:27), insisted that one should always pray in the same spot as this allows one to focus. I remember that in the first few years that I lived in Cape Town and I would go to Johannesburg for a visit, I would love davening in the many shuls in the Glenhazel area. There were many different minyan options at various times, so I could choose the one that was most convenient. After a while I felt that this practice was not working and that I was too easily distracted by the architecture of the shul, the people and the lack of familiarity. I then decided that whenever I visited Johannesburg, I would always try to pray at the same shul. I have largely stuck to this. I also tried to daven in the same shul every morning when I lived in Israel while studying to be a mohel and I found this to be very helpful.

The best place to pray, of course, is at shul with a congregation. Once again, I cite the Rambam who put it best (Ibid, 8:1-3): “Communal prayer is always heard. Even when there are transgressors among [the congregation], the Holy One, blessed be He, does not reject the prayers of the many. Therefore, a person should include himself in the community and should not pray alone whenever he is able to pray with the community. One should always spend the early morning and evening [hours] in the synagogue, for prayer will not be heard at all times except [when recited] in the synagogue. Anyone who has a synagogue in his city and does not pray [together] with the congregation in it is called a bad neighbor. It is a mitzvah to run to the synagogue as [Hoshea 6:3] states: “Let us know. Let us run to know God.” A person should not take long steps when he leaves the synagogue. Instead, he should proceed [slowly,] step by step. When one enters a synagogue, he should go in the distance of two doorways and then pray, [in order] to fulfill [the instructions of Proverbs 8:34] which states: “to guard the posts of My doors.” A study hall (beit midrash) is greater than a synagogue. Even though [some of the] great Sages [lived in] cities where many synagogues were located, they would pray only in the place where they studied Torah. The above applies, [however, only] when one can participate in communal prayer there.”

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Liebenberg.

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*Monday 19 January – Rosh Chodesh Shevat. Shevat contains the minor festival of Tu B’Shevat, the new year for the produce of trees (Monday 2 February). The Molad (appearance of the new moon) for Shevat is on Sunday 18 January at 15h06 and 11 chalakim (a chelek, literally a “portion”, is a Talmudic measure of time equal to one-eighteenth of a minute, or 3 and 1/3 seconds)