Thursday, May 19, 2011
Advantage of accepting VeAhavta before Davening
7:24 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
As noted before, the Ari Zal requires us to accept the commandment of loving our fellow before we daven. We can explore a more practical, more personal advantage to the concept of being connected with Klal Yisrael by doing some act of kindness before davening: we need this connection to those around us in order to daven well. This can be shown to be true for a number of different reasons.
First, we will not daven well if we do not also consider how other people will feel about our davening. It's wrong for us to just daven as if we are all alone and don't care about others.
We learn about this from Rashi's explanation of Moshe Rabbeinu's davening when his sister Miriam had tzora'as (Bamidbar 12:13). He provides two explanations for why Moshe Rabbeinu made so brief a prayer at that time:
1. So that the Bnei Yisrael would not consider him to be so insensitive to
the needs of his sister that he spent all his time in prayer instead of attending
to her.
2. So that the Bnei Yisrael should not think the opposite, and criticize him for
spending more time davening for his one sister than he did praying for all of
them.
Likewise, we must always consider how our prayer will make others feel.
The other deeper reason for us to feel connected to Klal Yisrael in davening is because of what it will do to our feelings of our own selves: It will raise us up.
If we think of our position in Klal Yisrael, we will have more self-esteem. As the Nefesh HaChaim says, "No one would have an issue with having proper kevana if he were fully aware of the power inherent in his prayer. Not would he be lax in his actions were he to be aware of their consequences, as it says in Pirkei Avos (1:4), "Know what is above you..."
Feeling connected to Klal Yisrael, which is what happens when we do acts of kindness before davening, will bring upon us exactly this awareness of how great Klal Yisrael is, and that will build up our own self-esteem and build our awareness of this power inherent in our prayer. all this comes from doing acts of kindness before davening.
First, we will not daven well if we do not also consider how other people will feel about our davening. It's wrong for us to just daven as if we are all alone and don't care about others.
We learn about this from Rashi's explanation of Moshe Rabbeinu's davening when his sister Miriam had tzora'as (Bamidbar 12:13). He provides two explanations for why Moshe Rabbeinu made so brief a prayer at that time:
1. So that the Bnei Yisrael would not consider him to be so insensitive to
the needs of his sister that he spent all his time in prayer instead of attending
to her.
2. So that the Bnei Yisrael should not think the opposite, and criticize him for
spending more time davening for his one sister than he did praying for all of
them.
Likewise, we must always consider how our prayer will make others feel.
The other deeper reason for us to feel connected to Klal Yisrael in davening is because of what it will do to our feelings of our own selves: It will raise us up.
If we think of our position in Klal Yisrael, we will have more self-esteem. As the Nefesh HaChaim says, "No one would have an issue with having proper kevana if he were fully aware of the power inherent in his prayer. Not would he be lax in his actions were he to be aware of their consequences, as it says in Pirkei Avos (1:4), "Know what is above you..."
Feeling connected to Klal Yisrael, which is what happens when we do acts of kindness before davening, will bring upon us exactly this awareness of how great Klal Yisrael is, and that will build up our own self-esteem and build our awareness of this power inherent in our prayer. all this comes from doing acts of kindness before davening.
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