Putting Feet together during Tefillah

Hi all,

First we will discuss when we put our feet together...

1) When praying the Amidah
2) When reciting Kaddish
3) During Kedusha
4) When we say Barchu

Why?
1) Humility...
2) Be Like an ANGEL...

Angels are categorized as having one foot... this is because they don't move forward... during these times we need to be like angels who do not walk...

Why???

How to recite the Shma?

1. One may recite the Shema while sitting or standing.14 Some permit reciting the Shema while laying on one's side. Others only permit this in cases of need.15 One should not go out of his way to stand for the Shema as our Sages did not require this.16
2. One who is walking should stop walking while reciting the first verse andBaruch Shem and may then continue walking while reciting the remainder.17
3. Many have the custom to sit because the passages are from the Torah so it is as if a person is studying Torah when he or she recites them, and sitting is the position for study.

1. One should cover his eyes with his right hand while saying the verse of Shema in order to reduce distractions and enhance concentration.18 For the same reason, the first verse should be said aloud.19
2. One should say the first verse as follows: Shema Yisrael (Hear O Israel), pause, Adonai Eloheinu (the L-rd is our G‑d), pause, Adonai echad (the L-rd is one). The pauses emphasize the meaning of the words.20
3. The second verse ("Baruch shem…") is recited in an undertone, except on Yom Kippur when it is recited out loud.21
4. One should be careful to enunciate each word and letter of the Shema properly.22

3 Steps taken prior to and follwing the Amidah

Before the Amidah, the custom is take three steps back and then three steps forward. The idea is to step into a place of prayer, a different headspace that is more than a few inches distant from where you were, in which you know that you are standing before the Creator.

So too, at the end of the Amidah, we take three steps back and bow, as we leave the space of prayer. Rambam writes that you should take leave from your prayer, the way you take leave of a ruler. So too, the priests would take three steps back in withdrawing from the altar. In this spirit, some people also walk backwards off the bimah, out of synagogue, or away from the Western Wall because you would not show your back to a king.

There are different interpretations of the three steps; Orach Hashulchan says it alludes to the three-fold “hoshech anan va’arafel” darkness, cloud and obscurity that covered Mount Sinai when Moses received the Torah. The idea is to step back from a space of spiritual intensity and return to the everyday world.

At the end of the Amidah we take 3 steps backwards as mentioned in the Gemara (Yoma 53a) as the proper way to take leave of a king. 

There is another deeper reason for taking three steps backwards, but the simple explanation for the custom is in order to recall the three miles which the Jewish people retreated from Mount Sinai, (from fear, upon hearing G-d's voice), before they returned and were given the Torah.

Half Hallel on Rosh Chodesh

This morning at Tefila, we skipped two paragraphs in Hallel, just as we do on every Rosh Chodesh and during Pesach after the first two days. The question is why do we skip those two paragraphs?

The Gemara tells us that the reason we do this is in order to differentiate those days on which we are obligated to say Hallel from those that it is just customary.

Rosh Chodesh is recorded in the Gemara as a time when we say Hallel as a custom.

The entire holiday of Pesach is really just a single holiday that lasts for seven days. There is one holiness that is spread throughout the entire holiday. During Sukkot, however, each day has its own, distinct holiness. Therefore, the Rabbis instituted an obligation to say Hallel to celebrate each holiness.

Mazal Tov - Mazal Tov

This week, we have been blessed to have three students who put on their Tefillin for the first time.

Swift as a deer, strong like a lion and light as eagle...

The code of Jewish law continues to give us metaphors of how one must be when getting up in the morning...

As swift as a deer:

Walk towards Mitzvos and good deeds: One is to be as swift as a deer. This means that one’s feet should only walk towards Mitzvot and good deeds.

As strong as a lion:

Overcome one’s inclinations: One should be strong like a lion. The main character of might is found within the heart. This means that one is to overcome his inclination and prevail it just like a warrior subdues his enemy and wrestles him to the ground. Therefore in the morning every person is required to strengthen himself like a lion and overcome his desire [to continue sleeping] by awaking some time prior to dawn.

As light as an eagle:

Control ones sight: One is to be as light as an eagle. This refers to ones sight, that one should close his eyes to avoid viewing evil. Just like the eagle changes his glance very swiftly when he flies across the heavens, so too one should swiftly close ones eyes when seeing evil. 

Can you give some example of how you can apply one of the characteristics to your morning?