Pre Davening Thoughts
The traditional explanation of the first blessing of the "birchot hashachar" - morning blessings - is that we thank G-d for giving the sechvi - rooster - the understanding to be able to differentiate between day and night. The more novel approach is that the unusual word sechvi does not refer to a rooster but to the human soul. We thank G-d for the ability we are blessed with, the ability to discern between light and darkness, between good and bad.
Anyone out there know chapter and verse in Shulchan Aruch where it states not to do anything not related to davening pre-davening. For the moment I am trying to focus on prayer, pre-prayer. Sadly, the pre-prayer can be more inspiring than the syncopated, rote communal prayer.
Rav Levi Yitzchak once ran after a man who ran out of shul at the end of davening. He asked the fellow where he was running and the guy said he was rushing to get parnasah. Rav Levi Yitzchak asked him, "How do you know it's in that direction - away from shul, and not back in the shul?"
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 6:07 AM
3 Comments:
One could turn the question around.... what we look for in shul, we may find in parnassa -- that is, work can be a place where you learn real lessons about how to treat others, how to be a mensch, and so on.
fabulous and inspiring. thank you
Miriam, for sure. Life is meant to be a spiritual place of growth and our time in the work place can and should be a major place to thrive and grow in applied spirituality. And yet, that's no reason to make shul time rote and empty, something that = the way it's often done - who wouldn't want to run from it?
LG, thank you for the high praise.
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