(9) But take utmost care and guard yourselves a lot, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children:
(א) אֵין עוֹמְדִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל אֶלָּא מִתּוֹךְ כֹּבֶד רֹאשׁ. חֲסִידִים הָרִאשׁוֹנִים הָיוּ שׁוֹהִים שָׁעָה אַחַת וּמִתְפַּלְּלִים, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּכַוְּנוּ אֶת לִבָּם לַמָּקוֹם. אֲפִלּוּ הַמֶּלֶךְ שׁוֹאֵל בִּשְׁלוֹמוֹ, לֹא יְשִׁיבֶנּוּ. וַאֲפִלּוּ נָחָשׁ כָּרוּךְ עַל עֲקֵבוֹ, לֹא יַפְסִיק:
(1) One may only stand and begin to pray [the Amidah] only with proper respect. The early generations of pious ones would wait an hour, and then pray, so that they would focus their hearts toward God.
Even if the king greets you, you should not respond to him; and even if a snake is wrapped on your heel, you should not interrupt your prayer.
We learned in the Mishnah: Even if the king greets him while he is praying, he should not respond to him. Rav Yosef said: They only taught this mishna with regard to kings of Israel. However, with regard to kings of the nations of the world, one interrupts prayer and responds to their greeting.
The Talmud raised an objection to Rav Yosef’s statement: One who is praying and saw a violent person, coming toward them, or a carriage coming toward them, should not stop the prayer but rather abridge it and move out of the way.
The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. Rather, this that teaches to abridge one’s prayer rather than stopping, refers to a case where it is possible to abridge the prayer and complete it in time, in which case one should abridge it. And if it is not a situation where one can abridge the prayer, one interrupts the prayer.
The Sages taught: There was a related incident, involving a particular pious man who was praying while traveling along his path when an officer came and greeted him. The pious man did not pause from his prayer and did not respond with a greeting. The officer waited for him until he finished his prayer.
After he finished his prayer, the officer said to him: You good for nothing. You endangered yourself; I could have killed you.
Isn’t it written in your Torah: “Take utmost care and guard yourself diligently” (Deuteronomy 4:9)?
And it is also written: “Take therefore good heed unto yourselves” (Deuteronomy 4:15)? Why did you ignore the danger to your life?
When I greeted you, why did you not respond with a greeting?
Were I to sever your head with a sword, who would hold me accountable for your spilled blood?