LITURGY.How To Pray?

One may only stand and begin to pray from a solemn frame of mind

There is a tradition that the early generations of pious men would wait one hour, and then pray, so that they would focus their hearts toward their Father in Heaven.

Even if the king greets him, he should not respond to him; and even if a snake is wrapped on his heel, he should not interrupt his prayer.

One may neither stand and begin to pray, directly from involvement in judgment

nor directly from deliberation over the ruling in a matter of halakha,

Rather it is appropriate to pray directly from involvement in the study of a universally accepted conclusive halakha.

The Sages taught:

One may neither stand to pray from

an atmosphere of sorrow

nor from an atmosphere of laziness,

nor from an atmosphere of laughter,

nor from an atmosphere of conversation, nor from an atmosphere of frivolity,

nor from an atmosphere of purposeless matters.

Rather, one should approach prayer from an atmosphere imbued with

the joy of a mitzva.

Similarly, a person should neither take leave of another

from an atmosphere of conversation,

nor from an atmosphere of laughter,

nor from an atmosphere of frivolity,

nor from an atmosphere of purposeless matters.

Rather, one should take leave of another from involvement in a matter of halakha.

The Sages taught in the Tosefta:

One who prays must focus his heart toward Heaven.

Abba Shaul says: An indication of the importance of this matter is stated in the verse:

“The desire of the humble You have heard, Lord; direct their hearts, Your ear will listen” (Psalms 10:17).

In other words, if one focuses his heart in prayer as a result of God directing his heart, his prayer will be accepted as God’s ear will listen.

It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda said:

This was the custom of Rabbi Akiva,

when he would pray with the congregation he would shorten his prayer and go up, due to his desire to avoid being an encumbrance on the congregation by making them wait for him to finish his prayer.

But when he prayed by himself he would extend his prayers to an extent that a person would leave Rabbi Akiva alone in one corner of the study hall and later find him in another corner.

And why would Rabbi Akiva move about so much?

Because of his bows and prostrations.

Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said:

One should always pray in a house with windows, as it is stated regarding Daniel: “And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went to his house. In his attic there were open windows facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt upon his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, just as he had done before” (Daniel 6:11).

(15) Concentration of the mind—how is this condition [to be fulfilled?]

Any prayer uttered without mental concentration is not prayer. If a service has been recited without such concentration, it must be recited again devoutly. A person finds that his thoughts are confused and his mind is distracted: He may not pray till he has recovered his mental composure. Hence, on returning from a journey or if one is weary or distressed, it is forbidden to pray

till his mind is composed.

The sages said that he should wait three days till he is rested and his mind is calm, and then he recites the prayers.

(16) What is to be understood by concentration of the mind?

The mind should be freed from all extraneous thoughts and the one who prays should realize that he is standing before the Divine Presence. He should therefore sit awhile before beginning his prayers, so as to concentrate his mind, and then pray in gentle tones, beseechingly, and not regard the service as a burden which he is carrying and which he will cast off and proceed on his way. He should, accordingly, also sit awhile, after concluding the prayers, and then leave. The ancient saints were wont to pause and meditate one hour before the service,

one hour after the service,

and take one hour in its recital.

(18) So too, persons should not stand up to pray after indulging in

jest, laughter, frivolity, idle talk, quarrelling or outburst of anger,

but only after the study of Torah,

not however of legal discussions by which the mind is distracted,

but only after the study of such themes as require no profound reflection,

as for instance established rules.

Rabbi Elazar said: A person should always arrange his prayer in his mind and only then pray.

Rabbi Abba said: Rabbi Elazar’s statement is reasonable with regard to the blessings of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur and in the case of prayers that are recited only intermittently.

However, with regard to blessings recited all year, no, this practice is not necessary.

The Gemara asks:

Is that so? Didn’t Rav Yehuda first arrange his prayer in his mind and only then pray, even on an ordinary day?

The Gemara answers:

Rav Yehuda was different, since he would pray only once every thirty days.

During the rest of the month he would not engage in prayer, as he was busy with Torah study.

Therefore, for him even regular weekdays prayers were like prayers recited intermittently.

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There are such righteous ones,

who need to study or pray only at times,

as Rabbi Judah,

and they must not smash [i.e., fight against]
their moral character [i.e., inclinations]. Rather, they allow their will
and all their propensities

to expand and spread;

all they wish shall be done,

they will decree and it will be fulfilled for them;

and the entire world lives by their power, and is nourished by their merit.