Incorporating sources from sourcesheets on Sefaria by Tamar Fox and Rabbis Sam Blumberg and David Winship
Summary of Part I:
Reasons to stand: respect (for God/the prayer), stand to be able to bow, simulating angels
Reasons to sit: study/concentration, comfort/rest
General Rules:
- Sit for Shema (except in Reform)
- Stand for Amida/Kedusha
- Stand for open ark, Torah processions
- Strong Ashkenazic tradition to stand for "Devarim shebeikdusha" holy things that require a minyan, including Barchu and all Kaddishes. Sephardic/Hasidic/some Conservative/Reform traditions to sit for some or all of these things.
- Minhag Hamakom (local custom)-- When in Rome... vs. Pluralism (multiple traditions, including traditions from where/how you grew up)
What goes through your mind when bowing during prayer?
What do you think about or feel?
From the website "Day Translations" on "Bowing in Asia":
In this part of the world, bowing the head takes on many meanings. It is a form of greeting, a sign of respect and used to express deference, sincerity, humility and remorse. The bow originates from the waist, with the back straight.
How do we bow?
ואמר רבי תנחום אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי המתפלל צריך שיכרע עד שיתפקקו כל חוליות שבשדרה
עולא אמר עד כדי שיראה איסר כנגד לבו
רבי חנינא אמר כיון שנענע ראשו שוב אינו צריך
אמר רבא והוא דמצער נפשיה ומחזי כמאן דכרע
Rabbi Tanḥum said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: In those blessings where one is required to bow, one who prays must bow until all the vertebrae in the spine protrude.
Ulla said: Until he can see a small coin [issar], on the ground before him opposite his heart.
Rabbi Ḥanina said: once he moves his head forward, he need not bow any further.
Rava said: But that applies only if he is exerting himself when doing so, and he appears like one who is bowing.
What can we learn about bowing from these various opinions?
Bowing During the Amidah
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: אֵלּוּ בְּרָכוֹת שֶׁאָדָם שׁוֹחֶה בָּהֶן: בְּ״אָבוֹת״, תְּחִלָּה וָסוֹף. בַּ״הוֹדָאָה״, תְּחִלָּה וָסוֹף. וְאִם בָּא לָשׁוּחַ בְּסוֹף כׇּל בְּרָכָה וּבְרָכָה, וּבִתְחִלַּת כׇּל בְּרָכָה וּבְרָכָה — מְלַמְּדִין אוֹתוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁחֶה.
The Sages taught in a Tosefta: These are the blessings in the Amida prayer in which a person bows: In the first blessing, the blessing of the Patriarchs/Matriarchs, one bows at the beginning and the end; in the blessing of thanksgiving, one bows at the beginning and the end; and if one seeks to bow at the end of each and every blessing and at the beginning of each and every blessing, they teach him not to bow so as not to go beyond the ordinance instituted by the Sages.
Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the name of the tanna bar Kappara: An ordinary person [hedyot], conducts himself as we said;
(Look Who Thinks He's Nothing Joke)
Why might bowing more often be a positive thing?
Why is it potentially problematic?
מלמדין אותו שלא ישחה - וא"ת וישחה ומה בכך וי"ל שלא יבא לעקור דברי חכמים שלא יאמרו כל אחד מחמיר כמו שהוא רוצה ואין כאן תקנת חכמי' וחיישינן ליוהרא:
"They are taught not to bow": And you might ask: let them bow and what of it? We can answer: so that one should not come to uproot the words of the Sages, so that one should not say all individuals are as stringent as they please and there is no enactment of the Sages that keeps the custom consistent for everyone. And also we are concerned about arrogance, as some people will attempt to show off their piety by adopting unnecessarily stringent behavior.
From The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
וְאָמַר רַבָּה בַּר חִינָּנָא [סָבָא] מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַב: הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל, כְּשֶׁהוּא כּוֹרֵעַ כּוֹרֵעַ בְּבָרוּךְ, וְכַשְּׁהוּא זוֹקֵף — זוֹקֵף בַּשֵּׁם
אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: מַאי טַעְמָא דְרַב — דִּכְתִיב: ״ה׳ זוֹקֵף כְּפוּפִים״.
מֵתִיבִי: ״מִפְּנֵי שְׁמִי נִחַת הוּא״.
מִי כְּתִיב ״בִּשְׁמִי״? ״מִפְּנֵי שְׁמִי״ כְּתִיב.
And Rabba bar Ḥinnana Sava said in the name of Rav: One who is praying, when he bows in the appropriate places, he bows when he says: Blessed, and when he subsequently stands upright, he stands upright when he says God’s name.
Shmuel said: What is Rav’s reason for saying that one should stand upright at the mention of God’s name? As it is written: “The Lord, who raises the bowed” (Psalms 146:8).
The Gemara raises an objection based on what we learned in praise of a priest: “And he was afraid before My name” (Malachi 2:5), indicating that one must be humbled and not upright before God’s name.
The Gemara responds: Is it written: At My name? Before My name, is written, meaning that one is humbled and bows prior to the mention of God’s name, when he says: Baruch.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב הָאֵל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא אֵל עֶלְיוֹן גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים וְקוֹנֵה הַכֹּל וְזוֹכֵר חַסְדֵי אָבוֹת וּמֵבִיא גוֹאֵל לִבְנֵי בְנֵיהֶם לְמַֽעַן שְׁמוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה:
Blessed are You, Adonoy, our God, and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the Almighty, the Great, the Powerful, the Awesome, most high Almighty, Who bestows beneficent kindness, Who possesses everything, Who remembers the piety of the Patriarchs, and Who brings a redeemer to their children’s children, for the sake of His Name, with love.
מֶֽלֶךְ עוֹזֵר וּמוֹשִֽׁיעַ וּמָגֵן: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה מָגֵן אַבְרָהָם:
King, Helper, and Deliverer and Shield. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Shield of Abraham.
מוֹדִים אֲנַֽחְנוּ לָךְ שָׁאַתָּה הוּא יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד צוּר חַיֵּֽינוּ מָגֵן יִשְׁעֵֽנוּ אַתָּה הוּא לְדוֹר וָדוֹר נֽוֹדֶה לְּךָ וּנְסַפֵּר תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ עַל־חַיֵּֽינוּ הַמְּ֒סוּרִים בְּיָדֶֽךָ וְעַל נִשְׁמוֹתֵֽינוּ הַפְּ֒קוּדוֹת לָךְ וְעַל נִסֶּֽיךָ שֶׁבְּכָל יוֹם עִמָּֽנוּ וְעַל נִפְלְ֒אוֹתֶֽיךָ וְטוֹבוֹתֶֽיךָ שֶׁבְּ֒כָל עֵת עֶֽרֶב וָבֹֽקֶר וְצָהֳרָֽיִם הַטּוֹב כִּי לֹא כָלוּ רַחֲמֶֽיךָ וְהַמְ֒רַחֵם כִּי לֹא תַֽמּוּ חֲסָדֶֽיךָ מֵעוֹלָם קִוִּֽינוּ לָךְ:
We are thankful to You that You Adonoy are our God and the God of our fathers forever; Rock of our lives, You are the Shield of our deliverance in every generation. We will give thanks to You and recount Your praise, for our lives which are committed into Your hand, and for our souls which are entrusted to You, and for Your miracles of every day with us, and for Your wonders and benefactions at all times— evening, morning and noon. (You are) The Beneficent One— for Your compassion is never withheld; And (You are) the Merciful One— for Your kindliness never ceases; we have always placed our hope in You.
וְכֹל הַחַיִּים יוֹדֽוּךָ סֶּֽלָה וִיהַלְ֒לוּ אֶת־שִׁמְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת הָאֵל יְשׁוּעָתֵֽנוּ וְעֶזְרָתֵֽנוּ סֶֽלָה: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה הַטּוֹב שִׁמְךָ וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהוֹדוֹת:
And all the living shall thank You forever and praise Your Name with sincerity — the Almighty, Who is our deliverance and our help forever. Blessed are You, Adonai; Your Name is The Beneficent and You it is fitting to praise.
Why do you think the rabbis chose these two blessings as the ones requiring bowing?
Bowing at the Conclusion of the Amidah
(א) יִהְיוּ לְרָצון אִמְרֵי פִי וְהֶגְיון לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ. ה' צוּרִי וְגואֲלִי: אֱלהַי. נְצר לְשׁונִי מֵרָע וּשפָתַי מִדַּבֵּר מִרְמָה. וְלִמְקַלְלַי נַפְשִׁי תִדּם. וְנַפְשִׁי כֶּעָפָר לַכּל תִּהְיֶה. פְּתַח לִבִּי בְּתורָתֶךָ. וּבְמִצְותֶיךָ תִּרְדּף נַפְשִׁי. וְכָל הַחושְׁבִים עָלַי רָעָה. מְהֵרָה הָפֵר עֲצָתָם וְקַלְקֵל מַחֲשַׁבְתָּם: עֲשה לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ. עֲשה לְמַעַן יְמִינֶךָ. עֲשה לְמַעַן קְדֻשָּׁתֶךָ. עֲשה לְמַעַן תּורָתֶךָ. לְמַעַן יֵחָלְצוּן יְדִידֶיךָ הושִׁיעָה יְמִינְךָ וַעֲנֵנִי: יִהְיוּ לְרָצון אִמְרֵי פִי וְהֶגְיון לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ. ה' צוּרִי וְגואֲלִי: עֹשֶה שָׁלום בִּמְרומָיו, הוּא יַעֲשֶֹה שָׁלוֹם, עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשרָאֵל, וְעַל כָּל יֹשְבֵי תֵבֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן:
My God, keep my tongue from evil, my lips from deceit. Help me ignore those who would slander me. Let me be humble before all. Open my heart to Your Torah, that I may pursue Your mitzvot. Frustrate the designs of those who plot evil against me; nullify their schemes. Act for the sake of Your name; act for the sake of Your triumph; act for the sake of Your holiness; act for the sake of Your Torah. Answer my prayer for the deliverance of Your people. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Adonai, my rock and my redeemer. May the one who creates peace on high bring peace to us and to all Israel [and to all who dwell on earth]. And we say: Amen.
כורע ופוסע ג' פסיעות לאחריו בכריעה אחת ואחר שפסע ג' פסיעות בעודו כורע קודם שיזקוף כשיאמר עושה שלום במרומיו הופך פניו לצד שמאלו וכשיאמר הוא יעשה שלום עלינו הופך פניו לצד ימינו ואח"כ ישתחוה לפניו כעבד הנפטר מרבו:
One bows and takes three steps backwards, all while still bowing. After the three steps, while still bowing and before straightening up: while saying "Oseh shalom bimromav" one turns one's head to the left; while saying "hu yaaseh shalom" one turns one's head to the right; then afterwards one bows forward like a servant taking leave of their master.
From commentary on Maimonides' summing up of these laws of bowing:
and upon completing the Amidah, one bows and takes three steps backwards - Hagahot Maimoniot points out that one should begin his three steps backwards with his left foot, in order that his right foot be the last to withdraw from before God.
He takes leave - Yoma states: "A person who prays must take three steps backwards and then take his leave. Anyone who does not do this is better not to have prayed at all"
Three Steps Forward before the Amidah (some people take 3 steps back first)
A-donai, open up my lips,
that my mouth may declare Your praise.
Keeping One's Feet Together
כיוון איבריו בשעת תפלה. יכוין רגליו זה אצל זה בכוון כאלו אינם אלא אחד להדמות למלאכים דכתיב בהן ורגליהם רגל ישרה כלומר רגליהם נראים כרגל אחד:
The Position of One's Limbs at the Time of Prayer One should position one's feet next to each other as though they are one, in order to imitate angels, as it written regarding them: “their feet were a straight foot” [(Ezekiel 1:7)], which is to say their feet appeared as one foot.
When the Kedusha [is said], you should be careful to join your feet so that both are together as if they were one foot, as it is written [of the angels who say Kedusha] "And their feet (plural) are a straight foot" (singular). When saying: Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, also Baruch [kevod Hashem mimekomo], and Yimloch [Hashem leolam …] you should raise your body and heels upward. It is the custom to raise the eyes upward [during Kedusha], and preferrably they should be closed.
What do you think is better, praying from a still position or shuckling?
Shucklen / Shuckling
R. Yehuda Shurpin on Shuckling: Why Do Jews Rock While Praying?
In Jewish Law
In the words of Rabbi Moshe Isserles in his gloss to the Code of Jewish Law:
People who are punctilious in their observance customarily sway when they read the Torah, recalling the Giving of the Torah that was accompanied by trembling, as it is written, “The people saw and shuddered.”
Similarly when it comes to prayer he writes:
This is also customary when praying, as implied by the verse, “All my bones [entire being] shall say, O L-rd, who is like You?”
In other words, when we praise G‑d during prayer, we do so with our whole selves: the mind, heart and mouth express the prayer through speech, and the rest of the body does so by moving. Every fiber of our being is involved in connecting to our Creator.
Petrified Before the King
Others, however, claim that when standing in prayer before the King of Kings, one should stand still, just as one would do before a mortal monarch, not daring to move.
Accordingly, many are of the opinion that only in the lead-up to the Amidah, during the Pesukei DeZimrah (“Verses of Praise”), is it proper to sway back and forth. However, during the actual Amidah, when standing as if before a king, it is improper to sway back and forth. (Some still sway very slightly at the conclusion of each blessing, in the spirit of the verse “Before My name, he trembled.”)
So what are we to do? The rabbis suggested that each individual follow his custom, doing whatever will help him or her achieve maximum concentration.
The Candle of God
The Zohar quotes Proverbs, "The soul of man is a candle of G‑d.” The Torah is a flame, and when Jews learn Torah, the “candle of G‑d” (the soul) is lit on fire. Just as a flame doesn’t stand still, so too the Jewish soul, when lit, constantly moves about.
And just as the flame constantly sways and flickers as it attempts to tear free of its wick and ascend on high, so too our soul is engaged in a constant effort to escape the corporeality of this mundane world and cleave to its G‑dly source.
Additional Reasons
In addition to the reasons outlined above, throughout the ages many have offered other explanations for this swaying:
● The Kuzari (Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, 1075-1141) explains that in the days of old, when manuscripts were rare and hard to come by, ten or more scholars would often read from one volume. Each person would bend down during his turn to read a passage, and would then retreat to make room for the next person. This resulted in a continual bending and sitting up, and this habit continued even after more manuscripts became available. (This is also the reason why our books are so large.)
● Since Torah scholars would spend all day in one spot learning and praying, they would sway back and forth in order to get at least some minimal exercise at the same time.
● To the uninitiated, the constant movement during prayer can seem strange. The Baal Shem Tov explains: Just as when a person is drowning, no one would scoff at him if he were floundering about to save himself, so too, one should not scoff when observing a person making movements while praying, for he is trying to concentrate and stave off foreign thoughts.
● Swaying during prayer and learning, in fulfillment of the verse “All my bones shall say, O L‑rd, who is like You . . . ,” is beneficial for the body or “bones” after the person passes away. The verse speaks in the future tense, referring to a time when the bones shall rise up and sing G‑d’s praise.
Bowing During Aleinu, and the special case of Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur
עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדון הַכּל, לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית, שֶׁלּא עָשנוּ כְּגויֵי הָאֲרָצות, וְלא שמָנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחות הָאֲדָמָה. שֶׁלּא שם חֶלְקֵנוּ כָּהֶם, וְגורָלֵנוּ כְּכָל הֲמונָם. וַאֲנַחְנוּ כּורְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמודִים (stand before melech) לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדושׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:
Let us now praise the Sovereign of the universe, and proclaim the greatness of the Creator who has set us apart from the other families of the earth, giving us a destiny unique among the nations. We bend the knee and bow, acknowledging the supreme Sovereign, the Holy One of Blessing.
One bends the knee at "bend the knee" (כורעים) and bows at "bow" (ומשתחוים), standing up straight again before "supreme Sovereign" (לנפי מלך).
ת"ר קידה על אפים וכן הוא אומר (מלכים א א, לא) ותקד בת שבע אפים ארץ כריעה על ברכים וכן הוא אומר (מלכים א ח, נד) מכרוע על ברכיו השתחואה זו פישוט ידים ורגלים וכן אומר (בראשית לז, י) הבוא נבוא אני ואמך ואחיך להשתחות לך ארצה:
The Sages taught: The term kidda indicates falling upon one’s face...Keria means descending upon one’s knees...Hishtaḥava’a, this is prostrating oneself while spreading one’s arms and legs in total submission.
Full prostration on Yom Kippur during the Avodah service
וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהָעָם הָעוֹמְדִים בָּעֲזָרָה. כְּשֶׁהָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִים אֶת הַשֵּׁם הַנִּכְבָּד וְהַנּוֹרָא מְפֹרָשׁ יוֹצֵא מִפִּי כֹהֵן גָּדוֹל בִּקְדֻשָּׁה וּבְטָהֳרָה. הָיוּ כּוֹרְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמוֹדִים וְנוֹפְלִים עַל פְּנֵיהֶם. וְאוֹמְרִים: "בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד:"
And the priests and the people who were standing in the Temple Courtyard; when they heard the glorious and awesome Name [of God] explicitly pronounced from the mouth of the High Priest, with holiness and with purity, they bowed, prostrated themselves, offered thanks, and fell upon their faces, and said: “Blessed [is God's] Name, God's glorious kingdom is forever and ever.”
The Koren Yom Kippur Mahzor, Seder HaAvodah, Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, 21st century UK
Prostration was performed daily in the Temple by officiating priests but was restricted in the synagogue to two occasions: 1) during the first paragraph of Aleinu in the Musaf Amida on Rosh HaShana and on Yom Kippur; and 2) during the retelling of the story of the High Priest's service on Yom Kippur. At all other times, we merely bow rather than kneel and fall on our faces. The reason is to mark a clear distinction between the synagogue and the Temple. The synagogue may be a "miniature Temple" but a symbol is not the same as what it symbolizes. Only on Yom Kippur do we deliberately re-create the atmosphere of the Temple: in two ways: by this prostration and by saying aloud throughout the day "Blessed be the name of God's glorious kingdom forever and all time," normally said silently.
Hadar Reponsa: Rabbis Eitan Tucker and Avi Killip on prostration vs. not moving your feet during the Yom Kippur Amidah: https://www.hadar.org/he/node/14968
Bar'chu- Bowing
Rabbi Daniel Landes, from My People's Prayer Book, Volume 1 (The Sh'ma and Its Blessings), p. 35
The prayer leader... bows at [Bar'chu, the first word of the prayer] and stands erect again at G-d's name...
The congregation responds to the call to prayer, bowing at the first word and rising again at G-d's name.
Lecha Dodi- Standing to Face the Entrance and Greet the Sabbath Bride
רַבִּי חֲנִינָא מִיעֲטֵף וְקָאֵי אַפַּנְיָא דְמַעֲלֵי שַׁבְּתָא, אָמַר: ״בּוֹאוּ וְנֵצֵא לִקְרַאת שַׁבָּת הַמַּלְכָּה״. רַבִּי יַנַּאי לָבֵישׁ מָאנֵי מְעַלּוּ (שַׁבָּת) [וּמִיכַּסֵּי], וְאָמַר: ״בּוֹאִי כַלָּה, בּוֹאִי כַלָּה״.
Rabbi Ḥanina would wrap himself in his garment and stand at nightfall on Shabbat eve, and say: "Come and we will go out to greet Shabbat the queen!" Rabbi Yannai put on his garment on Shabbat eve and said: "Enter, O bride. Enter, O bride."
From To Pray As a Jew by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin, p. 260
We no longer go outdoors to welcome the sabbath bride. But we do turn around to face westward in the direction of the setting sun, which signals the arrival of the Sabbath. This we do while reciting the last stanza of the Lekha Dodi hymn. A slight bow is effected when saying Bo'i Kallah, Bo'i Kallah, "Come, O Bride, Come, O Bride."