The Mitzvah of Prayer

(1) This mishna determines the times beyond which the different prayers may not be recited. According to the Rabbis, the morning prayer may be recited until noon. Rabbi Yehuda says: It may be recited only until four hours after sunrise. According to the Rabbis, the afternoon prayer may be recited until the evening. Rabbi Yehuda says: It may be recited only until the midpoint of the afternoon [pelag haminḥa], i.e., the midpoint of the period that begins with the sacrifice of the daily afternoon offering and ends at nightfall, which is the end of the afternoon. The evening prayer may be recited throughout the night and is not fixed to a specific hour. According to the Rabbis, the additional prayer may be recited all day. Rabbi Yehuda says: It may be recited only until seven hours after sunrise.

(3) However there is no set time for this commandment for us in the Torah. Hence our rabbis are in doubt about the matter: Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote in his great composition (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 1:2) that it is a commandment to pray each day. But Ramban, may his memory be blessed, (on Sefer HaMitzvot, Mitzvot Ase 5) wrangled with him and said that the Torah did not command us to pray every day, and also not (not even) every week, and it does not specify a time about the thing at all. And [that is why] they, may their memory be blessed always say that prayer is rabbinic (Berakhot 21a). And he says doubtfully that the commandment [from the Torah] is to pray and to cry out in front of God, blessed be He at a time of distress. Rambam, himself, may his memory be blessed, also wrote that the number of prayers and the format of the prayers is not from Torah writ and that the Torah does not have a set time for prayer. Nonetheless the obligation of the Torah is to supplicate to God every day and to thank Him, since all of the governance is His, [as] is the ability to fulfill every request. To here [are his words]. And it appears that in that the central commandment of the Torah is this and no more, they, may their memory be blessed, established for the one who is in a dangerous place and is not able to stand and concentrate in prayer to say, "The needs of Your people, Israel, are great, etc." - as it appears in Berakhot 29a - so as to fulfill his obligation from the Torah.

(4) From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 31a) that a man is obligated to pray three times: during the day in the morning and in the afternoon; and one time at night. And these three prayer services were fixed corresponding to the sacrifices, as they would sacrifice the daily sacrifice of the morning and the daily sacrifice of the afternoon in the Temple every day. And they also fixed [prayer] at the beginning of the evening, corresponding to the limbs of the burnt-offering of the afternoon that would be consumed and continue through the whole night. And since this prayer of night corresponds to a matter from the sacrifices that is not an obligation - as, if the burnt-offering of the afternoon was consumed while it was still day, it would not be consumed at night - they, may their memory be blessed, also said (Berakhot 27b) that the night prayer service is optional - if a man has free time and finds the presence in himself to pray, he prays; and if not, he does not pray, and there is no guilt in that. And nonetheless, in every place today, Israel is accustomed to pray the evening prayer service consistently every night. And once they took it upon themselves in the way of an obligation, every one of Israel is obligated to pray it regardless. And likewise, they, may their memory be blessed, fixed a fourth payer on Shabbat days and holidays - and that is the one called the additional prayer service (mussaf). And it corresponds to the sacrifice that was added [on these occasions] in the Temple at the time that it was in existence. And they also fixed a fifth payer on Yom Kippur alone - due to the great holiness of the day and because of its being a day of forgiveness and atonement for all - and that is called the sealing (neilah). And the wording of all of the prayers was fixed by Ezra and his court. And on weekdays, they fixed that [we should] pray the eighteen blessings that are well-known in every corner of Israel, besides the blessing about the heretics that was composed by Shmuel the Little with the approval of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and his court, as it is found in Megillah 17b (and Berakhot 28b). And what are they? Three of them recount the praise of God, and three are thanks after it and twelve included the requests for the needs of all of Israel. And they, may their memory be blessed, arranged them according to the order that they are ordered today in the mouths of all of Israel: the first three are in praise of God, may He be blessed; the middle ones in request of their needs, and the last ones in thanks to God for all of the good that He does with us, Blessed be He. And afterwards their exact order was forgotten. But Shimon HaPakuli knew them and he arranged them according to the intended order, as Ezra and his court had ordered them: to first request intelligence, as if there is no intelligence, there is nothing; and afterwards, repentance, etc., as they are ordered. And on Shabbats and holidays, they only fixed that [we should] pray seven blessings alone, so as not to burden the community on the day of their joy: the first three, the last three and one blessing in the middle which mentions the matter of the day in it - each and every festival and Shabbat according to its content (Berakhot 21a). [This is the case] except for the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, which has nine blessings in its additional service: the three first blessings, the last three blessings and three others, which are malkhiot, zikhronot and shofarot. Everything is as the received tradition in the mouths of all of Israel, even in the mouths of the infants - there is no need to write at length about these matters. However you should know that in the additional prayer service of Rosh Hashanah there is a law that is a novelty from the other prayer services - that the prayer leader (cantor) can fulfill [the obligation of] the one with expertise [in the prayer, as well as] the one without expertise; whereas on other days, he cannot fulfill [the obligation] of the one with expertise. So will you find the matter if you merit to study in the true path.

(5) And also from the content of the commandment is that which they warned us much about intent of the heart in prayer. And more [so] in the first blessing, about which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 30b) that we make one who did not have intent in it go back [and repeat it]. And the matter of intent that they obligated going back because of its [absence] appears to be that the person puts into his heart that he is praying in front of God and he is calling to Him, and [that] he empty his mind from all other thoughts of the world and focus it on this. And [also] that which they said (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 4:5) that there are things that impede a person from praying, even though the time for prayer has arrived. And among them are purity of the hands; covering the nakedness; purity of the place of prayer; and things that rush a person, such as if one needs [to use the restroom]. And [also] that which they said (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 5:5) that there are things about which the one praying must be careful, but we do not impede prayer on their account. And these are them: standing; to direct [himself] that he prays facing the Temple; that he fix his body, meaning to say that he stands with awe and fear - with his eyes down and his heart towards the Heavens and he place his hands on his heart, like a slave standing in front of his master; that he fix his clothing and not stand dressed in the way of commoners; that he make his voice even, not too loud and not too soft; and that he bow during the well-known blessings and these are them - during the fathers (the first blessing) at the beginning and at the end, and during thanksgiving (the penultimate blessing), at the beginning and at the end.

(6) And these are the times of the prayers (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 3:1): The morning prayer service is from the sunrise to the end of the fourth hour - and one who transgressed and prayed afterwards before midday has [still] fulfilled his obligation of prayer, but not his obligation of prayer in its time - and one who prays at a pressing time, such as one who wants to get on the road early, can say his morning prayer after the dawn and he will have fulfilled his obligation; the afternoon prayer service is from six and a half hours during the day until the evening; and the evening prayer service is the whole night until the dawn rises. And every person must be careful to pray before he is involved with other tasks, so that he not be negligent.

(7) And the law of one who errs and [misses] a prayer that he must pray the adjacent one twice; the law that one who prays should not interrupt for the sake of any man's honor - even if a king of Israel asks of his welfare, and even if a snake is wrapped on his ankle, he does not interrupt his prayer, [assuming] he knows with certainty that the snake is one that does not kill; [that] also from the content of the commandment is that which they said (Berakhot 8a) that every man is obligated in any case to seek to pray with the community, as the prayer of the community is heard more than the prayer of an individual; and the rest of the details of the commandment are [all] elucidated at length in Tractate Berakhot (see Tur, Orach Chaim 98).

(8) And this commandment is practiced in all places and at all times by males and females. And one who transgresses it and [goes for] a day and a night without prayer at all has violated this commandment according to the opinion of Rambam, may his memory be blessed. And one who is in difficulty and does not call to God to save him has violated this commandment, according to the opinion of Ramban, may his memory be blessed. And his punishment is very great as he is like one removes the oversight of God from upon him.