There is a story of a Hasidic rabbi whose child used to wander off to
spend time alone in a forest. Concerned and curious, one day the rabbi pulled
his boy aside to ask him what he was doing.
"I go to the forest to find God," said the boy.
"That's wonderful," replied his father. "But you need not go to the forest
to find God. Don't you know that God is the same everywhere?"
"God is," the boy answered, "but I'm not."
(ג) אֵין פּוֹרְסִין אֶת שְׁמַע, וְאֵין עוֹבְרִין לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה, וְאֵין נוֹשְׂאִין אֶת כַּפֵּיהֶם, וְאֵין קוֹרִין בַּתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין מַפְטִירִין בַּנָּבִיא, וְאֵין עוֹשִׂין מַעֲמָד וּמוֹשָׁב, וְאֵין אוֹמְרִים בִּרְכַּת אֲבֵלִים וְתַנְחוּמֵי אֲבֵלִים וּבִרְכַּת חֲתָנִים, וְאֵין מְזַמְּנִין בַּשֵּׁם, פָּחוֹת מֵעֲשָׂרָה. וּבַקַּרְקָעוֹת, תִּשְׁעָה וְכֹהֵן. וְאָדָם, כַּיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן:
(3) The Shema may not be repeated, nor may any one go before the ark, nor may priests raise their hands [to say the priest's blessing], nor may they read in the Torah, nor read a section from the Prophets; nor may they perform the funeral halts , nor may the blessing for mourners be said, nor the seven blessings said on the celebration of a marriage, neither may the [Divine] name mentioned, when less than ten [men] are present. And on an occasion of redeeming land that has been consecrated, it is necessary that at least nine Israelites and a Cohen [priest] shall be present, and the same also at the valuation of a man.
History of the Jewish People, H.H. Ben-Sasson, p. 285
Of all the institutions developed by Judaism in the Second Temple era, the synagogue is perhaps the one that exercised the greatest influence on later generations. It has been rightly said that, in establishing the synagogue, Judaism created one of the greatest revolutions in the history of religion and society, for the synagogue was an entirely new environment for divine service, of a type of unknown anywhere before, and it did not entail the ceremonial restrictions and financial sacrifices that were required for the maintenance of the temples. ... The synagogue was the instrument that kept Jewish tradition and the Jewish faith alive and that made them accessible to the rank and file of the Jewish people. Its functions extended to many areas: it was a house of Torah study and of Prayer, but also a focus of social and cultural life.
(יג) רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי זָהִיר בִּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע וּבַתְּפִלָּה. וּכְשֶׁאַתָּה מִתְפַּלֵּל, אַל תַּעַשׂ תְּפִלָּתְךָ קֶבַע, אֶלָּא רַחֲמִים וְתַחֲנוּנִים לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יואל ב) כִּי חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם הוּא אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה. וְאַל תְּהִי רָשָׁע בִּפְנֵי עַצְמְךָ:
(13) Rabbi Shimon says: Be careful in the reciting of Shema (and praying). When you pray, do not make your prayer fixed, rather prayers for mercy and supplication before the Omnipresent, blessed be He, as it says (Joel 2, 13), "For He is gracious and merciful, long-suffering and full of kindness, and repents of the evil." And do not be wicked in your own eyes.
רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, הָעוֹשֶׂה תְפִלָּתוֹ קֶבַע, אֵין תְּפִלָּתוֹ תַּחֲנוּנִים.
Rabbi Eliezer says: One who makes his prayer "set" [as though it is burdensome to him], his prayer does not constitute "pleading" [for Divine mercy].
(א) מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בְּכָל יוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות כג כה) ״וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֵת ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם״. מִפִּי הַשְּׁמוּעָה לָמְדוּ שֶׁעֲבוֹדָה זוֹ הִיא תְּפִלָּה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים יא יג) ״וּלְעָבְדוֹ בְּכָל לְבַבְכֶם״ אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים אֵי זוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָה שֶׁבַּלֵּב זוֹ תְּפִלָּה. וְאֵין מִנְיַן הַתְּפִלּוֹת מִן הַתּוֹרָה. וְאֵין מִשְׁנֶה הַתְּפִלָּה הַזֹּאת מִן הַתּוֹרָה. וְאֵין לַתְּפִלָּה זְמַן קָבוּעַ מִן הַתּוֹרָה:
(ב) וּלְפִיכָךְ נָשִׁים וַעֲבָדִים חַיָּבִין בִּתְפִלָּה לְפִי שֶׁהִיא מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁלֹּא הַזְּמַן גְּרָמָא אֶלָּא חִיּוּב מִצְוָה זוֹ כָּךְ הוּא שֶׁיְּהֵא אָדָם מִתְחַנֵּן וּמִתְפַּלֵּל בְּכָל יוֹם וּמַגִּיד שִׁבְחוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְאַחַר כָּךְ שׁוֹאֵל צְרָכָיו שֶׁהוּא צָרִיךְ לָהֶם בְּבַקָּשָׁה וּבִתְחִנָּה וְאַחַר כָּךְ נוֹתֵן שֶׁבַח וְהוֹדָיָה לַה׳ עַל הַטּוֹבָה שֶׁהִשְׁפִּיעַ לוֹ כָּל אֶחָד לְפִי כֹּחוֹ:
(1) To pray daily is an affirmative duty, as it is said, "And ye shall serve the Lord, your God" (Exodus 23:25). The service, here referred to, according to the teaching of tradition, is Prayer, as it is said, "And to serve Him with all your heart" (Deuteronomy 11:13), on which the sages commented, "What may be described as Service of the Heart? Prayer". The number of prayers is not prescribed in the Torah. No form of prayer is prescribed in the Torah. Nor does the Torah prescribe a fixed time for Prayer. Hence, women and slaves are under an obligation to pray, this being a duty, the fulfillment of which is independent of set periods.
(2) The obligation in this precept is that every person should daily, according to his ability, offer up supplication and prayer; first uttering praises of God, then, with humble supplication and petition ask for all that he needs, and finally offer praise and thanksgiving to the Eternal for the benefits already bestowed upon him in rich measure.
Zohar, Shemot 20a
R’ Yehuda said of all the expressions of prayer in Shemot, crying out (tsa’aka) is the greatest of all because it is entirely a matter of the heart... this crying comes nearer to God than praying in words
Abraham Joshua Heschel, ‘Why We Pray’, from The Wisdom of Heschel
The world is aflame with evil and atrocity; the scandal of perpetual desecration of the world cries to high heaven. And we, coming face to face with it, are either involved as callous participants or, at best, remain indifferent onlookers....
We pray because the disproportion of human misery and human compassion is so enormous. We pray because our grasp of the depth of suffering is comparable to the scope of perception of a butterfly flying over the Grand Canyon. We pray because of the experience of the dreadful incompatibility of how we live and what we sense.