Part I
Tefilloh Betzibbur Enriches the Worshiper Through Reciting
Holy Words
If every Jew is required to make every possible effort in
order to go to beis haknesses to participate in
tefilloh betzibbur, then aside from the advantage of
the prayer itself, which cannot be compared to prayer at
home, there are many other compensations as well, which
similarly can only be fulfilled through prayer with the
public. These include all the prayers which must be said with
a minyan.
For example, he cannot say — or reply to —
Borchu Es Hashem Hamevoroch. The same applies to
Omein Yehei Shmei . . . and Kedushoh. One
cannot hear and reply to Bircas Kohanim and cannot
hear the Torah being read, either. Regarding Bircas
Kohanim, he can only be blessed by them in the synagogue,
and it is the opinion of the author of Sefer Chareidim
that he is fulfilling a commandment from the Torah
thereby.
We cannot help but remember what lengths one goes to in order
to receive a blessing from great Torah figures and how much
effort we exert before Succos, for example, to secure a
beautiful esrog, perfect hadassim and so on.
But in just one Shacharis service, we can garner, in
one sweep, both blessings and mitzvos. It is so closely
within reach, so simple, and altogether without cost. Because
of routine, we fail to relegate to this the importance it
deserves. Therefore, it is all the more important for us to
know the value of every detail and aspect of those mitzvos
which we encounter in the course of one single morning
service.
The Advantage of Kedusha Recited in Public and the
Answering of `Omein Yehei Shmei Rabboh'
In his work Nidchei Yisroel, Maran R' Yisroel Meir
Hacohen of Radin ztvk'l quotes the words of the
midrash which cites Tanya Rabbosi, attributed
to one of the Rishonim:
"Blessed will you be unto Me, heavens and earth and riders of
the celestial chariot, if you tell My sons what I do during
the morning prayers when they recite before Me: `Kodosh,
kodosh, kodosh . . . ' and teach them to raise their eyes
heavenward in their houses of worship. Let them raise
themselves off their heels, with their bodies at the time
that they sanctify Me, for I have no greater pleasure in My
world than at that moment when their eyes are raised upward.
And at that time, I reach out from My Heavenly Throne to
grasp on to the figure of Yaakov and I embrace and kiss him.
I am then reminded of their exile and I hasten to redeem
them."
We find a similar wording in the Gemora as the
reaction of Hashem at the time that Bnei Yisroel respond to
the Kaddish and say, "Omein, Yehei Shmei . . . "
"And this is what Chazal said when Eliyohu Hanovi appeared to
R' Yossi and said to him that whenever Bnei Yisroel assemble
in their Houses of Worship and Houses of Study and reply
`Omein Yehei Shmei . . . ,' Hashem nods His head, as it
were, and says: `Fortunate is the king who is praised in his
house thus. And what does a father have, who exiled his sons
from their land? Woe unto those sons who were exiled from
their Father's table. When will I return to My Palace?
"When shall I gather together the remnant of Israel, My sons,
from amongst the nations of idol worshipers, so that they can
glorify and exalt the holiness of His great name?"
(Nidchei Yisroel)
Aside from this, the words of the Gemora are well-
known — Whoever responds, Omein Yehei Shmei . . .
with all his might, with all of his concentration,
merits having his evil decrees ripped up. Is there a better
segulah than this, which was revealed to us from the
words of our Sages, the saintly tanoim and
amoroim?
*
One Who Lightly Dismisses the Value of Prayer in Public is
Like a Person Who Kicks [Disdains and Rejects] the Gift of
the King
As great as is the segulah of the holiness, similarly
is severe the condemnation of one who belittles it, for he
will be called to answer for it in the future. Fearsome is
the fire which emanates from the lips of the Kohen Godol, who
stands and reproves those who are lax in attending the
beis knesses. "How greatly will that person be ashamed
when he comes to the Upper World and sees the great uproar
created by the myriads upon myriads of holy angels who
sanctify and laud the Name of Hakodosh Boruch Hu, Who
created them and formed them, joyfully and with gladness. How
distressed he will be when he remembers that when he still
dwelled in the nether world of action, Hashem granted him the
tremendous privilege of doing the same, of glorifying and
exalting His great Name ever, at all times, just like the
celestial legions — and he was lax and lazy and
dismissed it at will."
The Chofetz Chaim goes on to mention what the Gemora
says, that even the angels are not granted the privilege of
reciting kedushoh at all times. Some are permitted to
do so only once a month, others only once a year, while some,
only once in a jubilee. How momentous, then, is the
obligation of every simple Jew, who was sanctioned by Hashem
to say the great praise of the kedushoh at all times,
throughout his lifetime. And thus, it stands that whoever
makes slight of this privilege, is abusing a precious gift
granted to him by the very King of the world, and his sin is
too great to bear!
One Who Prays at Home is Considered to have Sacrificed to
Demons
The extent of the punishment of one who refrains from going
to the beis haknesses to pray with the congregation
can be learned from the words of an ancient Torah sage who
authored Sefer Hagan. It is quoted in Mogen
Avrohom:
"Every person should believe that poverty, extra expenses,
the death of his children, G-d forbid, failure in his
business dealings etc., come to a person because he does not
pray in a set place.
"And if a person prays alone in his house, it is as if the
prayer he is offering up — is being offered as a
sacrifice to demons, and he is punishable by koreis as
well. If he remains alive, even though he prays occasionally
at home, he will lose his property and will become
impoverished, in which case he is considered as dead. Or
else, his children will die in his lifetime, which renders
him also as if he were dead. Therefore, one who is fearful
and concerned to heed the word of Hashem, and who wishes to
prevent poverty or the death of his children from visiting
his home, and surely to avoid his own death, should establish
for himself a set place and always pray in a fixed place."
This work is quoted by HaRav Chaim Kanievsky in his Orchos
Yosher.
Indeed, Torah leaders were also very punctilious and did
everything in their power to attend prayer in public and not
miss out. "Trembling seized them at the thought of the
laxness that has become prevalent with regards to prayer in
public. For did not Chazal state that a person deserves
niddui for neglecting and slighting the obligation of
Kaddish and kedushoh.
The Chida writes in his work Kikar Lo'Oden, and the
Aderes testifies in his autobiographical work Nefesh
Dovid that "I always imagined in my mind that were I to
pray alone, without a minyan, it would be as if I
hadn't prayed at all!"
HaRav Chaim of Volozhin zt'l said of himself that from
the day he reached a minimal maturity, he was always careful
to pray with the congregation. He made special efforts to do
so, and was wont to say that whoever was careful to pray with
the congregation was guaranteed not to be forced by
circumstances to pray by himself.
It is told that he once reached Vilna at nighttime and wished
to pray Ma'ariv at his hotel. To his amazement, the
innkeeper said that he doubted if there would be a full
minyan. R' Chaim was determined to wait until the
latest time possible before praying alone. And in the end,
several Jews arrived who were able to complete the quorum
(Keser Rosh).
Prayer in Public — Only by Am Yisroel
This advantage, of the added importance of prayer in public,
is incumbent only upon Jewry, even though the act of prayer
is shared by gentiles, Bnei Noach, as well. Their
prayers can be accepted in Heaven. We find that the prayer of
the Ninevites was, in fact, accepted (see Yonah).
Shlomo Hamelech also asked , when he dedicated the Beis
Hamikdosh, that Hashem receive the supplications of all
those gentiles who would come to pray there. "And even the
gentile, who is not from Your people, Israel, if he come from
a distant land for the sake of Your Name, if he hears of Your
great Name and of Your mighty hand, and Your outstretched arm
— and he come to pray at this House of Yours, do You
hearken unto him from Heaven, from the place of Your
residence, and do according to what that gentile called upon
You" (Melochim 56:7).
Not so prayer with a minyan, where we need ten Jewish
males, for a congregation cannot be made up of ten Jewish
women. HaRav Yitzchok Zeev of Brisk zt'l showed that
this is hinted at in Parshas Voeschanon to the credit
of Israel: "For who is a great nation [such as you] whose G-d
is close to them whenever they call out to Him?"
(Devorim 4:7). This verse was expounded upon in
Rosh Hashonoh 18a to refer to prayer in public. Now we
can understand that it comes to sing the praises of Jewry,
who, alone, enjoy the added advantage of prayer in unison
whereby Hashem answers their prayers precisely when they
gather together to pray (Chiddushei Maran R' Yitzchok Zeev
Halevi Al HaTorah, Voeschanon).
End of Part I
