The Posture of Prayer - Rabbi Yosef Avraham Pizem shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to the “Lema’an Yishme’u” podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 Today we’re going to discuss prayer and the Torah reading: our approach to prayer and Torah, and what follows from it. So, first of all, when it comes to prayer, we need to know from a halachic perspective—as the Rebbe points out—that the Shulchan Aruch says a person must contemplate the greatness of Hashem and the lowliness of man before praying. How does one do that? That is what the teachings of Chassidus are for, especially Tanya. By studying Tanya’s teachings about the lowliness of man and the greatness of Hashem, a person is stirred to fear of Heaven. He strengthens his awareness that Hashem stands over him, that His glory fills the entire earth, and that He looks at him and examines his heart and innermost thoughts to see whether he serves Him properly. In section 24 of Igeres Hakodesh, the Alter Rebbe says: A person comes to pray in shul, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu is waiting for him there. Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose the hours of prayer as auspicious times, times when He reveals Himself to people. Hashem, Who dwells with them even amid their impurity, comes to the shul to visit His powerful Shechinah, His people Israel. Every Jew is truly a part of G-d above, sent into the world on a mission. Hakadosh Boruch Hu comes three times a day to hear him and see how he is doing. And where does this happen? The choicest, most fitting place is the shul; that is where Hakadosh Boruch Hu comes. The time is the time of prayer. That is when Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself to those who seek Him and hope for Him. How does He reveal Himself to them? As the Alter Rebbe says in section 24 of Igeres Hakodesh, it happens when a Jew opens the siddur and contemplates its holy words—the very words established for us by the Men of the Great Assembly. He contemplates and studies them. He understands them according to their plain meaning, their allusions, their homiletic meaning and their mystical meaning, and above all,

03:19 Speaker 2 through Chassidus. Through the meaning of the words of prayer, Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself to the Jew. The Jew receives this in his mind, in his feelings, in the stirring of his soul, in the stirring of the innermost part of his soul. All of this is an awakening from above that follows an awakening from below: the Jew contemplates Hashem’s immense greatness and holiness, and, according to the Jew’s abilities, Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveals Himself to him through the sublime holiness clothed in the words of prayer. That is prayer, says the Alter Rebbe. What can it be compared to? A king who, for years, did not wish to appear before everyone. One day he decided that he wanted to appear before them all, and he had an announcement made throughout his kingdom that he would come to a certain place on a certain day and at a certain hour. There, anyone who wanted to see the king could see him. First of all, obviously, you have to go there. But second, what about someone who comes and occupies himself with trivial things? Anything other than the king is trivial. The king, this precious treasure, is right before your eyes, and something else still interests you? Now everything else falls away. Now there is only the king. Contemplate the king—his holiness, his splendor, his radiance. How can anything else occupy you? You’re talking to your friend, mainly about trivial things? Someone who behaves that way shows everyone that he is a fool. He talks to someone else when he should be occupied with honoring the king. He rebels against the king and, Heaven forbid, incurs guilt before Heaven. So we need to understand, says the Alter Rebbe, that we come to shul to honor Hashem and meet with Him. If, in the middle of that meeting, other things are on our minds—and especially on our lips—well, if a person at least behaves respectfully, then “even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise.” But if a person talks during davening, Hashem protect us, he simply shows everyone that he is a fool, that the honor of the King, revealed to him through the words of prayer, does not matter to him.

06:25 Speaker 2 And he does harm; he rebels against the King’s sovereignty. In other words, he takes the place and time set aside for a Jew’s greatest opportunity and not only wastes it but turns it into something harmful. That is very serious, and it must not happen. As part of this, one must not speak about mundane matters from the beginning of davening until the end of the last Kaddish—at Shacharis, that means the last Kaddish after Tehillim. Beyond that, there is another level within davening: the occasion and time of the Torah reading. If talking is forbidden throughout davening, it is even worse during the Torah reading. Now, in the siddur containing the teachings of the Alter Rebbe, author of Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch, an additional piece was printed: a major notice about listening to the Torah reading as halacha requires. It is from the holy handwriting of the Rebbe Rashab, of blessed memory. In a note there, [unclear], the Frierdiker Rebbe explains the background of this piece. This is what the Frierdiker Rebbe writes: “My revered father and teacher, the holy Rebbe, wrote this piece on Thursday, 2 Sivan 5656, and on Sunday, the eve of Shavuos, Rashi[?] copied it.” They posted this major notice on the walls of the beis midrash. It made a great impression. On the eve of Shavuos, the first day it was publicized, several dozen copies were made for the guests who had come to Lubavitch for Shavuos. At the Yom Tov meal on the second day of Shavuos, the great chossid Reb Gershon Dov of Par[?], may his soul rest in Eden, said to the Rebbe Rashab, “The chassidim are grateful to the Rebbe for inspiring them to listen to the Torah reading properly.” My revered father and teacher—the Frierdiker Rebbe’s father, the holy Rebbe Rashab—responded: “You are grateful to me for urging you to listen very carefully to the Torah reading, without any

09:27 Speaker 2 interruption. Know this: if you are grateful to me, then the way to show gratitude for encouragement toward a good deed is to do it in practice. It is clear that someone who listens to the Torah reading in accordance with halacha not only fulfills Hashem’s mitzvah but also honors the Torah by doing so. In turn, the Torah arouses mercy for him and his household, both spiritually and materially.” If we listen to the Torah reading, and do not talk during it or even between one person’s aliyah and the next, the Torah will reward us. It will arouse mercy for us and our families. At the beginning of that major notice, the Rebbe Rashab, of blessed memory, writes: “They should take great care not to talk or converse during the Torah reading. As it says in the Shulchan Aruch, Laws of the Torah Reading, section 146, paragraph 2.” What does the Shulchan Aruch say there? “Once the reader has begun reading from the Torah scroll, it is forbidden to converse, even about Torah matters, even between one person’s aliyah and the next, and even if they have finished the parsha.” My father and teacher, Rabbi Yigal son of Rabbi Shimon Yehuda, a"h, would encourage those who attended his beis midrash to observe this literally: not to talk between aliyos, even about Torah matters. Now, the Aruch Hashulchan, section 146, paragraph 3, writes: “Know that our teacher the Beis Yosef wrote that it is forbidden to converse even between one person’s aliyah and the next. Some permit it between aliyos, particularly nowadays, when the Mi Shebeirachs take a long time.” Those who permit it are the Bach and the Magen Avraham. In fact, the Beis Yosef’s reasoning, and the reason for those who forbid it, is the concern that people may continue talking during the reading itself. That is what the Eliyah Rabbah writes. Therefore, only a brief exchange is permitted—but even he is speaking only about Torah matters, not mundane matters. And it is obvious that the Aruch Hashulchan means

12:15 Speaker 2 It applies only to a brief discussion of Torah, when it is clear to both the speaker and the listener that they will not continue speaking during the blessing recited by the person called to the Torah or during the Torah reading—not even one word. The Aruch Hashulchan certainly did not, G-d forbid, mean to permit ordinary conversation between one person called to the Torah and the next. In section 151, which deals with the sanctity of a shul, the Aruch Hashulchan writes explicitly in paragraph 1. What does he say there? “Shuls and study halls have great sanctity, since people pray and study Torah in them, and their sanctity is akin to that of the Beis Hamikdash. Therefore, one must not behave frivolously in shuls and study halls, such as by joking, making light of things, or engaging in idle conversation.” The Arizal was very careful not to speak in shul except for matters of prayer; he did not even speak about mussar in shul, lest it lead to ordinary conversation. The Magen Avraham cites this in section 151. And in paragraph 5, the Aruch Hashulchan writes: “One must wonder why people nowadays are lenient about discussing various ordinary matters in a shul or study hall after davening, as though it had become permitted.” Obviously, this limited allowance to speak in shul after davening applies only after davening. Certainly not during davening. Certainly not during the Torah reading. Certainly not between one person called to the Torah and the next. And Shaarei Ephraim, gate 4, paragraph 11, writes as follows: “As soon as they begin reading the Torah, it is forbidden to talk or engage in any conversation, and one must not speak even between one person called to the Torah and the next. It is forbidden to converse; even to give someone a ruling on a question that has come up is forbidden during the actual reading. But between one person called to the Torah and the next, a rabbi may give a short answer to someone asking about an immediate matter.” In other words, Shaarei Ephraim permitted only a ruling in response to a question, where there is no concern that the conversation will continue. And the Mishnah Berurah, section 146, writes as follows: “Even between one person called to the Torah and the next, he should not speak, lest his study continue into the reading. But the Bach

15:32 Speaker 2 and other later authorities are lenient about studying between one person called to the Torah and the next. The Eliyah Rabbah, however, leans toward not being lenient, lest the study continue.” If he studies with others, he will want to add one more thing, and another, and another. And Chayei Adam, rule 31, paragraph 2, writes as follows: “But speaking is forbidden even between one person called to the Torah and the next, even between one aliyah and the next; even to give a ruling or explain something is forbidden.” We can really see how strict Chayei Adam is about this. That is why Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried writes in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, section 23, paragraph 8: “Once the reader has begun to read, the entire congregation is forbidden to speak, even about Torah matters and even between one person called to the Torah and the next.” So what is our practical conclusion? The conclusion is this. The Beis Yosef cites Rabbeinu Yonah, who writes that it is forbidden to speak between one person called to the Torah and the next. He explains that the reason appears to be the concern that the conversation will continue while the Torah is being read. And in the Shulchan Aruch, the Mechaber rules that it is forbidden to speak between one person called to the Torah and the next, even about Torah matters. Although the Bach and the Magen Avraham disagree and hold that, between one person called to the Torah and the next, one may speak about Torah matters only, as we said, the Aruch Hashulchan, Shaarei Ephraim, and Mishnah Berurah understood that the Bach and Magen Avraham certainly did not mean to permit ordinary conversation then, G-d forbid. They meant only a brief Torah thought, where there is no concern that the person will go on speaking during the Torah reading and its blessings. On the other hand, the Beis Yosef rules in his Shulchan Aruch that one should not speak between one person called to the Torah and the next even about Torah matters. So we can understand why Chayei Adam and the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch made no distinction between ordinary conversation and Torah discussions, whether long or short: speaking between one person called to the Torah and the next is forbidden even about Torah matters. In practice, we should point out that there cannot be a disagreement about what happens in reality. The reality is that once people start speaking—when you discuss a Torah thought with someone—the conversation develops, and at least one sentence

18:32 Speaker 2 or one word spills over into the blessing of the person called to the Torah or the beginning of the reading. Then they miss answering amen, which counts toward the hundred blessings that must be recited even on Shabbos. So although, apparently, in the places and times of the Bach and the Magen Avraham, hundreds of years before us, people had greater fear of Heaven and would not be drawn into continuing to speak during the reading and the blessing, today the reality is different. We see it; everyone sees it in the shul they attend. People do get drawn into talking just a little longer. What is more, in some places they do not spend long on the Mi Shebeirach, and in yeshivos they sometimes do not say a Mi Shebeirach at all for the boys called to the Torah. So certainly, even the briefest conversation between one person called to the Torah and the next can interfere with hearing the blessing and the reading itself. Now, we were not privileged to have the Alter Rebbe’s laws of Torah reading published for us. But from a letter by his successor in a later generation, the Rebbe Rashab, it seems clear that he does not agree with permitting even a brief Torah discussion between one person called to the Torah and the next, in line with the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch that we have seen. In his letter, the Rebbe Rashab answered that it is forbidden to converse even about Torah matters, even between one person called to the Torah and the next. In the letter, the Rebbe Rashab quotes many halachic authorities and many teachings of great Jewish sages, but he does not cite those who permit it, nor does he distinguish between the reading itself and the interval between one person called to the Torah and the next. And it seems clear that one should conduct oneself as the Rambam says in Hilchos Sefer Torah, chapter 10, law 11, where he rules: “Anyone sitting before a Sefer Torah must sit with gravity, awe, and fear, for it is the faithful witness for all the inhabitants of the world, as it is said: ‘And it shall be there as a witness against you.’ He should honor the Sefer Torah to the best of his ability.” The sefarim—the Levush, Chayei Adam, and Aruch Hashulchan—explain that the Torah reading reenacts the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Therefore, the baal korei represents Hakadosh

21:34 Speaker 2 Boruch Hu, and the person called to the Torah represents the Jewish people. Sorry. The gabbai represents—the gabbai represents Hashem. The reader, the baal korei, stands in the place of Moshe Rabbeinu. And the person called to the Torah receives the Torah on behalf of all the Jewish people. So the Torah reading reenacts the giving of the Torah at Sinai, and that is why we must approach it with such care and reverence. It is not just a matter of fulfilling the obligation to hear the Torah reading properly, without missing any words. We must emphasize that we are fully focused, with complete bittul and great awe, on hearing the word of Hashem, as at Mount Sinai. If throughout davening a person must regard himself as standing before the King, how much more so during the Torah reading, which reenacts the event at Mount Sinai. It must be approached with awe, fear, trembling, and even perspiration. This is expressed by everyone listening and remaining silent, as the Zohar says. So a brief discussion of Torah matters does not contradict the required awe and fear if it takes place briefly between one person called to the Torah and the next. Since it concerns Torah, the awe and fear remain. Ordinary conversation, however, certainly contradicts the inner meaning and the general atmosphere required from the moment the Sefer Torah is opened. We should also note that since halachah rules that it is forbidden to speak during the haftorah and its blessings as well, this special care about speaking—whether about Torah matters, and all the more so about ordinary matters—continues until after one has heard the haftorah and its blessings. In his holy letter about listening properly to the Torah reading, the Rebbe Rashab quotes the holy Shlah, who wrote on page 132a: “Every conscientious person should pay attention to this and honor the Torah in every possible way. Therefore, one should make an effort to warn those who stand near him, are close to him, and heed his words not to speak or occupy themselves with anything at all, but only to listen to the word of Hashem. Fortunate is one who does so, and fortunate is his portion: he has earned merit and brought merit to the many. The merit of the many rests with him, and of him it is said: ‘Whoever honors the Torah, his body is honored by’”

24:40 Speaker 2 People. Anyone who safeguards the honor of the Torah—ensuring that the reading can be heard and that people listen between aliyos as well—is simply doing himself a favor. “Whoever honors the Torah is honored by people.” Whoever is in a position to influence others should do so. And now we’ll bring a very powerful passage from a maamar of the Frierdiker Rebbe about the tremendous, almost unimaginable care required when it comes to the Torah reading. The Frierdiker Rebbe writes: “The Torah reading must be conducted with great precision, both in reading and in listening. Not only must the chazzan reading from the Torah be precise with its letters, pronouncing every word accurately, with its vowels, in clear speech; he must also be precise with the cantillation, so that the notes are correct. Those who read from the Torah have already been warned about this. Just as the reward for reading from the Torah properly is exceedingly great—for reading from the Torah properly is a matter of life—so too, the punishment of one who treats the Torah reading lightly and does not first exert himself greatly to learn all the details of the cantillation is immense. He also causes the many people listening to his faulty reading to err, for life and death are in the power of the tongue. The same applies to listening to the Torah reading: one must follow along in the book in his hand, the Chumash or siddur, and hear every single word. As is known, the gravity of the sin of failing to take care in this is immense, both in this world and in the next.” As the sefarim say, listening carefully to the Torah reading affects “children, life, and sustenance.” We want children; we want long, enduring life; and we want ample parnassah. The Frierdiker Rebbe says that listening to the Torah reading while following along in a Chumash is a tremendous segulah. One who treats the Torah reading lightly is like a brazen person who drives the king out of his palace, and one who talks to someone else causes the public to sin. It is hard to go on reading the harsh words the Frierdiker Rebbe writes: he increases, G-d forbid, death and poverty among the Jewish people. How careful we must be during the Torah reading!

27:23 Speaker 2 From here we’ll move on to something that, thank G-d, is uncommon, and may it never occur at all. But it has happened here and there over the years, and recently it happened in our shul too, after many, many years since its founding. Perhaps for decades nothing like this had ever happened, but this year it did. On Shabbos during Sukkos, a Torah scroll fell in our shul. I want to share a little about the conclusions we reached, in consultation with Rabbi Dovid Meir Druckman shlita, the rabbi of Kiryat Motzkin and of the Chabad community in the Krayot, and with other rabbis, and about the letter I issued on the subject. Since work and consultation have already gone into this, it is important to share it with the public, should such a misfortune ever arise—though, with Hashem’s help, may it never happen. So, in response to the many who asked: On Shabbos, during Minchah, a Torah scroll fell to the ground—may it never happen to us or anyone else, G-d forbid—at an Anash minyan held in the courtyard of the central Chabad shul in our town, Kiryat Shmuel, during the coronavirus period. When a Torah scroll falls, G-d forbid, the Jewish custom is to fast, as cited in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, section 44, and in Magen Avraham, section 44. Therefore, everyone who saw it fall must fast for one day, if his doctor permits it. Each person who saw it fall should accept the fast upon himself at Minchah on the preceding day, and fast the next day from dawn until nightfall. In fact, someone who saw it fall is obligated to fast three times, so the additional two days should be redeemed by giving to charity the value of two meals—sixty new shekels for those two days. Anyone who was present at the time in the shul should fast half a day and redeem the remaining half by giving the value of one meal to charity, which is fifteen shekels. He should also redeem two additional days with another sixty shekels to charity,

30:39 Speaker 2 as explained above. It would be proper to donate to Tomchei Temimim, which is located at the site of the incident. Strengthening Torah study and its honor in this way helps rectify the dishonor to the Torah caused by the fall, G-d forbid. Anyone who was not present at that minyan but regularly davens there on Shabbos or weekdays—men or women, boys of bar mitzvah age or girls of bas mitzvah age—should redeem the day’s fast by giving thirty shekels to charity. Since a fast is not set during the month of Tishrei, most of the rabbis suggested postponing it until 8 Cheshvan, the first Monday fast of the Behab fasts. That applies both to those fasting a full day and those fasting half a day. More generally, we find several references to this matter in letters of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, shlita. One is in Igros Kodesh, volume 7, letter 950: “In addition to the fast, throughout this year they should be careful to recite shnayim mikra ve’echad targum, and give one franc each weekday to charity supporting Torah study, and they will live long and good years.” So that is what should be done: take care to recite shnayim mikra ve’echad targum and to give a coin to charity. Charity for what? For Torah study. And the Rebbe gives a blessing for long life and good years. The Rebbe addresses it again in Igros Kodesh, volume 14, letter 4801: “But in the present situation, when educational institutions devoted to sacred studies are in severe financial straits, and the material circumstances of a number of Torah scholars and those who uphold it are extremely difficult, etc., etc., the rabbi shlita is right that the charity should go toward supporting Torah institutions and Torah scholars, as is readily understood.” Here the Rebbe directs that the additional charity should go primarily to Torah institutions and Torah scholars. We must understand that if, G-d forbid, such an event takes place in a shul, it is a call to us through Divine Providence. It involves dishonor to the Torah, and it is an unfavorable sign for someone who sees it fall, as cited in Magen

33:25 Speaker 2 Avraham. We should therefore be especially careful about the following matters to remove the accusation against us and our fellow Jews. We should strengthen our respect for the Torah and our participation in Torah classes and Torah study. We must be especially firm about not talking during the Torah reading—and certainly not engaging in mundane conversation even between aliyos. Another thing: make an ever greater effort to come and hear the Torah reading. Sometimes a person is in a situation where attending the minyan is impossible, but he should at least make every effort to hear the Torah reading. Also, because in our case the scroll was the Sefer Torah for the Unity of the Jewish People from 5742, we must strengthen ourselves in: a. Jewish unity and Ahavas Yisroel in the most literal sense, since this is a Sefer Torah for the unity of the Jewish people. b. Working to register Jews in the Sefer Torah for the Unity of the Jewish People—the campaign of “At that time your people will be delivered, everyone found written in the book.” Unfortunately, the general security and health situation demands that every Jew truly have a letter in a Torah scroll, so that the verse “Your people will be delivered, everyone found written in the book” will be fulfilled for him. Lessons we learned from the incident: Install chains inside every aron kodesh to prevent a Torah scroll from falling. Also, on every Torah-reading platform in the complex, raise the wooden edging on both sides and at the front to prevent, G-d forbid, a case like this, in which a Torah scroll simply rolls off the platform onto the floor. Make sure that the person called up to the Torah does not leave his place beside the platform until the next person called up takes his place. When someone is standing there, he can certainly stop it. And finally, make sure that the Torah reader does not also serve as the gabbai who calls people up, so that his eyes remain on the Torah scroll rather than searching for the next person. People are therefore asked to make sure that one person calls people up and another reads, while the person who has just had an aliyah remains there as a third person. Then we can see that even if

36:07 Speaker 2 a Torah scroll begins to roll, someone is there to stop it. There is an added safety measure: raised edging and a person standing there. In this way, we will prevent such a situation in the future as well. Above all, may we strengthen our respect for the Torah and for those who study it, and may we merit to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Then we will hear a new Torah—“A new Torah shall go forth from Me”—from the mouth of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, immediately, right now.