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Source 1: code of JewiSh Law, orach chaim, 151:5

היו לבהכ”נ שני פתחים לא יכנס בפתח זה לעשותו דרך לצאת בפתח השני לקצר דרכו ואם היה הדרך עובר קודם שנבנה בהכ”נ מותר וכן אם לא נכנס בו תחלה כדי לקצר דרכו מותר לעשותו דרך וכשנכנס בו להתפלל מותר ]גירסת הגר”א — מצוה[ למי שנכנס בפתח זה לצאת בפתח

אחר:

[it is forbidden to make a shortcut through a synagogue. However,] if one prayed in the synagogue, then it is permitted [according to Gaon of Vilna — obligatory] to exit

through a different door than the one entered.

diScuSSion QueStion

i t is certainly understandable that one should be prohibited from using a synagogue as a shortcut, and that entering one door only to leave by another has the appearance of being a shortcut, but why would a person be obligated (according to the Gaon) to use a differ-ent door if they prayed in the interim?

Source 2: raShi, BereShit 36:31

בשמת בת ישמעאל. ולהלן קורא לה מחלת, מצינו באגדת מדרש ספר שמואל )מדרש שמואל פי”ז(, ג’ מוחלים להן עונותיהן, גר שנתגייר, והעולה לגדולה, והנושא אשה.... לכך נקראת

מחלת, שנמחלו עונותיו:

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B asmat1 daughter of Yishmael”: But later on she is called “Machalat”. We found in the Midrash on the Book of Samuel (Ch. 17) that there are three whose sins are forgiven,

a convert, one who is appointed to greatness [leadership], and one who marries... (When Basmat married Esau, the brother of Yakov), she was called “Machalat” [The Forgiven One] because her sins were forgiven.

diScuSSion QueStion::

W hat do you imagine is the common attribute each of these three people (convert, leader, and newlywed) share that would cause their previous sins to be forgiven?

note:

t he following story takes place during the Mishnaic period after a dispute between Rabbi Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua. As a result of this dispute Rabbi Gamliel was re-

moved as head of the academy (Rosh Yeshiva) and Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah was chosen as his replacement.

Source 3: taLmud, Berachot 27B-28a

אתו ואמרו ליה: ניחא ליה למר דליהוי ריש מתיבתא? אמר להו: איזיל ואימליך באינשי ביתי... אמרה ליה: דלמא מעברין לך? אמר לה: ]לשתמש אינש[ יומא חדא בכסא דמוקרא ולמחר ליתבר. אמרה ליה: לית לך חיורתא. ההוא יומא בר תמני סרי שני הוה, אתרחיש ליה ניסא

ואהדרו ליה תמני סרי דרי חיורתא.

t hey (representatives of the Academy) went and said to him [Rabbi Eleazar ben Aza-riah]: Will your honour consent to become head of the Academy? He replied: I will go

and consult with my wife... She said to him: Perhaps they will depose you later on. He re-plied to her: [There is a proverb:] Let a man use a cup of honor for one day even if it be bro-ken the next. She said to him: You have no white hair. He was eighteen years old that day, and a miracle was wrought for him and eighteen rows of hair [on his beard] turned white.

diScuSSion QueStion:

W hat was Rabbi Eleazar’s wife’s concern when she commented that her husband had no white hair?

1. Basmat was the daughter of Yishmael (Abraham’s son) however she is called by a different name later on, Machalat. Rashi is explaining why it is that she was given a new name.

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Source 4a: taLmud, Berachot 32

דרש רבי שמלאי: לעולם יסדר אדם שבחו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ואחר כך יתפלל.One should always arrange the praise of G-d first and only afterwards pray.

Source 4B: raBBi avraham Yitzchak hacohen kook

Siddur Olat Reiyah, Introduction, p. 14

צריך שהתפלה תהי’ נקי’ מכל רעיון של שנוי רצון והתפעלות בחק השי”ת, מה שהוא דעה כוזבת ביחס לאלהות ומביאה להשחתת סדרי השלמות האנושית.

r abbi Simlai taught: A person should always praise God first and only afterward should he pray.... Prayer should be cleansed of any thought that one is changing the will of

God, or that God is being influenced in any way, which is patently false regarding God and will lead to corruption in human behavior.

diScuSSion QueStion:

If the initial praise is not meant to endear ourselves G-d, what purpose does it serve?

Source 5: maimonideS, miShneh torah, LawS of PraYer 1:1

מצות עשה להתפלל בכל יום.It is a positive commandment to pray every day.

diScuSSion QueStion:

M aimonides tells us that there is a positive commandment to pray every day. If prayer is to call out to G-d to bring attention to our needs, surely this should not be a

regular obligation, but something I do when the need arises. If so, why would there be a commandment to pray every day?

Source 6a: PSaLmS 145:9

טוֹב־יְהֹוָה לַכלֹ וְרַחֲמָיו עַל־כָל־מַעֲשָֹיו.

G-d is good to all, and His compassion is upon all His creations

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Source 6B: exoduS 18:11

עַתָה יָדַעְתִי כִי־גָדוֹל יְהוָֹה מִכָל־הָאֱלֹהִים ....Now I know that God is greater than all other powers...

Source 6c: PSaLmS 33:15

הַיֹצֵר יַחַד לִבָם הַמֵבִין אֶל־כָל־מַעֲשֵֹיהֶם.He formed all their hearts together and He understand all their actions.

diScuSSion QueStion:

If G-d is All-Powerful (6B), All-Knowing (6C), and benevelont (6A), what is the purpose

of prayer?

Source 7a: unknown origin3

t he story is told of a Rebbe who walked over to a Hasid (after the prayer service had ended) and greeted him with an unusually hearty “Shalom Aleichem”. The Hasid was

astonished, and asked the Rebbe why he was given a type of greeting usually reserved for someone returning from a long journey.

diScuSSion QueStion:

t he Rebbe proceeded to give the Hasid an answer to his question that brought him joy. In the context of the theme of this session, what do you imagine may have been the

Rebbe’s reply to the Hasid’s question?

3. This story is attributed to the Kotzker Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, (1787–1859) a Hasid-ic rabbi and leader. Born to a non-Hasidic family in Goraj near Lublin, Poland, he became attracted to Hasidim in his youth. He was known for having acquired impressive Talmudic and Kabbalistic knowledge at a young age. He was a student of the Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, and upon the latter’s death attracted many of his follow-ers. Morgensztern was well known for his incisive and down-to-earth philosophies, and sharp-witted sayings.