Description: Preparation for Tefillah 02
She’arim BiTefillah
Preparation to Tefillah 02
Another reason why it’s so important to have hachanah, to prepare before starting to daven, by focusing our hearts and removing distractions, is to enable tefillah to happen at all. What is tefillah? It is a conversation, between us and Hashem. Every conversation has two sides, and even if one side is doing all the talking, and the other is doing all the listening, nevertheless, it’s a conversation.
When we call our friends, and they are really good friends, and they are able to listen without interrupting us or solutionizing, and we can unload, and talk through all our worries, we have no problem focusing and going on and on for an hour. No problem at all! Why? Because someone is listening! Someone cares. But when we talk to Hashem, we know He is listening right? So why is it so difficult to daven? Why after five seconds does every thought and every worry in the world cross through our minds? Why after a few more moments we can be continents away?
The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim explains that davening requires us to connect to Hashem. As much as we want to connect to Him, Hashem has to want to connect to us! When we lack in our connection, Hashem doesn’t connect to us either.
The Bach in Orach Chaim Siman 98 explains this further. He says, the pasuk says, ‘tachin libam takshiv aznechah,’ prepare their hearts, and your ears should listen. This refers to preparing oneself to daven with kavanah, so that Hashem should listen. He explains that the language indicates, that it’s not in our hands to prepare our hearts! We ask Hashem, tachin libam – please prepare their hearts, so that You can listen! Only if Hashem allows us to have kavanah can we find the ability to focus, and if we can focus, then Hashem will listen!
So how does it start? How do we get Hashem close so that He will prepare our hearts and begin to listen? The Bach says, habah litahair mesayin oso, if we do our part trying to prepare our hearts by focusing and removing whatever distractions we can, then Hashem will step in and prepare our hearts for us.
So then we see how important and imperative it is to prepare before davening. It simply is impossible to have kavanah without Hashem helping us prepare our hearts, and He only prepares it if we try. Otherwise, we are not prepared, and if we are not there – He is not there, and that’s why it’s so impossible to keep focused!
The main hachanah has been organized by Chazal, which is for Shachris it is Pesukei D’zimrah, for Mincha it is Ashrei, and for Maariv it is Birchas Krias Shemah and Shemah. The Ramchal explains that saying the praises of Hashem that we say in Pesukei d”zimrah have special abilities to bring a great light upon us, because Hashem chooses it to be that way, like we say, ‘Habochair b’shiray zimrah.’ But as we understand, the hachanah itself needs a hachanah! To be able to daven Asheri or Pesukei D’zimrah requires coming on time, saying them without being rushed, and having a moment before to realize what it is we are about to do.
By getting used to coming on time or a minute or two earlier, it has such a powerful effect on our tefillos, because we can make the proper hachanah!
She’arim BiTefillah
Preparation to Tefillah 02
Another reason why it’s so important to have hachanah, to prepare before starting to daven, by focusing our hearts and removing distractions, is to enable tefillah to happen at all. What is tefillah? It is a conversation, between us and Hashem. Every conversation has two sides, and even if one side is doing all the talking, and the other is doing all the listening, nevertheless, it’s a conversation.
When we call our friends, and they are really good friends, and they are able to listen without interrupting us or solutionizing, and we can unload, and talk through all our worries, we have no problem focusing and going on and on for an hour. No problem at all! Why? Because someone is listening! Someone cares. But when we talk to Hashem, we know He is listening right? So why is it so difficult to daven? Why after five seconds does every thought and every worry in the world cross through our minds? Why after a few more moments we can be continents away?
The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim explains that davening requires us to connect to Hashem. As much as we want to connect to Him, Hashem has to want to connect to us! When we lack in our connection, Hashem doesn’t connect to us either.
The Bach in Orach Chaim Siman 98 explains this further. He says, the pasuk says, ‘tachin libam takshiv aznechah,’ prepare their hearts, and your ears should listen. This refers to preparing oneself to daven with kavanah, so that Hashem should listen. He explains that the language indicates, that it’s not in our hands to prepare our hearts! We ask Hashem, tachin libam – please prepare their hearts, so that You can listen! Only if Hashem allows us to have kavanah can we find the ability to focus, and if we can focus, then Hashem will listen!
So how does it start? How do we get Hashem close so that He will prepare our hearts and begin to listen? The Bach says, habah litahair mesayin oso, if we do our part trying to prepare our hearts by focusing and removing whatever distractions we can, then Hashem will step in and prepare our hearts for us.
So then we see how important and imperative it is to prepare before davening. It simply is impossible to have kavanah without Hashem helping us prepare our hearts, and He only prepares it if we try. Otherwise, we are not prepared, and if we are not there – He is not there, and that’s why it’s so impossible to keep focused!
The main hachanah has been organized by Chazal, which is for Shachris it is Pesukei D’zimrah, for Mincha it is Ashrei, and for Maariv it is Birchas Krias Shemah and Shemah. The Ramchal explains that saying the praises of Hashem that we say in Pesukei d”zimrah have special abilities to bring a great light upon us, because Hashem chooses it to be that way, like we say, ‘Habochair b’shiray zimrah.’ But as we understand, the hachanah itself needs a hachanah! To be able to daven Asheri or Pesukei D’zimrah requires coming on time, saying them without being rushed, and having a moment before to realize what it is we are about to do.
By getting used to coming on time or a minute or two earlier, it has such a powerful effect on our tefillos, because we can make the proper hachanah!