Q&A: A Question Regarding a Rule in My Yeshiva
A Question Regarding a Rule in My Yeshiva
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi,
In the yeshiva where I study, there is a rule that says that a student who does not enter the synagogue by the time the prayer begins (8:10) may not enter afterward. That is, if a student comes into the prayer hall at 8:14, the supervisor will tell him to leave and not come in.
As a result, the student will not be able to pray with a minyan at that time, because there are no synagogues nearby at all, and only if he takes a bus to a nearby neighborhood will he be able to find a minyan to pray with. In that case, with the travel time, he will miss part of the learning sessions that begin about an hour after the end of prayers. The reality on the ground is that a student who is forbidden to enter because he was late sits in his room and prays alone.
I would be glad if you could teach me the view of Jewish law on this matter, because it seems puzzling to me that because of the prohibition on being late, students end up unable to come in and pray anyway. (Even if that means they get marked absent from prayer, at least let them come in and pray properly with a minyan.)
Is there a halakhic basis for the supervisor to prevent someone from entering for prayer? (If it matters, it is the only one in the area.)
Thank you for reading
Answer
There is no halakhic problem whatsoever with such a policy. It is like the prohibition on shaving during Hol HaMoed, whose purpose is to prevent a person from entering the festival looking unkempt. But as a result, if a person does not shave, he will be unkempt on the festival. A person who wants to pray should come on time. If he did not come on time, he cooked up this mess for himself.
Discussion on Answer
It seems a bit rigid, but there is logic in setting strict rules; otherwise it is hard to enforce them and arguments arise.
With God’s help, 17 Kislev 5784
At the Rabbinical Seminary in Budapest, in the 1920s they used a different method to prevent lateness to prayer. The students would receive during prayer a ticket entitling them to breakfast. The tickets were distributed during the recitation of the verses of praise, so someone who arrived late did not lose prayer with a minyan, but he did lose breakfast!
Best regards, Fish”l Bar-Sadeh
They introduced the breakfast-meal method in my yeshiva, and I thought it was a horrifying method, for many reasons.
P.S.
If it had been one hundred percent effective it probably would have been less horrifying. But in practice, many young students waited for lunch, which sometimes turned out to be astonishingly poor.
Thank you. That is what I thought; I was presenting an argument I heard from one of the students.
I would like to ask your personal opinion regarding the educational value of this policy, and I will add an important detail: a student who misses 2 prayers in a week is sent home until he arranges a commitment with the supervisor to be on time for prayers.
That is to say, you came in 2 minutes late, you are sent outside; you did it a second time that same week? You are sent home for a few days. (Missing learning sessions, etc.) And there are no exceptions at all; that is, even for a student who usually arrives on time, there is no consideration.
Do you think this is a correct educational move?
(I am not writing because it bothers me personally; I like being careful about times. But in reality many students are hurt by this rule, because it is human and legitimate to be 1 or 2 minutes late.)
Thank you for your time; your answers help me focus on halakhic and healthy logic.