Q&A: Minimal Prayer Obligation
Minimal Prayer Obligation
Question
My teenage son just doesn’t connect to it. He’s 14.
When he’s in yeshiva, attendance is mandatory, and he usually complies because he doesn’t want to get kicked out.
How is the commandment defined, and what is the minimum required?
You can also refer me to an article or book that lays out the definition of the commandment clearly.
Answer
First, I have to say that I understand him very well. Many of those who do “connect” to prayer do so out of a lack of honesty and critical thinking.
The main parts of prayer are the Amidah and the Shema and its blessings.
Here you can find an entire book, including shortened versions for those who struggle. It deals precisely with the question of how and in what way one shortens the prayer for someone who cannot manage everything.
Discussion on Answer
Part of the prayer consists of words that are not supposed to speak to us. Archaic formulations that do not really express what we want to say. Sometimes these are requests to the Holy One, blessed be He, that we do not believe will actually be answered. And all of this is repeated as an obligation several times every day, to the point of disgust. I’ve elaborated on this in several places.
So how did prayer become the center of the life of someone who serves God?
Hours.
Holidays like Yom Kippur.
An endless struggle for people with ADHD and attention issues.
All because of the destruction of the Temple?
If it is rebuilt, can we stop with this, slaughter an animal, and just ask for forgiveness?
Prayer in the synagogue, especially on the holidays, is a challenge for every person, not only for those with attention problems. And it is not true that it is the center of the life of someone who serves God. As far as I’m concerned, it is a halakhic constraint that one has to manage, and no more than that. Serving God can be expressed through study, observing commandments, and moral conduct. The long services of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah really should be shortened a lot (I provide reading material).
By the way, most of prayer is not a request for forgiveness and atonement.
If the Rabbi could expand on the point that those who connect to prayer do so mainly out of a lack of honesty, etc., that would be great.