Now, how does hachanah indeed work? Preparation takes a person out of all surrounding elements, and places in him in the mode of the mitzvah!
Let us take the preparation for Shacharis as an example. A Yid wakes up early and begins getting ready for davening. People are often mistaken about this. Sometimes, even if a person has a chavrusa to learn with before davening, he doesn’t grasp what hachanah means. For the true essence of hachanah is the aspect of hisbonenus, meditation before the mitzvah. The Mishnah in Berachos (2:1) tells us, חסידים הראשונים היו שוהין שעה אחת ומתפללים, early chassidim would pause for an hour and only then daven.
One who isn’t on the madreigah of חסידים הראשונים can still get into the mode and the spirit of davening by learning a blatt Gemara. Torah has the ability to bring a person to such a place, since the Torah emanates from the Ribbono shel Olam Himself. This is the best possible hachanah—however, a person must concentrate on the fact that he is preparing for davening. He should constantly bear in mind that he is about to begin davening.
