Sep 3, 2024
by R. Gidon Rothstein
With the advent of Elul, I pause to review, to see what we learned together this year, maybe to have it in our back pockets as a bit of merit to offset our failings [for those of us with failings; those of you without probably have better things to do than read these essays].
I’m going to take each of the four sections of Shulchan Aruch a week, see what we learned in Orach Chayyim, Yoreh De’ah, Even Ha-Ezer, and Choshen Mishpat. We’ll briefly review the outlines of what we learned, then look for any themes that bring it all together. This week, Orach Chayim.
Simanim About What Words We Use to Talk to God
Siman five taught us about berachot, our blessings in some way open paths to God blessing us. The idea of blessings is clear in Tanach, we learned, even if almost all the specific blessings (other than Grace After Meals and, likely, the blessings before studying Torah) were established by the Rabbis. The siman also gave some insight into the two Names of God we use in those blessings, seeing them as signifiers of Hashem’s power and Mastery of the Universe.
A bit out of order, we saw some of Siman 473, relating to telling the Seder story on Pesach night. AH asserted the mode of the night is question/answer, emphasis on God’s taking us out (all and each of us, in every generation) making us legally God’s slaves, because a slave bought or conquered from a previous master remains a slave regardless of consent.
Getting back to the regular program, Siman 113 took us back to the Amidah, the central standing prayer we recite three times a day. We start with the Patriarchs because Chazal set up the prayer based on Tehillim 29, which says the children of the mighty should praise God. In Bereshit 12;2, Hashem’s promise to Avraham gave us reason to include Yitzchak and Ya’akov, but finish only with Avraham.
The first blessing opens with a full formula (theoretically, including the idea of God’s Kingship, although see below) despite being linked to Shema. Normally a blessing linked to a previous one does not need a formal opening. Here, we give it one because it is distinct from Shema.
The rest of the blessings don’t need the formula, because they are connected to the first one. In this first one (and in Modim), we bow at beginning and end, showing all the vertebrae of the spine, not rising as if it was a burden to have bowed at all. Other than where Chazal said to open or close with a bow, we should not, although they never discussed the middle of blessings, so there’s room to bow there, as we do during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers.
The adjectives we use for God were established by Anshei Kenesset HaGedolah, and we may not add to them during regular prayers. Personal prayer does allow for additional adjectives, although we need to base any way we describe God on verses in Tanach, to not run afoul of Rambam’s resistance to saying anything substantive about God on our own.
Simanim About When and in What Position to Talk to God
Siman 58 was about the time for the morning Shema, if just before sunrise to say Shemoneh Esrei with sunrise, or if Shema itself should be with sunrise, and the other times for those who will not do it ideally, whether up until the third hour of the day, or soon after misheyakir, after there is enough light to recognize people, for those travelling. The standard here is beshochbecha u-ve-kumecha, when people are going to sleep or arising, a standard AH thought was defined universally, not culturally.
We also saw debates about how to calculate the day, whether from break of dawn or sunrise, and how much of Shema was a Biblical obligation, anywhere from one verse to all three paragraphs.
Siman 95 taught us how to stand for prayer, feet together, either to emulate the angels when they stand before God and/or so as not to spread our legs, an arrogate lack of modesty in bodily posture.
We step forward into prayer, as figures in Scripture do when approaching to speak to someone else. The siman also reviewed when we stand to prepare for prayer, the idea of having our eyes down, heart in Heaven, and to place our hands like a servant does before a master.
Siman 97 continued our lesson on conduct during prayer, warning us to neither burp nor yawn, how to act if either of those is involuntary, and similarly not to spit. If sneeze or phlegm rises involuntarily, we must get rid of them (in a tissue, spitting behind us) as efficiently as possible.
Simanim About Respect for Ritual Items
Siman 21 spoke about how to dispose of used-up mitzvah items, like a lulav or shofar, as opposed to used-up support items for pieces of Torah, like a container for tefillin. The former can be discarded, respectfully, where the latter must be buried. The rest of the siman fleshed out the word “respectfully” regarding tashmishei mitzvah.
Siman 38 asked similar questions of wearing tefillin, originally worn all day, then restricted to prayer for fear we would act inappropriately while wearing them. Those physically indisposed either might not wear them, or find a window in which to quickly don them, recite Shema and Shemoneh Esrei, then take them off. Mourners on the first day do not wear tefillin, and those who are already involved in another mitzvah are frequently exempt as well.
Simanim About How to Respect Our Recitations
Siman 76 discussed how feces impedes prayer and Torah study unless it is covered (even if visible), with all smell removed or suppressed. A Jew would have to wash any such manure from his/her body, as much as possible, but might be able to ignore it on clothing covered by other clothing. Certain places impel the assumption of tzo’ah, such as open-air bathroom facilities, and perhaps a home with a toddler not yet toilet trained. We discussed other disgusting bodily fluids as well, with similar need to cover before proceeding with prayer.
Our last two simanim, 136 and 138, were about Torah reading, who has priority to be called—a kohen, to keep communal peace, a Levi as adjunct to the kohen, and then people we respect for their Torah knowledge and contribution to the community. No aliyah is better than any other, AH stressed, and the whole idea of some people being a chiyyuv for the gabbai to include them in aliyot was relatively late, Maharal giving priority to a groom on his wedding day or the Shabbat after, a Bar Mitzvah boy on his birthday, the attendants at a wedding, and more.
Someone observing a yahrzeit is last on the list. In 138, we reviewed the idea of not finishing a Torah reading fewer than three verses from the beginning or end of a section, to avoid the misimpression two verses might be enough to be considered a Torah reading. Nor can we end on a bad note.
If you look at the section headings that allowed me to regroup our simanim more thematically (as I did to write these sentences), you’ll see that our study of Orach Chayim, so far, has shown us a world where we seek to approach/speak with God, lets us know what to say, when and how to say it, how to show the proper respect while we are saying it, respect for the words and the items we use to support those words.
Next time, we’ll see what Yoreh De’ah taught us so far.
