De'oraiso or Derabonon?
1. The rishonim debate whether the daily chiyuv of tefilloh is de'oraiso or derabonon.
2. De'oraiso. Some say that the daily chiyuv of tefilloh is de'oraiso, from the pesukim, "You shall serve Hashem your G-d," (שמות כ"ג, כ"ה ) and "To serve Him with all your heart" (דברים י"א, י"ג ). Chazal understand "service of the heart" as referring to tefilloh (תענית ב' ע"א ).
3. According to this opinion, one fulfills his chiyuv de'oraiso with one daily, brief tefilloh which includes words of praise, request, and gratitude. Chazal instituted a fixed text and set times (רמב"ם פ"א תפילה הל' א' וב' ובספר המצוות מצוה ה', מג"א בדעת המחבר סי' ק"ו סק"ב ).
4. Derabonon. Some hold that the daily chiyuv of tefilloh is only derabonon (רמבן ספה"מ מצוה ה, ט"ז בדעת המחבר שם סק"ב, פמ"ג שם בדעת הרמ"א סי' נה).
5. Even according to this opinion, there is a chiyuv de'oraiso to daven in times of distress (באר היטב סי' ק"ו סק"א בשם הסמ"ק); some say only in times of public distress (משמעות לשון הרמב"ן) while others say even in times of personal distress (חינוך מצוה תל"ג).
Women's Chiyuv
6. According to the Rambam, that the chiyuv of tefilloh is de'oraiso and can be fulfilled with a brief tefilloh, a woman who makes a request to Hashem during the day fulfills her de'oraiso chiyuv of tefilloh. It could be that when Chazal instituted the shemoneh esrei, they did not obligate women in it (מג"א סי' ק"ו סק"ב).
7. However, according to the Ramban, that Chazal instituted tefilloh, they included women, since tefilloh is a request for mercy (שאג"א סי' י"ד ). Consequently, according to this opinion, women must daven shemoneh esrei of shacharis and minchoh. The Mishnoh Beruroh (סי' ק"ו סק"ד ) writes that this is the main opinion.
A Woman Preoccupied with Children
8. A woman who is either busy at home raising small children, or working during the day to make a living and does not have the time or peace of mind to daven shacharis and minchoh, may rely on the Rambam and say a brief tefilloh including praise, a request, and gratitude (שיחות ח"ח ח"א אות כז, חזו"א הובא בשו"ת מחזה אליהו ח"א סי' יט סקי"ד, שו"ת דברי יציב ח"א סי' קכא).
9. A woman who is busy with her children in the morning, but has time in the afternoon should at least daven minchoh. Also, on the occasion that she has time in the morning, she should daven shacharis.
10. Some say that even a woman busy with her children should say boruch she'omar, ashrei, yishtabach, birchos kerias shema, kerias shema, and shemoneh esrei, which can all be done in just fifteen minutes. She should also daven shemoneh esrei of minchoh which can take just five minutes (הגרא"מ שך, מכתבים ומאמרים ח"ג עמ' ע"ד ).
The Nature of a Brief Tefilloh – Praise, Request, and Gratitude
11. A woman who fulfills her chiyuv of tefilloh with a brief tefilloh (above, 8) may daven with any wording and in any language she desires, as long as she includes words of praise, request, and gratitude, even if she does not mention Hashem's name.
12. Ideally, she should daven first thing in the morning (לשון המג"א סי' ק"ו), prior to taking care of her personal concerns (כמבואר בשו"ע סי' פט ס"ג).
13. Modoh ani. Some say that a woman fulfills her basic chiyuv of tefilloh with 'modoh ani' in the morning, plus a request (הגרשז"א, הליכות שלמה פ"ב), if she has kavonoh for the mitzvoh of tefilloh (מרן בעל תשובות והנהגות, ישורון ניסן תשנ"ז עמ' ת"ג).
14. Birchos hashachar. A woman may fulfill her basic chiyuv through birchos hashachar of the morning with the 'yehi rotzon' after 'hama'avir sheinoh,' as they include praise, request, and gratitude (תהילה לדוד סי' ו' סס"ק ב', הליכות בת ישראל פ"ב הערה ד' בשם הגר"י קמנצקי ).
15. Birkas hatorah. Some say that a woman fulfills her chiyuv with birkas hatorah, which incorporates these three ideas (ישועות יעקב סי' ק"ו סק"א ). Nevertheless, some say that it is better not to rely on this, since the request is only regarding one matter; rather, she should still say birchos hashachar (תשובות והנהגות ח"ב סי' נ').
16. Birchos kerias shema. Some say that she fulfills her chiyuv with birchos kerias shema, which include these three ideas (צל"ח ברכות כא. ).
17. Birkas hamozon. She may also fulfill her chiyuv through birkas hamozon (צל"ח שם).
Birkas Hatorah
18. Although women are potur from limud Torah, they must learn halochos pertinent to them (ביאה"ל סי' מ"ז סי"ד ד"ה נשים). Therefore, they say birkas hatorah (שו"ע שם). According to this approach, they may be motzi men in birkas hatorah (ביאה"ל שם, פמ"ג משב"ז סק"א).
19. Another approach is that they may make birkas hatorah in the same way they may make a brochoh – and say 'vetzivonu' – on other mitzvos from which they are potur (ביאור הגר"א שם ). According to this approach, they cannot be motzi men (ביאה"ל שם).
20. Sofeik. A woman who is unsure whether or not she made birkas hatorah, should not say it (שע"ת סי' מ"ז סק"א).
Birchos Hashachar
21. Women make birchos hashachar (מ"ב סי' ע' סק"ב), substituting 'shelo osani ishah' with 'she'osani kirtzono' (שו"ע סי' מ"ו ס"ד).
22. When? Ideally, a woman should say them before sof zman tefilloh. Bedi'eved, she may say them until chatzos. A woman who missed chatzos and says them afterwards should not be stopped (ביאה"ל ס"ס נ"ב).
Kerias Shema and its Brochos
23. Kerias shema. Kerias shema is a mitzvas asei shehazman gromo, and women are potur. Still, they should say the first posuk to accept upon themselves ol malchus shomayim (שו"ע סי' ע' ס"א ורמ"א שם), and 'boruch sheim...', which is about yichud Hashem (פמ"ג א"א ססק"א).
24. Birchos kerias shema. Women are potur from birchos kerias shema of shacharis and ma'ariv since they have a fixed time (כמבואר בשו"ע סי' נ"ח ס"ו). Nevertheless, they may say them.
25. 'Emes veyatziv'. Women are chayov in the mitzvoh of zechiras yitzias mitzrayim, as it applies both by day and night. Therefore, they must say 'emes veyatziv' (מג"א, מ"ב סי' ע' סק"ב ). If a woman is also davening shemoneh esrei, she must juxtapose it to 'go'al yisroel' (שם ).
26. When? Birchos kerias shema may only be made until sof zman tefilloh, which is at the end of the fourth hour of the day (שו"ע נ"ח ס"ו). In case of oneis, they may be said until chatzos (ביאה"ל ד"ה קוראה). A woman who was unable to daven before sof zman tefilloh is considered an oneis and may make them until chatzos (אשי ישראל פ"ז הע' מח).
27. Keil melech ne'emon. When davening alone, 'keil melech ne'emon' is said before shema to make a total of 248 words corresponding to the 248 limbs of the body (רמ"א סי' ס"א ס"ג ). Although women have 252 limbs, they should still say 'keil melech...' because of the concept of 'sod Hashem liyerei'ov' (שו"ת מנחת אלעזר ח"ב סי' כ"ח).
Please do not read during davening or Krias HaTorah
Ma'ariv
28. Ma'ariv is optional. Although Klal Yisroel accepted it as a chiyuv, women did not, and most do not say it (מ"ב סי' ק"ו סק"ד). Nevertheless, righteous women and women who have the time should also daven ma'ariv (ערוה"ש ס"ז).
Shabbos and Yom Tov, Mussof
29. Even women who rely on the basic chiyuv of tefilloh customarily make an extra effort to daven fully on Shabbos and Yom Tov, when they have more time (שו"ת דברי יציב ח"א סי' קכ"א). Also, some say that the chiyuv to daven Shabbos and Yom Tov tefillos is de'oraiso (יעבץ במו"ק סי' רס"ח).
30. Mussof. Some say that women are exempt from mussof since it is a mitzvas asei shehazman gromo (צל"ח ברכות כ"ו ע"א). However, if a woman wants to daven mussof, she may (שם).
31. Some say that women are also chayov in mussof (מגן גיבורים הובא במ"ב סי' ק"ו סק"ד). Some say that women accepted mussof upon themselves as a chiyuv (שו"ת שבט הלוי ח"ד סי' י"ב).
Miscellaneous Halochos of Tefilloh for Women
Eating Before Davening
32. A woman who relies on a brief tefilloh to fulfill her chiyuv lechatchiloh should not eat before davening.
33. However, a woman who davens a full shacharis may be meikel and eat after birchos hashachar and birkas hatorah as they are weaker by nature (שו"ת אג"מ ח"ד סי' ק"ד, שו"ת מנח"י ח"ד סי' כ"ח).
34. Regarding when a woman's chiyuv of kiddush on Shabbos and Yom Tov takes effect, see Gilyon Chukei Chaim, Issue 28 (אות כ"ו).
Tashlumim [Compensatory Tefilloh]
35. A woman who usually davens all the tefillos, but forgot one or was an oneis, or forgot ya'aleh veyovo on Rosh Chodesh or tal umotor or the like may make it up after her next tefilloh. E.g., if she forgot to daven Shacharis, she may daven another shemoneh esrei after minchoh (ע"פ המ"ב סי' רס"ג סקמ"ג).
36. Also, if she generally davens ma'ariv and forgot or made a mistake in the previous minchoh, she may make it up after davening ma'ariv.
37. If she forgot minchoh, but generally does not daven ma'ariv, she may not make it up after the following shacharis. If she wants, she may daven ma'ariv that night and make up for minchoh afterwards (הגרשז"א, הליכות שלמה פי"ג הערה ח').
Order of Precedence in Tefilloh
38. If a woman davens shacharis, but does not have time to say everything, she should adhere to the following order of precedence:
39. A little time. A woman with little time for shacharis [about five or ten minutes], should say [in order of descending importance]: shemoneh esrei, birchos hashachar, birkas hatorah, the posuk 'shema yisroel' with boruch sheim, and emes veyatziv through go'al yisroel. However, she should follow the order appearing in the siddur. E.g., if she only has time for shemoneh esrei and birchos hashachar, she should say birchos hashachar, then shemoneh esrei.
40. More time. If she has more time [about 10 or 15 minutes], her priorities [in descending order] should be: boruch she'omar-ashrei-yishtabach, mussof, le'olom yehei odom and parshas hatomid. These should be integrated with the above list, again in the order appearing in the siddur.
Nursing Woman
41. Some say that while a woman is nursing, her immediate area is considered an uncovered body part, and if she touches it, she does not need to wash her hands before a brochoh or tefilloh (בן איש חי פ' תולדות אות י"ז ).
42. Nevertheless, it is better if she can wipe her hand on a cloth or something else before making a brochoh or davening.
43. She may say tehillim or daven while nursing (ע"פ הרמ"א סי' ע"ה ס"א ).
Davening on a Bus
44. If the only time a woman has to daven is while on the bus, she may say shemoneh esrei sitting (שו"ע סי' צ"ד ס"ד).
45. If the bus gets to her stop mid-shemoneh esrei, she may alight and continue davening in a quiet area, since that is the only way for her to have kavonoh.
Liboh Ro'oh es Ho'ervoh
46. It is ossur to say something with kedushoh, a brochoh, shemoneh esrei, etc. if the heart can "see" the ervoh, meaning, if there is nothing separating the heart from the ervoh (שו"ע או"ח סי' ע"ד ס"א ).
47. Women. Some poskim hold that this applies to women as well (משמעות שו"ע ורמ"א יו"ד סי' ר'); others hold that women need not be careful about this (שו"ע או"ח סי' ע"ד ס"ד ); yet others hold lechatchiloh women should be careful about this (ט"ז יו"ד שם סק"ג, מ"ב סקט"ז ).
48. Therefore, if a woman is wearing a robe without any undergarments, she should hold the robe tight against her body underneath her chest to separate her heart from her ervoh.
49. If her robe has a belt, she should tie it (מ"ב סי' צ"א סק"ה).
50. If she is wearing any undergarment under the robe, whether over her chest or her midsection, (קצות השלחן סי' ט' ס"ב), or an undershirt or shell, even if it is loose (ביאה"ל סי' ע"ד ד"ה צריך), she may say something with kedushoh.
Netilas Yodayim Before Davening
51. One must wash his hands before davening (שו"ע סי' צ"ב ס"ד ), including before minchoh and ma'ariv (מ"ב סקי"ג). This also applies to women who daven shemoneh esrei (תשובות והנהגות ח"א סי' ע"ב שו"ת מחזה אליהו ח"א סי' י"א).
Shemoneh Esrei
Attending to a Baby During Shemoeh Esrei
52. Holding a baby. A woman should not hold a baby during shemoneh esrei (מ"ב סי' צ"ו סק"ד ). However, if she began to daven and in the middle must attend to a child, she may hold the baby in a way that does not disturb her kavonoh.
53. A distracting child. If a child is distracting her during shemoneh esrei, she may gesture with her hands to attempt to stop the child. However, she may not speak (מ"ב סי' ק"ד סק"א). She may say 'nu nu' or the like, since that is not called speech (כף החיים סק"ג).
54. If gesturing does not work, she may relocate to a quieter area (מ"ב שם ).
55. If she is in shul and her baby is disturbing others, she must take the child outside and continue her shemoneh esrei there.
56. Changing a diaper. If she can smell a dirty diaper, she may stop in the middle of shemoneh esrei to change it. She must wash her hands before continuing her tefilloh.
57. Child that needs the bathroom. If her child needs to use the bathroom and cannot go without assistance, she may take a break from shemoneh esrei to accompany the child (לקט הקמח החדש סי' ק"ד סק"ב בשם החזו"א).
Other Distractions
58. Ringing phone. If a woman is davening and the house phone rings, preventing her from concentrating, she may finish the brochoh she is saying and stop the phone from ringing. She may not speak or make any sound into the phone. Afterwards, she should continue her shemoneh esrei (תפילה כהלכתה פי"ב ספ"ו).
59. Knock at the door. Similarly, if someone is knocking on the door and preventing her from concentrating on shemoneh esrei, she may open the door without speaking, and then continue davening.
Walking in Front of a Woman Davening Shemoneh Esrei
60. It is ossur to walk within four amos of someone davening shemoneh esrei (שו"ע סי' ק"ב ס"ד) or to sit within their four amos (שו"ע זם ס"א). This also applies when a woman is the one davening (א"א בוטשאטש), since the gemoro (ברכות ל"א ע"ב) learns this halochoh from the posuk in which Chanoh said, "I am the woman who was standing before you" (שמואל א', א', כ"ו).
Mokom Kovua
61. A woman who davens in her house should have a set place for all of her tefillos where the household members will not disturb her (מ"ב סי' צ' סקנ"ט).
