From the words in this parashah (Bereishis 19:27): “Vayshkem Avraham baboker el hamakom asher amad sham,” Chazal learn (Brachos 6b) that Avraham Avinu instituted that we daven Shacharis each day, as it says “ein amidah ela tefillah.”
From the words of Chazal it emerges that not only did Avraham Avinu institute for us the actual tefillah of Shacharis, he also taught us practices in life, to rise early to pray it in the morning, as the passuk says of him: “Vayashkem,” and he woke up early in the morning.
As such, rising early for Shacharis is not only hiddur, or another virtue, it is a part of how we have been taught to daven by Avraham Avinu.
Indeed, if one takes heart he will notice that when a person gets to Shacharis just a bit late, or even “exactly on time,” he might lose out a full world, in every sense! More than 20 brachos are recited before tefillas Shacharis, and when a person comes exactly on time to daven – how are they said?!
In the small amount of time that he has, he needs to put on his tallis and make the brachah, to put on tefillin, and to make the brachah, and then to also say korbanos... It is very sad to see yirei Shamayim cramming all of this into a few short minutes...
In addition, those who seek to say Birchas Hashachar bechavrusa, in a fitting way, cannot do this if they do not dedicate time for it – before the beginning of davening. It is not for naught that we list each morning after the Birchos HaTorah, among the things that “a person eats the fruits in this world, and the virtue continues to exist for him in Olam Haba,” – “hashkamas beis hamedrash Shacharis v’Arvis.”
We have to understand, and internalize, that the beginning of a worthy Shacharis, with Birchos Hashachar according to halachah, is at least ten minutes before the time set in the shul for the beginning of the tefillah. When a person comes exactly at the appointed time of davening, he might discover that he has actually come too late to daven in a worthy fashion...
A person who has an appointment with an important person will not come exactly on time, he will make sure to arrive early. If this is the case for a meeting with a human being, then how much more so should it be for an encounter with the King of kings...
Coming early to davening is self-understood for someone who believes that he is going to be speaking with the King of kings, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, when he davens.
Good Shabbos
Yaakov Dov Marmurstein
