Suppose a person observes that there is a marked difference between his kavanah when he is davening alone and when he is davening with a minyan. Alone, he is able to concentrate on the words, on the meaning, and most importantly bring up feelings and emotions and let them drive his davening, turning it into a spiritual experience and a closeness with Hashem. But when he is davening with a minyan, he feels rushed, is not able to concentrate (because of others around him, because of distractions, etc.), and the experience for him becomes one of just saying the words and he finds it difficult to feel a connection with G-d.

Obviously this depends on the personality type and individual person, but there are people like this. Since all people are different but halacha is the same, is there a dispensation in halacha for this kind of a situation?

I have asked myself the same question.

Find a new minyan.

I knew a really great Talmid Chochom who used to do this. I never had the guts to ask him how he was allowed to do this. He has since died....

He davened alone?



How will that help?

Yes. At home. With what appeared to be tremendous kavanah.

Right. I'm asking if one feels very strongly about this - i.e. he notices a marked difference between his kavanah and the level of experience at home and the level of experience with a minyan. What can he do about it?

I believe that you are only required to travel up to 5 miles to daven with minyan, so the solution is to move somewhere where there isn't a minyan within that distance.*

The more serious answer is that I think most men feel this way, especially about shacharit, and there's not much you can do about it because not too many people are willing to wake up even earlier so that davening can be slower. You just have to remind yourself that it is big zechut to daven with a minyan, which (hopefully) makes up for your lack of kavanah.


*basically confirmed by OU article that melech scanned in later

Does the zechut outweigh having kavanah and feeling close to G-d. Isn't the latter the point of davening?

1. Maybe yes, because a minyan has more "power" than a person davening alone does. And being one of the first 10 people to make up the minyan is also a big zechut.

2. One of the points; not the only point.

My hakam once told me, "the best minyan is yourself."

refer to an Artscroll book entitled, "Praying with Fire" by Rabbi Heshy Kleinman onpg 98-100. I think you'll find your answer there(with sources). If you can't get it, I'll try an paraphrase.

Igerot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:7
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/root/data/pdfs/SHUT/im5.pdf

Did you really just post a link to a 540 page book?

It's volume 5 of the iggerot moshe. Just go to the relevant page to see the teshuvah inside. What's the problem, exactly?

But it takes a village to raise a child.




mosheshmeal
.

I think R' Moshe is basically saying that as long as you can understand the basic meaning of the words, you should daven with a minyan. And btw, I think I remember the MB saying that if you're more than an 18 minute walk from shul, you don't have to go.

Where?

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He is likely thinking off OC 90 s'k 52. However, I don't personally think it's entirely accurate to say the MB holds if it takes you more than 18 minutes to walk to shul that you don't need to make minyan. Rather, I would say the MB holds if it takes you more than 18 minutes to travel to shul then strictly speaking you are not absolutely obligated to daven in a minyan.
Doodlehead, add this to your list for reminding me on wednesday: I'll scan a couple of pages from a book that discusses this issue directly.

My scanner is acting up. I'll try to scan two pages from Priority in Prayer http://www.hellorabbi.com/books.html at a later time. It speaks directly to this issue.

In the meantime, here's an interesting article
http://www.ou.org/publications/ja/5765/5765fall/LEGALEAS.PDF

How do you know it's acting? Maybe it really is up?

I don't think so. I think it's an act. I does that sometimes to get attention.

why dont we organize a support group just for these people we can call it "Prayers Anonymous"!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/mel...=minyan0001.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/mel...=minyan0002.jpg

Interesting that the traveling 18 minutes is only by car, because if you're on the highway you could travel 18 miles or more in 18 minutes. But in Brooklyn, during rush hour, you might not even make it 2 miles.

It's 18 minutes of travel time, whatever that distance normally is. But the point is it's further than you can walk in 18 minutes, probably.

Certainly.

Maybe you have to jog?

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