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Do you feel uncomfortable when davening in a public area?
yes, unless other Jewish girls are davening near me as well.
I used to, but I’ve gotton over it. For one thing, it’s not more strange than other forms of behavior in public in our time. If the issue is that it looks like I’m “talking to myself,” there are a lot of people who are talking on their cellphones with headsets that are all but invisible, and who years ago I would have thought are talking to themselves. So my talking to Hashem is no more strange or wierd than whoever the cellphone users are talking to. During the winter months at work, my work schedule requires me to work through Mincha time, so I daven at my desk.
I never plan on davening in a public area, and if circumstances compel me to do so, I try to make myself as “small” and out of the way as possible.
I once heard a story of a Rabbi who was scared to Daven in public. So he got into an old phone booth and pretended to be on the phone. (That part of the story is true; the rest might be a joke.) So someone wanted to use the phone booth and kept banging on it. The Rabbi signaled for him to wait a few minutes. After some more banging, the Rabbi angrily turns around, covers, the phone, and says, “Hey, I’m talking to God here!”
I think I would be even more uncomfortable with Jewish girls are davening near me as well.
Rabbi Dovid Kaplan wrote in his book, The Kiruv Files, that he once had to Daven in an airport and was embarrassed to do so. Suddenly a group of teens showed up, their head shaven besides for a pony from the center of the center of head, and started dancing right in middle of the place. He thought to himself, they aren’t embarrassed to behave this way in public and they do their thing, how can I be embarrassed do Daven to Hashem.
The truth is, I’ve heard this argument before and it really is disturbing. How can we be embarrassed when Muslims put out their rug in middle of a busy street in Manhattan or wherever and aren’t embarrassed about their practices. My consoling thought was that we are the only ones with the Yetzer Hara to be normal.
no! well to be fully honest, i used to be, but now i’m not. most people respect that i’m praying and leave me alone, and those that don’t, well i can’t answer them anyways! 😀
Just be aware that there are halachic issues with davening outdoors or in a public place.
Dear DaasYochid: What are the halachic issues?
It’s not l’chatchilah, because it’s difficult to concentrate.
depends on where i am.. btw when davening in skool i think i have more kavanah BECUZ there are so many other girls concentrating so well..
The proper attitude should be to afford the Creator more than a harried, mulitasked mumble while commuting or doing any other chore. He deserves more. Of course there are heterim, but it’s just that – heterim. The proper setting for tefillah should be indoors, in a place conducive to proper kavanah.
Should one be in a circumstance where that is not viable, then it should most certainly be done publicly. No, no need for shame. ????? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ???????, they have a need for shame, MOST CERTAINLY not us.
Proper attention to the Alainu tefillah will most certainly set the standards straight. We thank HaShem for the opportunity and role to call out, to know and to serve Him. We thank Him for not have made us as the nations… For they bow… And then the powerful tefilla of v’Al kain nkaveh. Every word, so precious, it’s worth paying close attention. It will disperse any imaginary “inferior complex”, one may feel in contrast to our neighbors.
Torah.
I wasn’t at all referring to you. I don’t know you or your circumstances (I have no need to), I was just writing in the general sense. As I wrote in my post, where it’s not feasible, of course it should be done while riding (without the LEAST SHAME), it’s just not the preferable method, l’chatchila. Mishna too writes of workers who pray while in midst of their work etc.
But the preferable method is to daven first, and then ??? ???? ?????.
Kal Hakavod to you for doing it in YOUR best possible approach.
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