Shemirat HaLashon שמירת הלשון

In our many sins, people in our times have begun to breach the holy practice which was observed until now by all of the people of Israel. Even though some may not have merited to learn Torah, still, the prayer ritual, in its holiest form, was observed by the entire populace. That is, all spurred themselves to rise early in the morning, to go to the synagogue, to pray with a minyan (ten Jews), and to hear the Torah reading — all according to the din. And, as a matter of course, there were some who got together after praying to study Mishnayoth. But, in our many sins, today, the yetzer has greatly intensified, so that aside from strengthening itself to annul Torah learning from the children of Israel, young and old alike [(and even from schoolchildren, the breath of whose mouth is very precious, as is well known)], it strengthens itself further, little by little, to annul also the mitzvah of prayer and tefillin, from the children of Israel. First of all it persuades one, because of his preoccupations, not to go steadily to the house of prayer for mincha and ma'ariv [(the afternoon and evening prayers)], but only at intervals. And, in the course of time, the thing [(i.e., not going)] becomes permissible to him, so that even when he is entirely free in his house, he is too indolent to go to the house of prayer. And through this he abandons his Torah session, whether it be in Chayei Adam or Ein Yaakov. And after this the yetzer begins to entice him to absent himself occasionally from shacharith [(the morning prayer)], and not to attend regularly, but only on Mondays and Thursdays to hear the Torah reading. And, in the course of time, the thing becoming permitted, the Torah reading, too, is not significant in his eyes and he comes only on Shabbath, for prayer. Soon, he does not come on Shabbath either, but only on Shabbath Rosh Chodesh, when the cantor sings. Then the yetzer further intensifies and entices him to go in the way of his wicked friends and sometimes omit the mitzvah of tefillin, the glory of our heads. In sum, the yetzer strengthens itself to take from the people of Israel all of its pride and glory.

I have, therefore, undertaken to set forth the importance of congregational prayer. But first, let us explain the great obligation thereof. The formulation of our sages of blessed memory — "four mils to prayer" is well known. Many of the Rishonim explain this as meaning that if one is walking on the road and he knows that four mils further on he will find a minyan, he must wait [to pray] until he comes there. As far as going back, if he knows that he will find a minyan within the distance of a mil, he must go back. From this we can understand that certainly, if he can find a minyan in the city, even if it is almost a mil away, he must go there. And our sages of blessed memory have already said (Berachoth 8a): "Whoever has a synagogue in his city and does not frequent it for prayer is called 'a bad neighbor.'"

Now we come to detail the great difference between praying alone in one's house and praying with a minyan:

1) First of all, one is rewarded for going to the synagogue in itself, as we find in Avoth 5:14: "There are four characteristics of those who go to the synagogue: If he goes and does not do [i.e., pray, (because of some accident)], he has the reward of going." And the reward is according to the number of steps. The more steps, the more reward (see Sotah 22a).

2) Very often, when one comes to the synagogue he also learns a chapter of Mishnayoth or a halachah or Ein Yaakov and the like. And our sages of blessed memory have already said (Berachoth 64b): "One who leaves the synagogue and goes to the house of study merits beholding the face of the Shechinah," which is not the case with him who prays alone in his house, who remains without Torah. This abuse is very commonplace in our days, in our many sins, with many mourners who want to bestow merit upon their fathers by making a permanent minyan in their house for the entire one-year mourning period. Immediately after praying each one goes to his house, so that all of those who pray there are left without Torah. This is not at all to the merit of their fathers. The major amendment for the soul of one's father is his son's strengthening himself to learn Torah every day and also to do lovingkindness — just as the major amendment for the atonement of one's sins when he is still alive is through Torah and lovingkindness, as it is written (Mishlei 16:6): "By lovingkindness and truth, sin will be atoned, as our sages of blessed memory have said: "'truth' — this is Torah, as it is written (Ibid. 23;33): 'Buy truth and do not sell it.'" So, the son who wishes to accord merit to his father, his major contribution is Torah and lovingkindness. (See Ahavath Chesed, Chapter XV, where we have elaborated on this.)

3) It is also known what the sefarim have written, that if one habituates himself to a certain bad trait and his friends emulate him and also do as he, he is punished because of them [see Yoma 86a, Rashi - "kegon"]. And it is known that G-d's reward for good is [proportionately] greater than His punishment for evil. It follows, therefore, a fortiori, that if one habituates himself to a mitzvah or to a good trait and his friends emulate him, he will be rewarded for them. As it affects our subject, it is known that if one habituates himself to go to the synagogue to pray with a minyan each day, many of his friends and his acquaintances emulate him, and he will receive reward for them, too.

4) The verse (Mishlei 2:4): "If you seek it [Torah] as silver… then you will understand the fear of G-d" is well known. And in monetary matters it is well known that if a business opportunity presents itself to a man, by which he can earn five gold pieces, and another opportunity, by which he can earn double, he will certainly choose the second. In our case, too, is it not known that there is no comparison between a few who occupy themselves with a mitzvah and many who do so? As it is written (Vayikra 26:8): "And five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you, ten thousand" (see Rashi there). Therefore (as it concerns our subject) it is known that [in the synagogue] aside from the mitzvah of prayer, we fulfill other commandments of the Torah: a) the positive mitzvah of tefillin, b) the positive mitzvah of reciting the Shema, c) the positive mitzvah of remembering Egypt. If so, if one comes to the synagogue to pray with a minyan, and all fulfill all of these mitzvoth, each mitzvah rises [proportionately] in holiness, which is not the case with one who prays alone.

5) It is well known what we say every day (Peah 1:1): "These are the things whose fruits one eats in this world, with the principal remaining for the world to come, etc…. and coming betimes to the synagogue in the morning and in the evening."

6) This [(synagogue attendance)] leads to length of days, as we find (Berachoth 8): "When R. Yochanan was told that there were old men in Bavel, he wondered, saying: 'It is written (Devarim 11:21): "so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied upon the land which the L-rd swore to your fathers" — but not outside of that land.' When it was told him, however, that they were morning and evening in the synagogue, he said: 'This is what stands in their favor'" (see there further.)

7) Every man, when he prays, hopes that it will be a time of [Heavenly] will, that his prayer be accepted. And it is well known what our sages of blessed memory have said (Berachoth 8a): "When is a time of [Heavenly] will? When the congregation is praying."

8) Our sages of blessed memory have said (Ibid.): "The Holy One Blessed be He does not reject the prayer of the many, it being written (Job 36:5): 'G-d is mighty, and will not reject [the many].'" This, as opposed to one praying alone, when each blessing is scrutinized for proper intent. As we find in the holy Zohar on the verse (Psalms 102:18): "He will turn to the prayer of the devastated one, and will not reject their prayer" [that of the many.] And it is well known that today there are many disturbances and it is almost impossible to find a man who prays one prayer with proper intent, unless he labors on it greatly. Now does not each man wish his prayer to be accepted above? If so, in any event, he must fall back upon this counsel, to pray with the congregation, of which it is written (Job, Ibid.) "G-d is mighty, and will not reject [the many]."

9) When one prays with the congregation, he has [the opportunity of saying] Barchu, Kedushah, and Amen yehei shemei rabbah, each of which, in itself, is awesome. For through "Barchu" we make a crown for the Holy One Blessed be He, as we find in Midrash Konein. And through Kedushah we fulfill (Vayikra 22:33): "And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel." And through this, holiness is conferred upon us, as the verse concludes: "I am the L-rd who sanctifies you." And through "Amen, yehei shemei rabbah" one is forgiven for all of his sins, as our sages of blessed memory have said (Shabbath 119b): "If one says 'Amen, yehei shemei rabbah' with all of his strength [i.e., with all of his intent], even if there is a trace of heresy in him, he is forgiven."

[And how much must a person strengthen himself to keep himself from omitting "Kedushah and Amen, yehei shemei rabbah!" For it is known what our sages of blessed memory have said, that on high there are several thousands of ten thousands of ministering angels, who say kedushah all day long with awe and fear. And we find (Tanna d'bei Eliyahu 16) that there are four hundred and ninety-six thousand ten thousands of ministering angels who stand before Him and sanctify His great name all day long, from sunrise until sunset, saying "Holy! Holy! Holy!" And, from sunset to sunrise, "Blessed is the glory of the L-rd from His place!" How much will a man be ashamed when he comes to the world on high and sees all this great tumult issuing from the mouths of ten thousands of holy angels, sanctifying and praising the name of the Holy One Blessed be He, who formed and created them with happiness and joy, when he remembers that when he was in the world of doing, the Holy One Blessed be He had given him, too, this great eminence of praising and sanctifying His great name at all times, like the host of heaven on high, and he, in his indolence, had abolished this by his perverse will. The principal thing is for a man to remember in his lifetime that the time will come [if he does not take heed] when he will want with all of his will to praise and sanctify the name of the L-rd, but will not be permitted to do so. For a man is permitted to occupy himself with Torah, and, likewise, to sanctify the name of the L-rd, only while he is still alive, in this world.]

And now, if we come to the count, let a man reflect upon the great zeal he should devote to this; that is, to strengthen himself and to pray with a minyan each day. For from one day alone, from the prayers of shacharith and minchah, he has thirty-eight Amens from nineteen blessings of prayer [i.e., the Amidah], respectively [(And our sages of blessed memory have said (Shabbath 119b): "If one is careful in the answering of Amen, the gates of Gan Eden are opened for him, as it is written (Isaiah 26:2): 'Open, you gates, and let there enter a righteous nation, keeper of emunim [faith].' Read it not "emunim," but "Amenim."'")], and eight times "Amen, yehei shemei rabbah," and another sixteen Amenim from the Kadishim and two Kedushoth and Barchu.

All this is in one day. Go and count how many there are in one week, in one month — in one whole year! Is there a count to the profusion of merits accumulating for a man through his habituation to praying with a minyan!

10) Add, especially, on Mondays and Thursday, when he also fulfills the mitzvah of reading the Torah, which is an ancient enactment from the days of Moses our teacher of blessed memory, as we find in Bava Kamma 82a. And in the time of the Gemara, the men of the villages would come to the city on Mondays and Thursdays to hear the recitation of the Torah, as we find in the beginning of Megillah. In our many sins, we must be ashamed before the men of the villages of the earlier generations, who did not hesitate even to ride from the villages to the cities for this; and among us it is customary to ride from the city early in the morning even on Mondays and Thursdays for a small thing, but not to hear the reading of the Torah.

We have set forth a little of the eminence of a man who is habituated to praying with a minyan, and the great increase of his mitzvoth and merits. The major thing here is that this mitzvah be a steady one, and not one that he slackens in. But if sometimes he performs it and sometimes slackens in it, G-d forbid, then he is in the class of (Vayikra 26:21): "But if you walk with Me by chance, etc." (see Rashi there). And thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Berachoth 6b), that when a man is accustomed to come to the house of study, and once does not come, the Holy One Blessed be He "inquires" after him as to why he has not come. And this is intimated in (Isaiah 50:10): "Who among you who fears the L-rd — who listens to the voice of His servant — has walked in the darkness, where it is not light for him?" (If he had gone to perform a mitzvah, it would have been light for him, but having gone on a mundane errand, it was not light for him) (Ibid.): "Let him trust in the name of the L-rd." Why has this befallen him" Because he should have trusted in the name of the L-rd and did not. R. Yochanan said; "When the Holy One Blessed be He comes to the synagogue and does not find ten men there, He becomes angry, viz. (Ibid. 2): 'Why, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there no response?'" The intent is that even if a man were presented with an opportunity for profit at the time of his going to the synagogue, he should not pay heed to it, but trust in the name of the L-rd that what was set aside for him by Heaven will not be detracted from him. And, indeed, very often this is a test from Heaven for him. As our sages of blessed memory have said: "There is no man who is not subjected to tests. A rich man is tested; a poor man is tested, etc." And when a man reflects upon this, he sees this in his experience. He may sometimes stand a whole day in his shop and see very few customers, and when the time for the minchah prayer arrives [or on Sabbath eve before sunset], new customers come, whom he had never seen before, and beg him to sell to them — and all this, as a test, the Holy One Blessed be He testing him to see if his [Divine] service is dear to him [to be performed] with all of his heart and all of his soul.

And aside from all we have written in praise of prayer with a minyan, there is another great mitzvah that results from this; namely, initiating his sons also in the service of the L-rd. For when a son sees that his father regularly attends the synagogue and that this mitzvah is beloved by him, he, too, becomes accustomed to it and the honor of the Blessed L-rd is increased thereby. In truth, I have often wondered why it is that in our days we see only very few of the youths in the synagogue. But it has become clear that the son learns this from his father. When he sees that this mitzvah is not beloved by his father; for sometimes he goes to the synagogue and sometimes he prays at home (even when not forced to do so), he [the son] becomes even more proficient in this and does not go at all! It is found, then, that not only does he not fulfill the mitzvah of chinuch [(initiating his son in mitzvoth)], but, to the contrary, he effects the opposite — bad chinuch — removing his sons from the way of the L-rd; and he is liable in the future for them [(his sons)], too. The man of heart will take all of this to heart, and then, he will be happy and it will be good for him.