צילום: אוסף התצלומים של צדוק בסן.
How should we dress back praying? The Talmud (Shabbat 10a) annal two adverse opinions as to what is adapted accoutrements for prayer:
“Rava bar Rav Huna would put on accomplished shoes back he prayed. As the ballad says “Prepare yourself to accommodated your God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12).
Rava, on the added hand, would abolish his cloak, brooch his easily together, and adjure like a assistant afore his master.”
Which access is correct? Should we abrasion fine, academic accoutrements back praying? Or should we accept the apprehensive address of a average assistant affecting his Master?
Reverence and Love
The altered approaches of these two advisers accord to two types of prayers. Some prayers are Bakashot - petitions and requests. Added prayers are Shevach, songs and praises of God. Anniversary blazon of adoration projects a assertive angel of our accord with God, and they appulse the body accordingly.
When we adjure for God’s assistance, we are actively acquainted of our deficiencies and limitations. God is our pillar, bartering our needs and comestible life. We await on His connected affection and mercy. Back we present our requests in prayer, we are like a assistant petitioning his master.
Rava would accent this apprehensive address by removing his blind - an big-ticket commodity of clothing, carrying pride and account - afore praying. We accept no acumen to be appreciative of our bare actual state. In addition, Rava would brooch his accoutrements together. This action adumbrated his helplessness and assurance on God’s kindness.
In short, Rava emphasized the aspect of adoration that corresponds to yirah, the awe and admiration of a average assistant afore his Master.
Rava bar Rav Huna, on the added hand, beheld adoration as an announcement of ahavat Hashem, our adulation for God. He approached adoration like a admiring and admired child, donning his finest accouterment afore affair with his admired father.
The body is aerial as we sing God’s praises and accede His greatness. We accretion greater acquaintance of the soul’s aerial potential, and the body is added acceptant to analyze into the accuracy of its Maker. As we erect the base of acumen and knowledge, absorption God’s beyond and greatness, our account of God is based on the aspect of ahavah. This in about-face refines our desires in activity and elevates our deeds.
Infinite Potential
The access of ahavah, however, requires attention with attention to one accurate pitfall. An alone ability afield accept that he has already accomplished such a aerial airy akin that he no best needs to be accurate apropos his circadian conduct and behavior. In his mind, accessory acts alone serve to brainwash able ancestry and actual behavior - which he has already acquired.
Therefore, Rava bar Rav Huna quoted the verse, “Prepare yourself to accommodated your God, O Israel.” Why did the astrologer admonish us to consistently prepare? The verse’s underlining bulletin is the soul’s absolute abeyant for airy growth. No amount what akin a being has attained, one should adapt to attain an alike college level. And a being charge consistently bouncer adjoin the accretion crisis of falling from his airy state. As the Sages cautioned, “The greater the person, the greater his angry inclination” (Sukkah 52a).
Rava bar Rav Huna would booty affliction to dress in accomplished accouterment back praying. Wearing appropriate clothes raises our acquaintance of the dignity of the body as it sings God’s praise.
The academic in accurate emphasized his footwear. He capital to appearance that alike the lowest, best atomic act requires anticipation and consideration. All of our accomplishments should bout the animated akin of the soul.
A Time For Each
Given these two opposing approaches, anniversary based on a altered blazon of adoration and Divine service, what should we do? Adjure in simple and apprehensive dress, or in accomplished clothing?
The Talmud concludes with affidavit of how Rav Kehanah would dress for prayer:
“When there was agitation in the world, Rav Kehanah would abolish his coat, brooch his accoutrements together, and adjure like a assistant afore his master. But in times of peace, he would dress honorably, awning himself with a talit and pray, as it says, “Prepare yourself to accommodated your God, O Israel.””
In the end, we charge to both awe and adulation in our account of God. Sometimes we charge to arrest ourselves and anxiously watch that we do not alight into materialism and abnormal conduct. Added times, we charge to deepen our adulation for God by accretion our absolute actions.
When should we accept the adherent access of yirah, and back the angelic aisle of ahavah?
The best admonition is to accede the accompaniment of association and the apple at large. We should see ourselves as allotment of the greater reality, at atomic that which is abutting to us. Rav Kehanah accomplished that back there is adversity and ache in the world, this is a assurance that the apple is defective those moral qualities that appear from yirah, attention adjoin annihilative ancestry and deeds. In afflicted times, Rav Kehanah would brooch his accoutrements calm and abolish his blind afore praying. In this fashion, he would accent the angle of admiration and awe, like a average assistant continuing afore his Master.
But back the apple is at peace, it is time to advance absolute ancestry and deeds. Rav Kehanah would again dress in accomplished clothing, to accessible the affection and bolster acceptable inclinations. With this preparation, he adumbrated that he approved college acquaintance of God’s absolute ablaze and greater adulation for God, like the blithesome account of a admiring son. Donning academic attire, he accomplished the prophet’s admonition for around-the-clock airy advance - “Prepare yourself to accommodated your God, O Israel.”
(Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. III, pp. 2-3.)
