A tefillah from the siddur
[1] (Halacha 744)
Question: Should tefillah be recited with eyes closed or looking at the siddur?
Answer: The Gemara in Maseches Yevamos1 states: 'R' Chiya and R' Shimon bar Rebbi were sitting together; one of them opened and said: One who davens must direct his eyes downward, as it says, "וְהָיוּ עֵינַי וְלִבִּי שָׁם כָּל הַיָּמִים" ("My eyes and My heart shall be there all the days"); and the other said: his eyes upward, as it says, "נִשָּׂא לְבָבֵנוּ אֶל כַּפָּיִם" ("Let us lift up our heart to our hands"). Meanwhile R' Yishmael the son of R' Yose came to them; he said to them: What are you engaged in? They said to him: In tefillah; he said to them, so said Abba: One who davens must direct his eyes downward and his heart upward, so that these two verses shall both be fulfilled'.
And the Rambam wrote in a responsum2: 'A question — our Sages of blessed memory said3: Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav, and some say R' Yehoshua ben Levi, and some say it was taught in a baraisa, Abba Binyamin says: From where do we learn that one who davens should have nothing interposing between him and the wall? As it says, "וַיַּסֵּב חִזְקִיָּהוּ פָּנָיו אֶל הַקִּיר" ("And Chizkiyahu turned his face to the wall"). Do curtains hung on the walls fall within this interposition or not? Answer: The reason for the one who davens to draw near to the wall is so that he may be more secluded and direct his heart, and the curtains do not prevent this, for the interposition would be with sacks or with crates and the like, which draw one's attention to them and remove his concentration from the tefillah. And when the curtains or the walls have beautiful decorations painted on them, our custom is to close our eyes during tefillah when this occurs to us. And Moshe wrote'4.
And so ruled the Mechaber5: 'Decorated garments, even though they are not raised, it is not proper to daven facing them, and if it happens that he davens facing a decorated garment or wall, he should close his eyes. Hagah: And therefore it is also forbidden to draw decorations in the seforim from which one davens, so that kavanah not be lost'. And so ruled the Alter Rebbe6.
And some have written7 that from these sources it appears that the usual order in tefillah (whose essence is the Amidah) is that the eyes are open.
Yet on the other hand it is written in the Zohar8: 'And in the sefer of Rav Hamnuna Saba it is said: One who opens his eyes at the time of tefillah or who does not lower his eyes to the ground, the angel of death precedes him, and when his soul departs he will not gaze upon the radiance of the Shechinah and will not die by a kiss'.
And from the plain meaning of the language of the Zohar it is explained that tefillah is obligated to be with eyes closed, and so wrote many Acharonim9 to conduct oneself according to the words of the Zohar10.
However, Rabbi Eliyahu di Vidas (author of the Reishis Chochmah) wrote in his sefer Totzaos Chaim11: 'And he should endeavor to have a siddur to daven from, from Baruch She'amar onward, and not recite by heart .. And it is proper not to open the eyes during Shemoneh Esrei, since the Shechinah is opposite him, and about one who opens it is said "וּבֹזַי יֵקָלּוּ" ("and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed"), as brought in the Zohar at the beginning of Parashas Va'eschanan .. but if he is davening from the sefer, it appears that there is no concern, since he is turning his eyes to gaze at the sefer'.
And so wrote R' M. Papirush in Ohr Tzaddikim12: 'And if he davens from the siddur it is as though his eyes are closed, as written in the sefer Mateh Moshe'.
And to note that we find in the Minhagei Maharil13 that he davened by heart, but during Shemoneh Esrei he was particular to daven from the siddur: 'The entire order of tefillah he would daven by heart, except for the Shemoneh Esrei. He would hold a siddur in his right hand, from which he would daven, and his left hand was under his cloak, placed upon his heart'.
And regarding the conduct of the Arizal himself, R' Chaim Vital wrote14: 'Also all the zemiros and the korbanos and the Krias Shema, my teacher of blessed memory was accustomed to recite them from the siddur of tefillos in his hand, but during the silent Amidah he would close his eyes and recite by heart. And also during the chazzan's repetition he would close his eyes and listen and direct his attention to the words of the chazzan'.
And the Magen Avraham15 wrote: 'The Arizal would daven from the sefer in order to concentrate greatly (the kavanos), and it all depends on what a person feels in his soul'.
And the Pri Megadim wrote: 'And certainly for one who is able, it is better to daven from the siddur, so as not to swallow a single vowel-point'.
The Alter Rebbe16 wrote: 'Some are accustomed to daven from the sefer in order to concentrate greatly, and it all depends on what he feels in his soul'. [And to note also from the language of the Alter Rebbe17 regarding an interposition that might disturb his tefillah: 'And nevertheless he should close his eyes or daven from the siddur and not look outside, so that he does not come to a loss of kavanah on account of the interposing object before him'].
In the siddur of the Arizal 'Kol Yaakov'18 it is written: 'He should not daven at all by heart, only from the siddur, except for the places where they said explicitly that he must close his eyes, as will be explained in its place'.
And some have written that it should not be a fixed conduct, as the Mekor Chaim by the author of the Chavos Yair19 wrote: 'It is best that he daven sometimes this way (from the siddur) and sometimes that way (by heart), for through habit the kavanah is diminished'.
[And to note from what is written in Tzava'as HaRivash20: When a person is on a lower level, then it is better to daven from the siddur, for by dint of seeing the letters he davens with more kavanah. But when he is cleaving to the upper world, then it is better to close the eyes so that the sight does not nullify him from cleaving to the upper world'].
Thus we have seen that in general it is proper to daven from the siddur (for added kavanah, and also for correct reading), and some were particular according to the Zohar to daven Shemoneh Esrei with eyes closed, but some have written that it is permitted to daven with eyes open if one looks in the siddur, and it depends on each person according to what is fitting for him. And in the next halacha we will see further conduct and directives of our Rebbeim, the Nesi'im, on this.
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Notes:
1 קה, ב. הובא להלכה בשו"ע סי' צב ס"ב, ובשו"ע אדה"ז סי' צב ס"ג ↩
2 הל' תפלה פ"ג ה"א (ובנוסח אחר בשו"ת פאר הדור סי' פד) ↩
3 ברכות ה, ב ↩
4 תוכן תשובה זו הובאה באבודרהם דיני שמו"ע, (ובב"י או"ח סי' צ), ונצטט קטע מדבריו: 'והבגדים המצויירים אעפ"י שאינן בולטות אין נכון להתפלל כנגדם מהטעם שאמרנו כדי שלא יהא מביט בציורים ההם ולא יכוין בתפלתו, *ואנחנו רגילים להעלים עינינו בתפלה בזמן שיקרה לנו להתפלל כנגד בגד או כותל מצוייר* ע"כ דבריו' ↩
5 שו"ע או"ח סי' צ סכ"ג ↩
6 שו"ע או"ח סי' צ סכ"ב ↩
7 ראה א"ר או"ח סי' צה ס"ק ד, מאמר מרדכי סי' צה ס"ק ב, וראה לקמן הערה מס' 10 ↩
8 ואתחנן רס, ב ↩
9 ראה צרור המור (בראשית כד, סג), שכנה"ג הגה"ט אות ב, מטה משה סי' קיז, של"ה דף רנה (מסכת תמיד, נר מצוה ד"ה צריך) ↩
10 הא"ר שם כתב לתווך את דברי הזוהר עם הגמ' והרמב"ם דלעיל: 'וראיתי בפסקי תוס' כתב, ראיתי מחסידים ואנשי מעשה כשמזכירים השם בתוך התפלה נושאים עיניהם למעלה, אבל בשאר התפלה לא, יראה אפילו דרך העברה דנגד הכותל ע"כ. ובזה מיושב הא דאין להתפלל נגד בגדים המצויירים, משום כשמזכירין השם יסתכל בהם. מיהו מדברי הלבוש לא משמע הכי, דא"כ לתרץ על קושיתו הא דצריכי חלונות, משום הזכרת השם, אלא משמע דרק בהתחלת התפלה יסתכל למעלה, וכ"מ מב"ח [ס"ב]. גם לפ"ז י"ל דמשום התחלת התפלה אין להתפלל נגד בגדים המצויירים..'. אך ראה במאמר מדרכי שם שכתב: 'ומש"כ האחרונים ז"ל בשם הזוהר הקדוש דצריך להעצים עיניו בשעת תפלה והחמיר הרבה בזה נראה ברור שהזוהר חולק בזה על תלמוד דידן לפ"ד הפוסקים ואין בזה שום ספק לפע"ד ואל תתמה על החפץ דכמ"פ מצינו שהספר הקדוש הנ"ל חלוק על התלמוד. ומצאתי להרב א"ר שהרגיש בזה ונדחק הרבה ליישב ולא חש לדקדק במה שכתבנו והמעיין שם יראה שכל דבריו דחויים כמ"ש' ↩
11 אות לה - לו ↩
12 תיקון התפלה סי' מ ↩
13 הל' תפילה [ב] ↩
14 שער הכוונות ענין ביהכנ"ס ↩
15 או"ח סי' צג ס"ק ב ↩
16 או"ח סי' צג ס"א ↩
17 או"ח סי' צ ס"כ ↩
18 הל' ביהכנ"ס ↩
19 או"ח סי' צה ס"ב ↩
20 אות מ ↩
[2] (Halacha 745)
In the previous halacha we saw the various customs regarding whether the Amidah is recited with eyes closed, or open and from the siddur.
Question: What is the conduct of our Rebbeim, the Nesi'im?
Answer: The Rebbe mentioned several times regarding the conduct of the Rebbe Rayatz that his conduct was to daven specifically from a siddur, as follows:
The Rebbe, in the sichah of the night of the 13th of Tishrei 57431, said: 'And behold, since during tefillah one must think only about the Holy One, blessed be He, and moreover one must think about the meaning of the words — then the simple counsel for this is to daven from the siddur, for then it is easier not to divert one's attention from the kavanah of the tefillah, and certainly not to omit words in the tefillah. And even if there are those who think they do not need to daven from the siddur since they know the tefillah by heart, and especially when speaking of the tefillah of 'Ashrei' — is it conceivable to recite 'Ashrei' from the siddur, 'it would be unbelievable if it were told'! For even when one recites Ashrei by heart he must think about the Holy One, blessed be He. And all the more so when speaking of the other parts of the tefillah during which it is forbidden to interrupt etc. — during which one must certainly think about the Holy One, blessed be He .. My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, conducted himself to daven all the tefillos from the siddur (except for special matters)2, even though he certainly knew all the tefillos by heart, and so I conduct myself3, as I saw the conduct of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe'.
And so too it is related in the sefer Nasi VeChasid4 that the Rebbe said to Shazar [translated into Lashon HaKodesh]: 'My father-in-law had a wondrous memory, and nevertheless, when he came to tefillah, even Minchah or Maariv, he was accustomed to daven only from the siddur. Accordingly I prepared a siddur …'.
And among the reasons to be particular about tefillah from the siddur, the Rebbe said in the sichah of Shabbos Parashas Vayikra 57505 so that the recitation shall be precise (similar to what was brought in the previous halacha from the Pri Megadim): 'Israel are accustomed to daven from the siddur, so that the recitation of the words and the vowel-points shall be with the utmost precision'.
And to note also from the sichah of the 20th of Marcheshvan 57446: 'During tefillah one must look in the siddur not only so as not to omit a few words (and more than that), but also to assist in the kavanah of the tefillah, as is known regarding the matter of letters that make wise and letters that illuminate'.
An additional reason, and it is the main one, is on account of the kavanah [sometimes the emphasis is that even when davening by heart the siddur should be open before him for the benefit of the kavanah], and as was mentioned above, and likewise in many instances in letters, and we will quote several of them below:
a. 'Since frequently the aforementioned thoughts confuse specifically during the time of tefillah and during the time of study, therefore it is good that during the time of tefillah and during the time of study the siddur or the sefer that he is studying be [open] before him at the very place at which he stands. And when he feels that his thoughts are scattering, he should immediately glance at the siddur and the sefer — for the letters of the script hold one in place..7'.
b. 'Surely he knows what is written in several of the seforim of our Sages and great ones, that for the kavanah of tefillah, davening from the siddur is beneficial'8.
A fine allusion is brought in the seforim regarding the importance of tefillah from the siddur as an aid to kavanah in tefillah:
As the Pele Yoetz9 wrote: 'And how good and how pleasant it is that he recite all the tefillos and all the brochos from the sefer, for this helps to concentrate on what he says, and a sign is given: "אמר עם הספר ישוב מחשבתו הרעה", and especially during the Shemoneh Esrei, if he does not daven with eyes closed, an obligation rests upon him to set his eyes upon the sefer and not let his eyes wander here and there, for they were stringent in the holy Zohar about its punishment, and it is a disgraceful matter, and by this a person is recognized whether he is a boor or one who fears sin'.
And so wrote the Ben Ish Chai10: 'It is good for a person to daven the zemiros and the Yotzer from the siddur for the sake of the kavanah, an allusion to the matter: "אמר עם הספר ישוב מחשבתו"'.
And in the sefer Tuafos Re'em11 he wrote in the name of the holy Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh of Radzimin: 'He was very meticulous to daven from the siddur. And he would say, I believe in the name of some sefer, the verse "אמר עם הספר ישוב מחשבתו הרעה", that it is a segulah to be saved from foreign thoughts'.
This allusion was also brought by the Rebbe12: 'And regarding the matter of scattering of the soul, behold, over the course of a few weeks he should accustom himself to daven from the siddur, and likewise during the time of study, when he thinks in nigleh or in Chassidus, the sefer or the maamar about which he is thinking should be with him, and as soon as he begins to feel the scattering of his thoughts, he should glance at the letters in the sefer, for illuminating letters scatter the darkness and confusion and as in the interpretation of the verse "ובבואה לפני המלך אמר עם הספר ישוב מחשבתו הרעה", likewise he should learn by heart the beginning of chapter 41 in Tanya, and from time to time he should also review the lines aloud, "and behold, Hashem stands over him" etc., if he serves Him properly'.
Notes:
1 תו"מ ח"א ע' 144 ↩
2 אצל הרבי ראו כמה דברים שאומר בע"פ, כגון קרבנות בהליכה בדרך למקומו (ולהעיר שו"ע אדמו"ר הזקן או"ח סי' מט). וכן ויהי בנסוע, בריך שמיה. ברכות התורה, (משא"כ ברכות ההפטרה) מודים דרבנן, תחנון, נפילת אפים ↩
3 בימי מלך ח"א ע' 232 מובא שהרבנית חנה סיפרה שהרבי משחר ילדותו התפלל מתוך הסידור ↩
4 ע' 323 ↩
5 תו"מ תש"נ ח"ב ע' 491 ↩
6 תו"מ ח"א ע' 485 ↩
7 אג"ק ח"ה ע' רנט. וכ"ה בח"ח ע' רעז ↩
8 חי"ז ע' קיא ↩
9 ערך ספר ↩
10 ש"א יתרו ס"א ↩
11 אות לא ↩
12 אג"ק ח"ד ע' תלב ↩
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