This shabbos, discussion turned to worrying about details of one's avodas HaShem while the big picture is still lacking. Specifically, the conversation was about waiting for the exact zman before starting to daven when one's davening is already rushed and with little kavana. We all think that we know what HaShem wants of us, but what we think is not necessarily accurate.
I think everyone would agree that He wants our davening to be both, in its proper time and with proper kavana. The question was which takes precedence. The general consensus around the table seemed to be that we are supposed to behave with common sense and while it's nice to wait the extra 30 seconds for davening, don't quibble over details if you're not going to have kavana anyway. Use those extra 30 seconds to have a little longer of a shmonah esrai and start a little sooner.
In theory, I hear the argument. However, I don't think we can assume that we know what HaShem is thinking in this regard. While it would be nice to have that extra kavana, we can't assume that those 30 seconds of waiting don't mean anything to HaShem. We don't know how the spiritual world works and we don't know the actual significance of the change from night to day in terms of tefillah.
Another point to think about is that we must consider both the individual action as well as the aggregate in terms of our avodas HaShem. While having both aspects is certainly ideal, just because you are lacking kavana doesn't mean that the act of waiting means nothing. There is a positive side to the waiting alone, even if the tefillah as a whole is still below the ideal level.
I think everyone would agree that He wants our davening to be both, in its proper time and with proper kavana. The question was which takes precedence. The general consensus around the table seemed to be that we are supposed to behave with common sense and while it's nice to wait the extra 30 seconds for davening, don't quibble over details if you're not going to have kavana anyway. Use those extra 30 seconds to have a little longer of a shmonah esrai and start a little sooner.
In theory, I hear the argument. However, I don't think we can assume that we know what HaShem is thinking in this regard. While it would be nice to have that extra kavana, we can't assume that those 30 seconds of waiting don't mean anything to HaShem. We don't know how the spiritual world works and we don't know the actual significance of the change from night to day in terms of tefillah.
Another point to think about is that we must consider both the individual action as well as the aggregate in terms of our avodas HaShem. While having both aspects is certainly ideal, just because you are lacking kavana doesn't mean that the act of waiting means nothing. There is a positive side to the waiting alone, even if the tefillah as a whole is still below the ideal level.
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