{"id":31697,"date":"2011-04-10T17:43:17","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T01:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=31697"},"modified":"2011-04-10T17:47:29","modified_gmt":"2011-04-11T01:47:29","slug":"the-minyan-offers-human-solidarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=31697","title":{"rendered":"The Minyan Offers Human Solidarity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Elazar Muskin writes<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Author Hillel Halkin, reviewing the Koren Sacks Siddur in the spring 2010 Jewish Review of Books, recounts a charming story that he heard from his father:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father, who prayed with great kavanah [concentration] yet was adamant about having no religious beliefs whatsoever \u2026 once told me a story about a man standing in the street outside a shtibl, a little synagogue, looking for a tseynter, a 10th Jew to add to the nine waiting inside to say the afternoon prayer. Spotting a likely looking candidate, he asks: \u2018Excuse me, mister. Are you Jewish?\u2019 \u2018Yes, I am,\u2019 says the Jew. \u2018What can I do for you?\u2019 \u2018You can join a minyan for Mincha,\u2019 the man says. \u2018I\u2019m afraid that\u2019s impossible,\u2019 answers the Jew. \u2018Why?\u2019 asks the man. \u2018Because I\u2019m an atheist,\u2019 says the Jew. The man gives the Jew a withering look. \u2018And where,\u2019 he inquires, \u2018is it written that an atheist doesn\u2019t have to say Mincha?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

For Judaism, the best way to pray is with a minyan. Halkin notes, \u201cPraying in a minyan is different from praying alone, less because of the additional prayers said by the worshipers than because of the human solidarity established among them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The human solidarity that the minyan offers is a mirror image of what the Jewish community is all about. In Jewish tradition, recited in the Shabbat Musaf service, those who \u201cfaithfully occupy themselves with the needs of the community\u201d are the ones who are blessed. Likewise, those who dismantle the community structure are denounced in the harshest of words.<\/p>\n

Luke says: When human solidarity was denied me<\/a>, I found great solace from my daven cam. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Elazar Muskin writes: Author Hillel Halkin, reviewing the Koren Sacks Siddur in the spring 2010 Jewish Review of Books, recounts a charming story that he heard from his father: \u201cMy father, who prayed with great kavanah [concentration] yet was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249],"tags":[26047,26046,5281,823,26048,3059],"class_list":["post-31697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-elazar-muskin","tag-afternoon-prayer","tag-human-solidarity","tag-jewish-tradition","tag-minyan","tag-musaf","tag-rabbi-elazar"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t