Not Understanding Most of Davening

Question

I only understand 25% of the davening . What is the point of spending 50 minutes davening?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Good question! On a practical level the Rabbis teach that prayers that are said in Lashon Hakodesh – even if the person does not fully understand them – have a greater spiritual power to them. The reason for that is that Lashon Hakodesh is a language unlike any other language. It is the language of Hashem and each letter contains spiritual dimensions to it that reveal the essence of each word that the letters create.

    However, I think that your question is is one that many or most people have (if they think at all about what they are davening!) at some point or another. I always tell my Talmidim and Talmidos that the only way to make Tefillah effective and the only way to reach a level where we want to daven, is learning about what it is that we are saying. Not just the translation of the words but the almost infinite layers of meaning that can be found both in the words themselves and the details of the Tefillos as well. That is why I strongly recommend to anyone who asks that they set up a five or ten minute seder each day to learn about what it is that they are saying.

    Baruch Hashem, there is a plethora of wonderful sefarim in English that are insightful and delightful that are easily accessible.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team