Praying from the Siddur Quarantine Style

The Covid-19 epidemic is forcing us to stay at home. The governor of the State of Wisconsin has announced a mandatory “shelter at home” order as has the governor of Minnesota.

You might feel isolated, even if you are shut up with family. It’s hard not to gather as a community and see our friends. The isolation hurts us socially, and it has the potential to also hurt us spiritually because we are unable to gather for synagogue prayer services. I would like to offer up some helpful suggestions for maintaining a strong liturgical prayer life, not just on Shabbat but through the week as well.

Put Down Your Phone: It’s sometimes hard to remove ourselves from the world of our phone for even a few minutes. But it is essential for a focused prayer life to put your phone on mute, set it aside, or even better yet, leave it in another room. Prayer time should be focused on connecting with HaShem, and our phones rarely aid with this.

• Create a Prayer Environment: It’s difficult to focus on prayers in a chaotic loud space. Find somewhere in your home that’s relatively quiet (as best as you can—just not the bathroom). Yeshua says, “Go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen.” Maybe even decorate the space to help create a sacred environment. Place some holy books in that room, display printouts hung up of significant Bible passages or prayers. The Avinu print from First Fruits of Zion is great for this. Some ancient chasidim used to light a candle before prayer in memory of the flames of the Menorah in the Temple. Whatever innovations you adopt, they should inspire you to focus on communion with the Divine.
• Prepare for Prayer: Before you start, get everything you need ready for your prayer time: Siddur, Bible, and tallit and tefillin if you use them, etc. If possible, let others in the house know that you’re going to be praying and would like to be undisturbed except for emergencies. Take a few minutes and quiet your mind before you pray. Ask HaShem to remove your current cares and concerns and allow you to focus on him.
• Express Yourself: When your praying at synagogue, you might feel too timid or shy to express yourself in prayer. Now’s your chance to let it all out. Pray out loud, not quietly to yourself (the Amidah should be said quietly as normal). Sing the melodies that you know and make up new ones. No one is there to notice if you got something wrong or your pitch is off. Feel free to express yourself with your body as you feel lead. Dance, lift your hands to heaven, cry out loud—there should be nothing holding you back. And where appropriate, add your own personal prayers of thanksgiving, petition, and supplication
• Conclude with a Short Time of Study: At the end of your pray time use the spiritual energy you’ve created to lead you into another mitzvah: studying Torah. Read the daily Gospel, Torah, and Psalms, or perhaps a short section out of one the Messianic Luminaries books or some other inspirational work. The choice is yours. The Beth Immanuel website has a full daily reading schedule to help you out. As the sages say “Do not say when I have time, I will study, for one may never have time.” What better way to find time to study then to end davening with diving into Torah?

I encourage every Beth Immanuelite to not only continue their daily prayers as they did before this quarantine began but to use this time of isolation to strengthen your prayer practice and commitment to the habit of prayer, three times a day. Even if, due to children and household responsibilities, you can only find 10-15 minutes at a time, it is well worth the effort. May all of you stay safe and healthy. I am so looking forward to being back in fellowship with all of you soon.