Tanya for the 17th of Kislev י''ז כסלו
Daily Tanya · Mrs. Tsyrl Turen
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Show Notes
Word had evidently reached the Alter Rebbe that the Chasidim of a certain synagogue did not permit a worshipper who would pray at length to lead the services because some individual there was pressed for time. In this letter of admonition, the Alter Rebbe writes that it is better for this person to even forgo participation in the congregational responses of Barchu and Kedushah (if it is absolutely impossible for him to remain longer) than to keep his fellow congregants from praying at length. For deliberate prayer involves life itself and, indeed, prolongs one’s life; by cutting short the prayers of others, this busy individual tampers with their very lives.
The Alter Rebbe also explains that meditation during prayer with the goal of revealing the love of G-d that is concealed within the heart of every Jew constitutes an obligation explicit in the Torah—“And you shall love the L-rd your G-d….”