Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on March 31, 2011 by Shibley
A few weeks back I authored a post about outdoor prayer. As I think I made clear, my preference is to remain indoors for all of the reasons that I mentioned. I also find it stifling to daven in an enclosed, stuffy location. In fact, there is a custom of at least building btei kenset (synagogues) with windows. This morning I believe that I came to the realization that a hybrid option could be preferable.
Yesterday was the first day that the morning air was warm enough to allow for the Pardes windows to be opened during shacharit. The still sparse traffic was not terribly noisy, and the breeze was gentle enough to get the air in the room moving. I went on to have a very meaningful davening, that stuck with me for the duration of the day.
What’s the point here? Environmental sensitivity can have an incredible impact on our prayers.
