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muman613:
--- Quote from: LKZ on November 10, 2013, 02:54:49 AM ---B"H I'm being kosher in most of my endeavors, I stopped eating meat at home all together, since I can't afford kosher meat, I stopped making all kinds of the sex "crimes" from the Torah, even looking, and while it's hard to work and be very normal all the time, I am doing it for the past month about. Despite that, one thing I can not seem to bring myself to do is all the prayers in my siddur. I get to shema with tefillin on, and I can't stop looking at the time, and eventually I get frustrated. It's like two hours or more. Even on shabbat, I eventually get so fustrated, I just give up. How do you manage to do all the prayers every day, how do you stay concentrated, and how do you find time for that?
--- End quote ---
Shalom LKZ,
I am very impressed with how much you have progressed since we first met. It takes a lot of emmunah and bitachon to motivate a person to make so many changes in their lifestyle. I was talking about this topic with a friend of mine after the Shabbat lunch yesterday. Indeed it is very difficult for some, present company included, to keep Kosher. In my neck of the woods there are no Kosher restaurants, and very few outlets to buy Kosher meat. This is one of the tougher ones to keep for many Jews today. When I first started I first made the effort to not eat milk and cheese products, and I never liked shellfish or pork so those were not difficult for me. Again I would recommend you finding the closest thing to a Jewish community in your area. This is how I can get what I need, I ask my Chabad Rabbi who makes sure that the community can keep the mitzvot.
Regarding keeping concentration during the prayers. I have a couple of comments on this. I think two hours to complete Shachris (the morning prayer) is a little long. I am one who believes that a person should say all the words of the blessing in a way which one can understand, not just muttering the words in rapidfire succession. In the group I daven with I am one of the slower daveners, who does try to say each word in my mouth in a whisper I can hear. I sometimes fall behind by as much as a page at times, although other times I find myself ahead of the chazan (one who publicly reads (sings) before the minyan).
It usually takes me about an hour to do the entire Shachris service...
I do not know the sources but there are some who say that when time is not available to say the entire siddur, that some prayers can be skipped. I do not know the source for this but I will ask my Rabbi about it.
What is important is that you are making the effort to keep the laws, and you will improve with time. Do not become distracted that you do not do things exactly right at this time, as you desire to make the improvement, you will accomplish it.
muman613:
--- Quote from: LKZ on November 10, 2013, 04:47:47 AM ---On the ask JTF i never got an answer to my question, "why is beastiality listed next to witchcraft [in Torah], [what is the connection], and how do you make teshuva for both [for the purposes of comparing]. Is death the only redemption? If someone did witchcraft, would it be better that he died in this life and worked to correct it in the next one ASAP, or can he do something in the life that he has now to make complete teshuva for it? From what I've heard, it's because it's all about yourself, but I don't really get it.
--- End quote ---
I will look into this question. I do not know off the top of my head...
Israel Chai:
--- Quote from: muman613 on November 10, 2013, 06:36:20 PM ---Shalom LKZ,
I am very impressed with how much you have progressed since we first met. It takes a lot of emmunah and bitachon to motivate a person to make so many changes in their lifestyle. I was talking about this topic with a friend of mine after the Shabbat lunch yesterday. Indeed it is very difficult for some, present company included, to keep Kosher. In my neck of the woods there are no Kosher restaurants, and very few outlets to buy Kosher meat. This is one of the tougher ones to keep for many Jews today. When I first started I first made the effort to not eat milk and cheese products, and I never liked shellfish or pork so those were not difficult for me. Again I would recommend you finding the closest thing to a Jewish community in your area. This is how I can get what I need, I ask my Chabad Rabbi who makes sure that the community can keep the mitzvot.
Regarding keeping concentration during the prayers. I have a couple of comments on this. I think two hours to complete Shachris (the morning prayer) is a little long. I am one who believes that a person should say all the words of the blessing in a way which one can understand, not just muttering the words in rapidfire succession. In the group I daven with I am one of the slower daveners, who does try to say each word in my mouth in a whisper I can hear. I sometimes fall behind by as much as a page at times, although other times I find myself ahead of the chazan (one who publicly reads (sings) before the minyan).
It usually takes me about an hour to do the entire Shachris service...
I do not know the sources but there are some who say that when time is not available to say the entire siddur, that some prayers can be skipped. I do not know the source for this but I will ask my Rabbi about it.
What is important is that you are making the effort to keep the laws, and you will improve with time. Do not become distracted that you do not do things exactly right at this time, as you desire to make the improvement, you will accomplish it.
--- End quote ---
A connection with Hashem is worth more then any physical pleasure I gave up, in this life, and from what I can understand, certainly in the next.
I also have another question. All my taps in my house are one faucet that moves up and to the side, and in order to turn it on, it will be using hot water. I have to wash my hands before prayer. What can I do? Also, do i need the 2 handled cup to do ritual washing, or can i just put my hands under the water three times each?
Ephraim Ben Noach:
--- Quote from: LKZ on November 10, 2013, 08:36:49 PM ---A connection with Hashem is worth more then any physical pleasure I gave up, in this life, and from what I can understand, certainly in the next.
I also have another question. All my taps in my house are one faucet that moves up and to the side, and in order to turn it on, it will be using hot water. I have to wash my hands before prayer. What can I do? Also, do i need the 2 handled cup to do ritual washing, or can i just put my hands under the water three times each?
--- End quote ---
I'm really sorry if you're serious! But come on, really?
You could shut off the hot water valve, ahead of the faucet...
And I don't think if you swing the handle in the cold water direction, the hot water valve will open...
Binyamin Yisrael:
Is the issue for Shabbat? If I wash my hands with hot water on Shabbat, I turn on the left side in the bathroom sink. There are 2 separate switches. On the kitchen it is the same switch so putting it on warm mixes hot and cold and therefore cooks the cold water. So in the kitchen I only use cold water on Shabbat. On Yom Tov it is not an issue because you can even take hot showers on Yom Tov.
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