1) You should have a set place to daven (מקום קבוע) every day (specifically שמונה עשרה) ⬇️🪑

- Source: Avraham was ״וישכם אברהם אל המקום״

2) Within 4 אמות of your מקום קבוע is still your מקום, and you don’t have to move someone sitting there 4️⃣💪

3) Sitting in your מקום should never come at the expense of someone else as it is only a הידור מצוה 🚫😔

1)The שולחן ערוך and משנה ברורה say that you should not Daven in front of a picture, even if your eyes are closed, because it can cause a distraction. (This is why most Shuls don’t have pictures) 🖼️👀🚫

2)You also cannot Daven in front of a mirror, for the same reason as stated above. 🪞🙅

3)The פסקי תשובה says that לכתחילה you should not Daven in front of a window, especially if you can see your full reflection, if you can just see your shadow, then בדיעבד it’s okay. 🪟👤❌

1)Before שמונה עשרה , there’s a מנהג to take 3 steps forward. Step with right foot first to show ה׳ our זריזות to do speak with him. 👣🥳

2)The 3 steps back isn’t הלכה, rather it came about that if you didn’t have enough room to take 3 steps forward, you’d take 3 steps back first.

3)Some people say ה׳ שפתי תפתח while taking 3 steps forward, but it’s actually the beginning of שמונה עשרה, so you should be careful to take 3 steps forward and then say ה׳ שפתי תפתח. 🚫🖐🏻

1)It is very important to Daven שמונה עשרה with a מנין because ה׳ DOES NOT REJECT the תפילות of the רבים 🙅🚫🫂

2)It is extremely preferable to Daven in a בית מדרש or בית כנסת even when davening ביחידות , however if you have a מנין in the office, מנין would take precedent over davening in a shul alone. 🏠🕍

3)If you need to daven alone , still Daven at the same time as your local מנין. R’ Moshe Feinstein ZT”L says even if you have better כוונה when davening alone, it is still more important to Daven with a מנין. ⏰🙇‍♂️

1)Whenever it says תפילה in the שולחן ערוך or ש״ס, it generally refers to שמונה עשרה 🧐🫨

2) The earliest time בדיעבד to daven שמונה עשרה is לכתחילה ;עלות השחר the best זמן to daven is with נץ החמה. 🤷‍♂️ 🥱

3) The זמן of תפילה goes until the 4th hour of the day, opposed to the 3rd hour when it comes to שמע.

- בדיעבד you can daven until חצות

- The גר״א and מגן אברהם have their respective זמנים when it comes to תפילה, just like when it comes to שמע⏰3️⃣

1) You should never interrupt the first פסוק of קריאת שמע ❌🗣️

2) During the rest of קריאת שמע you can interrupt for certain things such as: the אמןs of קדיש (until דאמירן בעלמא), קדושה (say only קדוש קדוש and ברוך כבוד), ברכו, first 3 words of מודים דרבנן, etc. ✅🙏

3) If you had to interrupt an ענין/idea to answer אמן then go back to repeat that Pasuk from the start🔁

1)When you say the words על מזוזות ביתך ובשעריך, and you forget if you just finished the paragraph of ואהבת or והיה אם שמוע (since they both include that פסוק), What is the הלכה?🤔🤨

2)If you’re davening alone, you have to assume you just finished ואהבת, so you should start from והיה אם שמוע, but if you catch yourself saying the word למען, you should pick up from למען ירבו (in והיה), because that’s what you were probably up to. 🙇‍♂️🤷‍♂️

3)When davening with a minyan, you can assume that the ציבור is up to והיה, because for example you’ll realize the חזן finished אהבה רבה around 2 minutes ago, so you should pick up from למען ירבו. 🎤🫡🗣️

1)Need proper כוונה for the first פסוק of קריאת שמע, you must go back and repeat it, as it is מעכב to your חיוב of קריאת שמע.🔂🙇‍♂️

2) What is “proper כוונה”? The שולחן ערוך explains

When you say the words “שמע ישראל”, you should have in mind that you’re announcing to כלל ישראל and that they should listen to what you’re about to say.

When you say יקוק, you have to have in mind not just its pronunciation, but the way it’s spelled and what the letters represent

‎ה׳ היה הווה ויהיה״” - Hashem will be, Hashem is, and Hashem was.

When you say אלקנו, You should have in mind that ה׳ is in control of everything and can do anything

When you say יקוק, you have the same כוונה as the first time.

And when you say אחד, you have to have in mind that ה׳ is the one and only real existence ☝️1️⃣

1)When one davens without a מנין, he says א-ל מלך נאמן, when one davens with a מנין, he does not say א-ל מלך נאמן Why?

2) The reason is because if you count the words of שמע, you’ll count 245 words. You want to make sure to say 248 words כנגד the 248 limbs in the body 💪🦵. So that’s why when you don’t have a מנין, you’ll add א-ל מלך נאמן to reach 248.

3) What about with a מנין? We’re worried that if one says א-ל מלך נאמן, it’ll be a הפסיק between אהבה רבה and קריאת שמע, so that’s why the חזן adds ה׳ אלוקכם אמת in addition to saying it to himself to allow us to reach 248. 🧔‍♂️🎤

1) You NEED to have כוונה when you are saying קריאת שמע ❌🥱

‎2) שולחן ערוך says that you have to be יוצא בשפתיו וישמיע לאוזניו = words have to leave your lips (even a whisper) + have to be able to hear them 🗣️➕👂

- If you can’t hear them you are still יוצא as long as pronounce them

3) Need to be מדקדק (careful) with the letters and their pronunciation ⚠️