“And you shall have a spade, aside from your other implements…you shall cover your excrement. For the L‑rd your G‑d walks in the midst of your camp…” (Devarim 23:14-15)
And you shall have a spade, aside from your other implements…you shall cover your excrement. For the L‑rd your G‑d walks in the midst of your camp (Devarim 23:14-15)
In this week’s parsha, the Torah tells us that when one goes to war, there are Halachos which maintain certain standards of morality and hygiene. One of those halachos refers to ensuring that there is no excrement in close proximity to the military camp. This halacha also applies today when one prays. In fact, the gemora (Brachos 22) tells us that if one prayed in a place where there was excrement, his prayers are negated, and he must pray again. It is difficult to understand how an entire prayer can be negated simply because of the existence of a disgusting item near the one who prayed. Is this an appropriate punishment for someone simply because he was not conscientious about his surroundings?
I have seen those who comment on the exact terminology of the Gemora (Brochos 22b), which says that since he has sinned, he must pray again. The gemora does not say that the prayer was invalid, rather, the sin is great enough to force him to have to pray again. In other words, it could be that while the prayer itself is a valid prayer, the person himself has not fulfilled his obligation to pray, due to his infraction.
I would like to suggest an idea to explain this concept, that though the prayer is a valid prayer, the person has not fulfilled his obligation.
I think that it is self-understood that when one tries to pray, one should make sure that the environment around him is appropriate for one standing before a king. One who is lax about his surroundings has made an infraction that is great enough to force him to pray again – not because the words of his prayer were lacking, but because he did not show the proper honor for one standing in front of the king. However, if he was in a location in which there was no reason to be concerned that there should be excrement around, and later excrement was found, he has nevertheless fulfilled his obligation to pray because he was not negligent in preparing a proper place to pray in front of the king. This is similar to the idea found in the Biur Halacha (91 – ד”ה יצא), which says that if one doesn’t have a shirt to wear, it is better not to daven Shmonei Esrei at all (even though if he violated this, he would still have fulfilled the mitzva of davening.).
I believe the lesson that we must learn from this is that even when performing mitzvos in our own homes, the atmosphere should be one which is appropriate for performing an act which G-d commanded us. I once had the opportunity to offer a great Rabbi the ability to perform a mitzva, however the circumstances did not permit this mitzvah to be performed in an honorable place. He respectfully declined, stating that he would rather lose out on performing the mitzva, than do it in an inappropriate location!
May we always be merit to fulfill the words found in the Ribon Haolamim said before Kiddush:
ונהיה מכבדים בעיניך
Hashem, please help us act honorably (while performing mitzvos Shabbos) in Your eyes.
