Q: What happens when we cannot get a minyan (ten adult
Jews) to pray?
A: We have the custom, which comes from the Torah, that ten
adult Jews make a minyan. The genesis of this practice is based in
the Torah episode of the spies. Ten of them were called a
“congregation.” From this we learn that ten is the minimum number
needed to form a community.
Yet, at times it is difficult to assemble ten. We
may only achieve nine. In our congregation we accede to counting ten and number
among us, God, as the final member of our minyan. This is based on
the word, v‘aron (and the ark) (vav, aleph, resh, vav, nun) are an
acrostic for the words V'Echad Ro'eh V'eino Nereh, One who sees but cannot be
seen. This obviously refers to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment