Minyan

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.

MiSheberach

Q: Why do we always use the Hebrew name of the mother of a Jewish person who is ill when praying for their recovery?
A: There are several levels to this question.
1. It is assumed that the mother has the greatest compassion and concern for the welfare of her children.
2. We have no doubts about the identity of the mother since she gave birth to the child and that relationship is more certain than that of the father.
3. The anger of a mother is usually temporary, passing.  If the Holy One is angry at the afflicted person, we pray that God's anger will soon dissipate like the mother's.