[Avodah] ADHD and Havinenu

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Fri Mar 8 10:13:21 PST 2013


So, I read a blog where the author admits that he wasn't davening
regularly anymore, and so decided to switch to a shortened "Siddur" that
starts with Birkhos Shema and uses Havinenu -- "because it's better than
not davening at all."

This is at best a "halakhah ve'ein morin kein", since we don't want to
lower general standards. And I'm not sure the tactic would even work --
would the person really end up davening more often if Shacharis was less
burdensome? Or is it psychologically more like the hurdle of getting
into the car, but once you're leaving the house, it's no big deal to
run multiple errands?

But I was wondering if he would be yotzei at all. Okay, lekhatchilah it
can't be advised, perhaps not in general, perhaps not even one-on-one
to people like this blogger, but bedi'eved?

And then I wondered. Apparently, we now have a veritable epidemic of
people with ADD or ADHD, who every day are afraid that they couldn't
possibly say the full tefilah with kavanah. Would they be yotz'im?

The SA (OC 110:1) writes
    Beshe'as hadechaq, such as
	1- when he is on the way, or
	2- he is standing in a where he is preocupied (tarud) and is
	   worried that
	    a- they will stop him, or
	    b- that he will be unable to to daven a long tefillah with
	       kavanah
    one should daven after the first 3 berakhos "Haveineinu"...
    and he does not say "Havineinu" in the rainy season [because "vesein
    tal umatar is THAT important, see Taz s"q 1, and MB s"q 5] or on
    motza"sh or [motza'ei] Yom Tov [Taz - havdalah].

That might also be 1, 2, 3 rather than 1, 2a, 2b. I laid it out the way
others appear to be reading the se'if, that there are two basic matirim.
I saw it as three.

The MB s"q 1 backs off from this, emphasizing "she'as hadechaq" rather
than the examples. Because Abayei was against saying Havineinu.

So, what about the guy whose attention span peters out at 10
min. Havenineu - lekhat-chilah because ".. ve'echad hamam'it ubilvad
sheyechavein libo", yotzei bedi'eved, or not even that because there is
no she'as hadechaq?

Thoughts?

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Brains to the lazy
micha at aishdas.org        are like a torch to the blind --
http://www.aishdas.org   a useless burden.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                 - Bechinas HaOlam


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