Short Davening

Is it permitted to daven in short pants?

The answer given by the poskim is that if one would come to a meeting with the President of the United States in shorts then one can also daven that way, as that is how he would appear before a "king".

However, even if one WOULD wear shorts I strongly believe that it is a serious breach of respect for tfillah. The pasuk says "ruchi asher alecha udvarai asher samti bi'feecha", this is given as a source that there is not just strict law ["dvarai"] but the SPIRIT of the law is important as well [Ruchi - My Spirit]. When I was young and attended summer camp we all davened in shorts [those who davened at all]. In those days my heroes were not Reb Shimon Shkop and Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz but Li'havdil Reb Lee Mazzilli [bonus points if you know what team he played for and which position! - without outside help] and Reb Bernard King. But today as I have hopefully changed my perspective I see it as a lack of reverence for Hashem, for davening and for a shul.

Where I live some of the kids and even some adults daven this way. I wish I could say something but I have learned that even though one of the 48 ways to acquire Torah is to "Love Rebuke" [ohev es hatochachos] not EVERYBODY is holding there yet and I don't think it would help.

But for those reading, maybe......

L and B

PS - I have good reason to suspect that someone has broken into my blogger and email account, so if I blog something or send you an email that doesn't sound like me - it's not. [Talya Wolfson also posts a dvar Torah as you have seen. That is not a pseudonym for me but a real person. I can't write as well as she does. But besides her nobody should be posting.]