Rabbi Shimon Said: "Be Meticulous In Reading The Shema And In Prayer. When You Pray, Do Not Make Your Prayer Routine, But Rather [Entreaty For] Mercy And Supplication Before G-D, As It Is Stated:[44] 'For He Is Gracious And Compassionate, Slow To Anger And Abounding In Loving Kindness, And Relenting Of The Evil Decree.' And Do Not Consider Yourself Wicked In Your Self-Estimation."

Rabbi Shimon Said

Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel shared a commonalty with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; about both it could be said: "his occupation was Torah study."[45]

When a person involves himself in the study of Torah in such an all-encompassing manner, he is freed from the obligation of reciting the Shema each day.[46] Therefore Rabbi Shimon instructs his students to be meticulous in reading the Shema and in prayer. Although he himself would not recite the Shema daily, he advised his students not to follow his example, since they were not on his level.

Similarly, Rabbi Shimon did not pray daily; he and all others whose "occupation was Torah study" would pray from time to time.[47] Therefore he tells his colleagues - those who, like himself, would pray from time to time - When you do pray, "do not make your prayer routine." Do not view prayer as a burden, but rather as "entreaty for mercy and supplication before G-d."

(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XVII, p. 356)

   

Notes:

44. (Back to text) Yoel 2:13.

45. (Back to text) An allusion to this is found in the fact that the mishnah refers to Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel without mentioning his father's name. Generally, when the name Rabbi Shimon is mentioned without any further elucidation, the reference is to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (see Rashi, Shavuos 2b). By referring to Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel in this manner, the mishnah points to a connection with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Moreover, we find interpretations (Seder HaDoros, Midrash David) which indeed attribute this teaching to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

46. (Back to text) This follows the ruling of the Jerusalem Talmud (Berachos 1:2). The Babylonian Talmud (Shabbos 11a), by contrast, maintains that even a person who studies the Torah with total dedication should interrupt his studies to recite the Shema.

    It is possible to resolve the difference between the two rulings. The Babylonian Talmud speaks of a person on the level of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai before he underwent his 13-year ordeal, hiding from the Romans in a cave. The Jerusalem Talmud, by contrast, speaks of a person whose commitment to Torah study is as all-encompassing as was Rabbi Shimon's after that experience.

47. (Back to text) Rabbeinu Yonah (in his notes to the Rif, Berachos 8a) states that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai would pray once every year. See also the conclusion of the tractate of Rosh HaShanah with regard to Rabbi Yehudah's manner of prayer.