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Prayer Posture, Preparations, Time and Place
#11
This is explained in a Chassidic Discourse by the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, titled "Basi Legani" (5710).
The following is quoted from the translation published by Kehot, ch. 5, with some explanations from our director added in brackets:

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...we find a prophet referred to as a madman, as in the verse, "Why did this madman come?"
For during the revelation of [open] prophecy a person has to divest himself of materiality; he has to step beyond his understanding and emotions, and to attain a level of self-nullification beyond all limits of reason.

For this reason too, [some] prophets [who had not yet developed a deeply internallized level of self-nullification] would remove their clothing [involuntarily!] during prophetic revelation.
Thus we find, "Shaul also removed his clothes and prophesied."
[I Samuel 19:24 - "And he [Saul] too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel, and he fell naked all that day and all the night. Therefore, they say, 'Is Saul also among the prophets?'" These prophets who stripped naked during their prophecy were beginning-level students in Samuel's academy for the training of prophets.]

The need for clothes first came about as a result of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Before the sin "[Adam and his wife] were naked, and they were not ashamed."
After the sin, man's feelings [hitherto instinctively good] comprised both good and evil -- indeed, this is the core of their sin -- as is implied in a later verse, "They knew that they were naked." At this point they first felt the need for clothes.

The ultimate source for the experience of feelings comprising both good and evil is one's awareness of his own intellect and emotions.
Prophecy thus demands "divesting oneself of one's clothes," i.e., divesting oneself of this awareness of one's own intellect and emotions, and nullifying one's own faculties and sensibilities.

Thus Rambam writes in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah [Laws of the Foundations of Torah]:
"It is one of the fundamental tenets of the [Torah] faith to know that G-d grants prophecy to men [and women]. Prophecy will rest only on a man [or woman] who is wise and courageous, who overcomes his[/her] desires, and whose desires never overcome him[/her] in any matter."

Such conduct, which entails a deviation that transcends the accepted norms of reason and understanding, is called folly [in the realm of holiness, as opposed to folly in the realm of unholiness].
-----end-----

Regarding prophets who were on a more advanced level of internalized self-nullification, we find that when G-dliness was openly revealed to them, they didn't involuntarily remove their clothing, but they lost voluntary control of their bodies. For example, some were unable to remaining standing:

Ezekiel 3:23 - "So I arose and went out to the plain and behold, there the glory of the L-rd was standing, like the glory that I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face."

Moses our teacher was on the highest level of internallized self-nulification of any prophet who ever lived, or who ever will live. When receiving the direct Divine speech, he was able to maintain his normal concious sensibility, so that at any time, without any preparation, he could speak directly with G-d "face to face," meaning in a state of full composure, like a person who is speaking with his friend.
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#12
I have been continuously trying to improve my observance of the Noahide laws for some time now. Recently I have started praying at work on arriving in the morning as well instead of just praying at home. I only do this when other colleagues are not around though.

All my colleagues are secular or other religions and would 'friendly mock' my praying if they caught me, worse so because they knew me before becoming observant.

What is my stance on praying around secular friends and strangers. Is it right to do so? Even if they mock me? Or do I just stick to praying at home alone?
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#13
> What is my stance on praying around secular friends and strangers...?

That is up to your own personal decision. It's certainly not forbidden.

Here is precept #3 in Chapter 1 of the entire "Code of Jewish Law," and it applies to Noahides as well as to Jews -
[from Ethics of the Fathers 5:23] [Rabbi] Judah, the son of Tema, said: "Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and strong as a lion, to do the will of your Father Who is in Heaven." "Bold as a leopard" means that a person should not be ashamed to worship G-d, blessed be He, in the presence of people who laugh at him..."
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#14
Does this apply only to audible prayers or prayer in your thoughts? For instance when I'm in the bathroom or shower I think a lot and by habit I often spontaneously direct questions or thoughts or thanks towards G-d. When I do this in the bathroom I normally catch myself and apologize to G-d and try to retain the thought for a more appropriate time. This used to not be so as I was unaware of the prohibition and in some ways it helped me become aware of G-d's continual presence even when naked. I was wondering if the prohibition included non-audible spontaneous prayer in a bathroom?

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#15
Yes, when you are in the bathroom, either clothed or unclothed, that restriction applies for either mental or verbal prayer, and you should "catch yourself" and "try to retain the thought for a more appropriate time." Prayer in a bathroom should be reserved only for an emergency, G-d forbid, and even then it should be mental, not verbal. If you want to apologize to G-d while you're in a bathroom, that is also a prayer, so that thought should also be retained for a more appropriate time. As I wrote above in Post #43:

Director Michael Wrote:Adam and Chava (Eve) were allowed to stand naked in prayer only before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Gen. 2:25)

After the evil inclination had entered into them, it was henceforth shameful for them to stand naked before G-d (Gen. 3:10), and therefore G-d taught them to wear clothing. (Gen. 3:21)
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#16
Thank you. Why didn't I think of that? An apology is a prayer.

If one has a habit of spontaneously directing thoughts, questions and thanks to G-d mentally should one attempt to refrain from thinking about religious topics or topics that are likely to evoke such a response while in the bathroom or just attempt to "catch" oneself and refrain in that manner?

Also, I find it difficult, given the awareness of G-d's constant presence, to refrain from directing a thought to G-d in the bathroom. Is it advisable to imagine Him having His back turned away from you while you're in the bathroom?

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#17
(12-07-2011, 06:40 PM)brandynpublic Wrote: If one has a habit of spontaneously directing thoughts, questions and thanks to G-d mentally should one attempt to refrain from thinking about religious topics or topics that are likely to evoke such a response while in the bathroom or just attempt to "catch" oneself and refrain in that manner?

Yes, it's better to be on the safe side, and refrain from thinking about those topics while in the bathroom.

(12-07-2011, 06:40 PM)brandynpublic Wrote: Also, I find it difficult, given the awareness of G-d's constant presence, to refrain from directing a thought to G-d in the bathroom. Is it advisable to imagine Him having His back turned away from you while you're in the bathroom?

No, that wouldn't be advised. If you have that difficulty, it's better to redirect your thoughts to something else. For example, you could think about sports, or the stock market, or your next shopping list, or what clothes you're going to wear tomorrow, etc. etc. etc.
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#18
Hello everyone,

I'm new here. I was wondering, is there any problem with a Noahide woman praying or reading scriptures while she has her menstrual period?
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#19
No, there is no problem at all with that, neither for a Noahide woman nor for a Jewish woman.
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