Chapter 12 – Purity of Body, and Places for Holding Services
12.1) Wear a sash to pray in communities where this is custom.
12.2) Give charity before praying.
12.3) Go to the bathroom before praying or reading the Torah.
12.4) It is better to pray after Shema (three portions of the Holy Scriptures in Deuteronomy and Numbers; one of only two prayers that are specifically commanded in Torah) if you think you might have an accident during the reading, or have to go to the bathroom.
12.5) Wash your hands to the wrists before praying.
12.6) Even if you have washed your hands in the morning, if you are not sure they are clean, wash again before praying.
12.7) Make every effort to join in prayer with the congregation rather than pray alone.
12.8) If you are traveling, you should attempt to join a congregation in prayer if the congregation is four miles or less from your destination. But you must be able to reach the place of prayer before nighttime.
12.9) It is preferable that you pray in a synagogue or in the House of Study, as these are sacred places.
12.10) You should select a regular place of worship and a permanent seat at that place.
12.11) You should rush to go to the synagogue for worship, but linger outside so as not to enter without awe and trembling.
12.12) If you are unable to attend your regular place of worship to pray, gather ten men and have a communal service at home.
12.13) If you are ill or have a weak heart, you may eat earlier at home before going to synagogue to pray.
12.14) Do not stand in the same spot as a minyan (a quorum of ten male adults) to pray immediately after he has prayed, even if you are a minyan.
12.15) Inhabitants of a community may compel one another to build a synagogue or House of Study, and buy books for studying if there are none.
12.1) Wear a sash to pray in communities where this is custom.
12.2) Give charity before praying.
12.3) Go to the bathroom before praying or reading the Torah.
12.4) It is better to pray after Shema (three portions of the Holy Scriptures in Deuteronomy and Numbers; one of only two prayers that are specifically commanded in Torah) if you think you might have an accident during the reading, or have to go to the bathroom.
12.5) Wash your hands to the wrists before praying.
12.6) Even if you have washed your hands in the morning, if you are not sure they are clean, wash again before praying.
12.7) Make every effort to join in prayer with the congregation rather than pray alone.
12.8) If you are traveling, you should attempt to join a congregation in prayer if the congregation is four miles or less from your destination. But you must be able to reach the place of prayer before nighttime.
12.9) It is preferable that you pray in a synagogue or in the House of Study, as these are sacred places.
12.10) You should select a regular place of worship and a permanent seat at that place.
12.11) You should rush to go to the synagogue for worship, but linger outside so as not to enter without awe and trembling.
12.12) If you are unable to attend your regular place of worship to pray, gather ten men and have a communal service at home.
12.13) If you are ill or have a weak heart, you may eat earlier at home before going to synagogue to pray.
12.14) Do not stand in the same spot as a minyan (a quorum of ten male adults) to pray immediately after he has prayed, even if you are a minyan.
12.15) Inhabitants of a community may compel one another to build a synagogue or House of Study, and buy books for studying if there are none.