Question:
I have an early morning work shift. Is it better to daven shacharis
alone before I go, or to daven afterwards with a minyan?
Answer:
The Shulchan Aruch (OC 89:3) writes that one mustn’t work or travel before
one has davened. This applies from alos hashachar, dawn, when one
can begin davening. As one cannot daven before alos hashachar,
one may work then. The Mishna Berura (89:37) writes that if one is going to
work within half an hour of alos hashachar, they should say birchos
hashachar beforehand (See Rema 89:3; Biur Halacha 70:5).
The Mishna Berura
(70:23) writes that if one begins working before alos hashachar they
may continue working until afterwards providing that they ensure that they say shema
and daven before it’s too late.
The Mishna
Berura (89:20) and R’ Ephraim Greenblatt (Rivevos Ephraim 1:66) write that one
must daven before one goes to work even if that means that now they have
to daven without a minyan whereas later they would be able to daven properly
with one.
In
conclusion, if one is going to work before alos hashachar, they should
say birchos hashachar first and daven later.
One who goes
to work after alos hashachar must daven first, even if that means
foregoing the minyan. Ideally, they should still go to shul after
work to hear kaddish, etc.
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