Caleb hushed the people before Moses and said, “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.”
The verse states: “That Your enemies taunted, Lord, that they have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed” (Psalms 89:52). It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda says: During the generation that the son of David comes, the hall of the assembly of the Sages will be designated for prostitution, and the Galilee will be destroyed, and the Gavlan, i.e., Bashan, will be desolate, and the residents of the border who flee the neighboring gentiles will circulate from city to city and will receive no sympathy. The wisdom of scholars will diminish, and sin-fearing people will be despised. And the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog in its impudence and shamelessness.
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The Laws of the Holiness of a Synagogue (12 Paragraphs):
One may not behave in a lightheaded manner in a synagogue or house of study; for example, laughter, humor, or pointless chatter. One should not eat or drink there nor should one adorn oneself there or walk about there. One should not enter there in summer due to the sun, nor in winter to seek shelter from the rain. Torah scholars and their disciples are permitted to eat and drink there if it is really necessary. (And some say that in a house of study, it is permissible even when it is not a real necessity) (Ran, chapter "B'nai Ha'ir"). No monetary calculations should be made there unless they are for the purpose of a mitzvah; for example, collecting money for charity, or for the redemption of captives. No eulogies should be delivered there unless it is for one of the leaders of the city, for all the people assemble there to eulogize him. If one must enter there for his own needs; for example, to call someone - he should enter and read a little or study something and then call him so that it should not appear as if he has entered for his own needs. And if he doesn't know how to read Torah or study, he should say to one of the children: "read me a verse that you are learning", or he should just delay there for a bit and then leave because sitting there is a mitzvah, as it says "praiseworthy are those who dwell in Your house". (And the amount of time required to sit is the time is takes to walk the width of two doorways.) (According to the opinion of "those that explain" in siman 90 at the end of se'if 20) (Mordechi at the beginning of chapter "HaShut'fin").
One Needs to Have Concentration While Praying, containing 5 s'ifim:
One who prays needs to concentrate on the meaning of the words which one brings forth from one's mouth. One should consider [it] as if the Divine Presence is opposite one, and remove all distracting thoughts from one, until one's thought and intention remain purely about one's prayer. And one should consider [it] as if one were speaking to before a king of flesh and blood, and one were organizing one's words beautifully and concentrating on them so as not to stumble, all the more [one should do so] before the King of kings of kings, the Holy One, who is Blessed, who examines all thoughts. And so did the pious ones and the men of action, who would seclude themselves and concentrate on their prayers until they would transcend [their] corporeality and strengthen [their] mental power, until nearly arriving at the level of prophecy. And if another thought comes to one in the midst of the prayer, one should be silent until the thought is eliminated. And one should think about things that humble the heart and concentrate it on one's Father in Heaven, and not think about things that contain levity ("light-headedness"). Gloss: Before prayer, one should think about the loftiness of God who is raised up and the lowliness of humanity, and remove all human pleasures from one's heart (Ri, beginning of chapter "Ein Om'din" [Berachot Chapter 5] ). And it is forbidden for a person to kiss one's small children in synagogue, in order to fix in one's heart that there is no love like the love of the Omnipresent Who is Blessed (Binyomin Ze'ev siman 163 and Agudah Chapter "Keitzad Mevarchin" [Berachot Chapter 6]).
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