I hope everyone is doing well during these days-the mid-winter time of little sunshine; wind-chill factors, often gray, dreary mornings; and warming up the car before driving off…
It is worthwhile to know where and how to navigate our siddur (prayer book) if one happens to come into a Shabbat Shacharit davening (Saturday morning service) late and wants to be able to “catch up” with the rest of the congregation.
One needs to be aware that the ultimate goal is to recite the silent Amidah together with the congregation. With that in mind, and depending on how late one joins the davening, I suggest that the following prayers be included as a minimum line-up of prayers to be recited, knowing that one wants to recite the Amidah with the congregation.
The Birkot HaShachar-the Morning Blessings-should be said first, followed by the Baruch Sheamar prayer, followed by Ashrei. Depending on the degree of impunctuality of the participant, one should try to include as many of the “Hallelukah” paragraphs as possible.
On Shabbat, from Shochein Ad all the way through the Amidah, this portion of the davening should be said in order without omitting portions of that part of the service.
If at all possible, one should endeavor to say the Shema Yisrael together with the congregation as well. In this light, if one should be visiting another congregation after having davened earlier elsewhere, when the Shema is being said by the congregation, one should say, at least, the line “Shema Yisrael” (and “Baruch Shem Kavod”) with everyone else. Most opinions would suggest that the full first paragraph: the “V’ahavta” also be said with the congregation. It should be no surprise to many that there are also opinions that the ENTIRE Shema Yisrael be said together with the congregation as well. Similarly, if one visits a congregation and the Aleinu is being said, one should also recite the Aleinu at that time. This is true for all versions of Kaddish, the Kedusha (in the repetition of the Amidah), Barchu, and the opportunity to say “Amein” to all brachot (blessings) being said in the shul. In addition, a visitor to the shul should reply to the Torah blessings being recited by an oleh la-Torah, a person with an aliyah reciting the blessings over the Torah.
Typically, one should try to avoid “catching up” on one’s davening during the Torah reading. This is considered a “disrespect” to the Torah and, if possible, should not be done. In between aliyot, during a Mishaberach, this restriction can be relaxed. While “catching up” during the Haftarah is also viewed as something as a disrespectful, it does not carry the same weight as doing so during actual Torah reading.
Naturally, arriving in shul on time would alleviate all of these circumstances but, as we know, from time to time, circumstances might prevent us from being as punctual as we would like. With these guidelines, one can feel comfortable in doing what is necessary to fulfill the prayer obligations and ensure that the davening is as meaningful, important, and even moving experience.
With Torah blessings,
Rabbi Dr. Yaacov Dvorin