One of the biggest debates in the Ramaz student body questions a pillar of our daily routines: should davening be mandated in school? Many students do not feel connected to the group tefilot and would rather daven at home in a private setting. They feel it should not be mandatory, nor should students receive attendance strikes for missing it or coming late. On the other hand, we attend a Modern Orthodox Day School with the understanding that not only is davening a mandatory part of our day, but it also represents an integral part of our Jewish Day School education.

Going to a yeshiva requires tefillah in a minyan, and, no doubt, there are many advantages to davening in school. When you attend a yeshiva like Ramaz, you are agreeing to abide by the rules of a Modern Orthodox day school, including a daily minyan. It is a way to make a spiritual connection before the rigorous school day begins. Davening in school should enable one to think about one’s connection to God and how you want to live your life as opposed to walking into school and only focusing on the tests and assignments looming ahead. If davening is made to be an enriching experience, then, in theory, this should be the best part of your day. Not only are we connecting to God, but we are also making a connection with the rest of the students in the room. In addition, halakhic conventions dictate that it is better to pray for things in unison than on your own.

In an ideal world, it would be helpful if the teachers can come up with strategies to help engage the students who don’t feel the spiritual connection that others do. Although we must attend davening, it should not be a punitive environment. Teachers should engage students to make their time in davening more pleasant– although davening is mandated, it should not feel that way. If done correctly, more people will enjoy the experience of davening. It is not easy to wake up early, and, in theory, if we didn’t have davening in school, we could come in later. However, this is not how we were taught to live our lives. We start our day by praying to God and we do it in a group.

Davening in Modern Orthodox Yeshiva Day Schools adheres to the standards of an Orthodox minyan. The school has a strict policy about attendance in davening. Students are expected to open their siddurim, stand at the appropriate times, and “pray.” Davening being optional would allow for more religious independence for students. Students could have the option to daven if they wish to do so. Prayer and relating to Hashem are deeply personal matters. Oftentimes, we feel unconnected to the idea of prayer. Therefore, students should not be forced to attend or participate in davening. Last year, in our freshmen davening, boys were required to participate in either leining or davening a certain amount of times each semester. If they failed to do so, they would receive a “W” in their Talmud classes. Leading tefillah for some people is anxiety provoking and uncomfortable. Participation should not be mandatory, and even more so, kids should not be punished with an incomplete for not feeling comfortable enough to daven or read Torah in front of the whole grade. One sophomore boy believes that “attendance shouldn’t be taken until after davening.” Being forced to attend and participate in tefilla can be a turn off to Judaism and specifically, prayer.

There are obvious pros and cons to mandating davening in school. It should be an enriching and enjoyable experience, making it a great way to start your day. Unfortunately, it does not always feel that way to all students. We can hope that if encouraged and set to the right atmosphere one day all can feel connected and engaged to Tefilah in school.