מַאי דִּכְתִיב ״וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לְךָ ה׳ עֵת רָצוֹן״. אֵימָתַי עֵת רָצוֹן — בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהַצִּבּוּר מִתְפַּלְּלִין.
What is the meaning of that which is written: “But as for me, let my prayer be unto You, Lord, in a time of favor; O God, in the abundance of Your mercy, answer me with the truth of Your salvation” (Psalms 69:14)? It appears that the individual is praying that his prayers will coincide with a special time of Divine favor. When is a time of favor? It is at the time when the congregation is praying. It is beneficial to pray together with the congregation, for God does not fail to respond to the entreaties of the congregation.
(1) A psalm of Asaph.
God is present in the congregation of Adonai.
Yehuda Halevi, The Kuzari, 1140 Spain
Praying with a congregation has many advantages. In the first place, a community will never pray for something that is harmful to the individual, while sometimes an individual will ask for things that can be harmful to others. That is why it is taught that a person should recite prayers with a congregation. A person who prays only for themself is like one who goes alone into one’s house and refuses to help others in the work of the community.... It is the duty of each person to bear hardships for the sake of the common good of all.
Mordechai Kaplan, 1881-1983
When we worship in public we know our life is part of a larger life, a wave of an ocean of being—this first-hand experience of that larger life which is God.
Sh'mot Rabbah 2:5
A man once asked Rabbi Y’hoshua ben Korchah, “Why did God choose to speak to Moses through a common thorn bush? Why not out of a great tree or from a noteworthy place?” The rabbi answered, “To teach us that there is no place, common or unusual, where God does not dwell!”
Moses Ibn Ezra, 1070-1138
O God, where shall we find You?
We see You in the starry field.
We see You in the harvest yield.
In every breath, in every sound.
An echo of Your presence is found.
The blade of grass, the simple flower.
Bear witness to Your wonderful power.
Ruth F Brin
In Praise: Genesis 1, 2
Hail the hand that scattered space with stars,
Wrapped whirling world in bright blue blanket, air.
Made worlds within worlds, elements in earth.
Souls within skins, every one a teeming universe.
Every tree a system of semantics, and pushed
Beyond probability to place consciousness
On this cooling crust of burning rock.
Oh praise that hand, mind, heart, soul, power, or force
That so inclosed, separated, limited planets, trees, humans
Yet breaks all bounds and borders
To lavish on us light, love, life
This trembling glory.
That there is none but Me.
I am the LORD and there is none else, (7) I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe—
I the LORD do all these things.
