עברית
Prayer and Blessings
What is preferable, a workers’ minyan or praying at sunrise alone?
Question
What is preferable for me: to pray with a minyan at 5:00 a.m. (a workers’ minyan), or to pray at sunrise alone during work hours? I understand there is a dispute. I need a clear answer as to what is preferable. Thank you very much
Answer
Greetings,
Indeed, there is a dispute among the poskim whether it is preferable to pray with a minyan before sunrise or alone after sunrise.
And the view of Maran HaGaon Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, in Yabia Omer, part 9 (Orach Chaim, siman 108, letter 45), is that one should choose to pray alone after sunrise rather than with a minyan before sunrise.
There is also a way to satisfy all opinions - by being careful to recite the Shemoneh Esrei precisely at sunrise itself - and then, according to all opinions, prayer at sunrise in private is preferable to prayer with a congregation before sunrise (see Piskei Teshuvot, siman 89, letter 5).
With blessings,
Hillel Meirs
