{"id":33728,"date":"2013-10-09T19:42:42","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T19:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=33728"},"modified":"2013-10-21T15:54:40","modified_gmt":"2013-10-21T15:54:40","slug":"youre-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/","title":{"rendered":"You\u2019re in My Seat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Someone<\/a>The following is a true story that actually happened to me, told without embellishment:<\/p>\n

I was once a guest in a particular shul. Shabbos morning, shul was called for 9:00 AM. I showed up 9:00 AM and there was nobody there except for me and the rabbi, so I sat down in what seemed like a good seat. (It was on the aisle.)<\/p>\n

Maybe ten minutes later, the next minyan participant arrived. He walked straight to me. Did he say \u201cWelcome\u201d or \u201cGood Shabbos?\u201d No, he said, \u201cYou\u2019re in my seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked around incredulously at the empty room, full of equally functioning chairs. I shrugged and moved to the next row. Believe it or not, the exact same thing happened with the next person\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

It took until 10:00 for a minyan to actually form. I was instructed to move five times between the minyan\u2019s scheduled starting time and it finally getting underway.<\/p>\n

The reason for this music-free game of musical chairs is the concept of \u201cmakom kavua,\u201d a person\u2019s designated place in his synagogue.<\/p>\n

Where does the idea of a makom kavua come from? The Talmud in Brachos (6a) attributes it to Avraham. We all know that Avraham is credited with establishing the morning prayer service, as per Genesis 19:27, \u201cAnd Avraham got up early in the morning\u2026\u201d The end of that verse teaches us the concept of a makom kavua: \u201c\u2026to the place where he had stood before Hashem.\u201d We see from this that Avraham was careful to daven in the same place.<\/p>\n

Makom kavua is an important concept. The Talmud in Brachos continues that if one is careful to daven in a permanently-designated location, then when he dies, people will say of him, \u201cSuch a humble person! Such a pious person! He was one of the disciples of our father Avraham!\u201d But how far should we carry things?<\/p>\n

The Rishonim disagree about whether or not a makom kavua applies within a shul. Let\u2019s face it, the entire synagogue is a place designated for prayer! But let\u2019s accept that one should have a fixed location even within a shul. The Shulchan Aruch rules as much: \u201cA person should establish a place for his prayers\u201d (Orach Chaim 90:19). But\u2026<\/p>\n

The Magen Avraham (OC 90:34) writes on this that \u201cwithin four cubits (about six feet) is considered being in the same space; it\u2019s impossible to be exact.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aruch\u00a0HaShulchan (OC 90:23) says that idea of a makom kavua is to daven regularly in the same shul and not to move around constantly. Within the shul, it\u2019s advisable to daven in the same general area, not on the east side today and the south side tomorrow, but he also specifies the impossibility of always securing the exact same seat.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s return to the Shulchan Aruch quoted above (OC 90:19). That sentence begins, \u201cA person should establish a place for his prayers.\u201d It continues, \u201cthat he should not change.\u201d It concludes, \u201cunless necessary.\u201d Ergo, one may sit somewhere else if necessary. What would render it necessary? Uh\u2026 how about if someone else is already sitting there? (And remember, sitting anywhere within a six-foot radius is still considered in the same place, anyway! All the authorities say that one cannot be exact in this matter!)<\/p>\n

We learn the concept of a makom kavua from Avraham but that\u2019s not what Avraham is best known for. His primary characteristic was chesed (kindness). He is remembered for hachnosas orchim (hospitality). Do you really think Avraham would chase a visitor out of his seat? When you bark at a guest that they\u2019re in your spot, they don\u2019t think you\u2019re humble or pious or a disciple of our father Avraham. They think you\u2019re a jerk.<\/p>\n

So, cool it, folks. Sitting in your usual seat is great but it doesn\u2019t override being nice to people. Sitting near your usual place still fulfills the halacha. If you really want a particular seat, come on time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A quick look into the idea of Makom Kavua.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":33731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nYou\u2019re in My Seat - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"You\u2019re in My Seat - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A quick look into the idea of Makom Kavua.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-10-09T19:42:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-10-21T15:54:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000020646372XSmall.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"347\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"346\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Jack Abramowitz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Jack Abramowitz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/\",\"name\":\"You\u2019re in My Seat - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000020646372XSmall.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-09T19:42:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-10-21T15:54:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/50551cbad585e4b2a31b4b0227e06c1c\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/youre-seat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000020646372XSmall.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000020646372XSmall.jpg\",\"width\":347,\"height\":346},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/50551cbad585e4b2a31b4b0227e06c1c\",\"name\":\"Rabbi Jack Abramowitz\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Rabbi-Jack-Abramowitz_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Rabbi-Jack-Abramowitz_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Rabbi Jack Abramowitz\"},\"description\":\"Rabbi Jack Abramowitz is Torah Content Editor at the Orthodox Union. 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