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Considering that people are rushing to work (It's not just a current concern; This was a concern alluded in the Gemarah in several places, which became part of the concept of torach tzibbur), why was Shacharit made the longest of the 3 daily prayers?

O.C., among other sources mentions the importance of kavana during prayers. Proper kavana usually means extra time to concentrate on the meaning of the words and make them more meaningful. In actuality, many Shacharit minyanim are rushed so that people can get to their trains, buses, etc. and arrive at work on time. One could, perhaps, argue that if Shacharit were shorter, it may not need to be as rushed. Or, perhaps, Ma'ariv should have been made the longest prayer when people are not rushing to work.

Note: - I've mention my reasoning as to why I think it shouldn't be. However, your answer need not focus on this reason. There was prob. some impetus to making Shacharit the longest of the 3, regardless.

DanF
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    It all depends on how much time you allow for it. In our shul, the first minyan is the slowest. – Avrohom Yitzchok Sep 04 '18 at 15:53
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    During the time of minchah you work, during the time of maariv you risk falling asleep. There's always an excuse. – Kazi bácsi Sep 04 '18 at 15:54
  • @Kazibácsi A somewhat valid comment. But, there's a difference between an "excuse" and a "good reason". I absolutely concur re Mincha and that's most likely why it was made extremely short. – DanF Sep 04 '18 at 15:55
  • @DanF Berakhot starts with my latter point! – Kazi bácsi Sep 04 '18 at 15:57
  • I seem to recall the last page of Nefesh HaChaim Shaar Beis addresses this. – robev Sep 04 '18 at 16:04
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    It's not that much longer. Shacharit and Mincha both have repetitions and Tachanun. Shacharit and Maariv both have Shema services. Those are based in external considerations so to speak. That's about it. Berakhot can (should?) be said at home. Most everything else is 'just' customary. – Double AA Sep 04 '18 at 16:05
  • Note that Ma'ariv is an 'optional' prayer, so in the current schema, you're somewhat only limited to Shacharis and Mincha. Besides, if Shacharis was 5 minutes shorter, it would just start 5 minutes later, as we see in many cases with Monday/Thursday davening. – Salmononius2 Sep 04 '18 at 16:15
  • @Salmononius2 Yes, I know that there is a debate of Ma'ariv being "optional". However, it has been accepted as being "mandatory", which is why I have mentioned it in my reasoning. DoubleAA's comment is very valid within answering this question. But, even with those items, it still makes Shacharit the longest, even by a small amount. It's possible that if these 3 items were the only ones required, there may not have been much choice. – DanF Sep 04 '18 at 16:18
  • @DanF I assumed that by the time Ma'ariv became mandatory, the Tefillos were essentially 'set' so it couldn't be included in your calculations of longest Tefillos. However, I realized that that was purely speculation, and I actually had no idea about when Ma'ariv became mandated, which inspired my new question: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/95196/when-did-maariv-stop-becoming-optional (wich frankly, I was surprised that I couldn't find as a duplicate already) – Salmononius2 Sep 04 '18 at 16:54
  • If Mincha and Maariv are recited together, Shacharis seems to come out to be about the same length as the two of them combined. Maybe that’s a factor? – DonielF Sep 05 '18 at 01:43
  • Part of the question might be "why is the Amidah of shacharit the one that requires היו שוהין?" – rosends Sep 05 '18 at 10:36

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