Five things prevent a person from praying, even though the time [for prayer] has arrived: 1) the purification of one’s hands; 2) the covering of nakedness; 3) the cleanliness of the place of prayer; 4) things that might bother and distract one; and 5) the proper intention of one’s heart.
- Cleanliness: One must wash one’s hands in water until the wrist and then pray.
- Covering of one’s nakedness: Even if one covers his/her genitalia one may not pray until one’s heartis covered.
- The place of prayer must be clean: One should not pray in a place of filth, a bathhouse, a latrine or garbage heap. Or in a place that is not presumed to be clean until it is checked.
- Things that might bother and distract: A person who must relieve him/herself should not pray. If a person can restrain themselves for the length of time that it takes to walk seventy-two minutes, the prayer is valid. One should not pray until he/she has checked him/herself very well, rid oneself of phlegm and mucus and any [other] bothersome thing.
- Proper intention: Any prayer that is not [recited] with proper intention (at least the meaning of the words) is not prayer. If one prays without proper intention, he/she must repeat his prayers with proper intention. One who is in a confused or troubled state may not pray until he/she composes himself. One should clear one’s mind from all thoughts and envision oneself standing before the Divine Presence. Therefore, one must sit a short while before praying in order to focus one’s attention and then pray in a pleasant and supplicatory fashion. One should not pray as one carrying a burden who throws it off and walks away. Therefore, one must sit a short while after praying, and then withdraw. The pious ones of the previous generations would wait an hour before praying and an hour after praying. They would [also] extend their prayers for an hour.
- A person who is drunk should not pray, because he/she cannot have proper intention. Similarly, one should not stand to pray in the midst of laughter or irreverent behavior, nor in the midst of a conversation, argument or anger, but rather in the midst of words of Torah that do not require deep concentration.
Rabbi David Bassous 