Varying the amount of Shacharit said at home (for women)

Question:

Shalom & thank you very much for this wonderful site.

I’m a married woman with children. Sometimes I take upon myself to daven a full Shacharit, which takes me around 45 minutes. I’ve done this for the month of Elul, or simply because I have the time and find it meaningful.

But then my situation changes and I no longer have either the time or the concentration (or both). Just to make things clear, I’m makpid to daven Shacharit as per a woman’s obligation, but as you know, it can take either 15 minutes or 45 minutes, depending on whether you say Ketoret, all the Psukei D’Zimra, Shirat Hayam, and so on.

Is it a problem for a woman to start skipping parts of Shacharit that she was regularly davening before?

If it is a problem, then what should I do?

Thank you.

Answer:

A married woman with children can often find davening shacharis a real challenge, because she has so many things to do in the morning. It is wriiten that although the Chofetz Chaim writes in hilchos tefilla, that a woman is obligated to daven, the daughter of the Chofetz Chaim said that when she was growing up her mother didn’t daven shacharis, because she was busy tending to her children. You should do the best you can. If you don’t have enough time to daven, skip ketoret, and korbanos, and just say brachos, pesukei d’zimra, (if you don’t have enough time even if it just Boruch She’amar, Ashrei and Yishtabach,) then from Yotzer Ohr until after Shemona Esrei. and Aleinu. You can also daven it quickly if you can.

It is not an issue for you to skip what you used to say, and it is not considered a neder because you were not saying it as a good thing to do, but because of your obligation to daven. Therefore, it isn’t like a neder to do something positive, because you did it as part of your obligation.

Sources:

Mishna Berura 106-4, Igros Moshe O:CH 4- 166, Y:D 214-1, Shach ibid 5. Halichos Bas Yisroel Chapter 2 ftnt. 2 quoting Sichos Hachofetz Chaim 1-27, Machazeh Eliyahu 19-14, Ishie Yisreol 7-7 ftnt. 30.