Rivevos Ephraim: On is required to imagine as if the Shechinah is before him the entire day.

רבבות אפרים חלק א סימן א

צריך לחשוב כאילו שכינה כנגדו כל היום

נראה במה שכתב המחבר בסימן צ"ח המתפלל צריך שיכון וכו' ויחשוב כאילו שכינה כנגדו דיש לכון כל היום  אפילו שלא בשעת תפילה דהשכינה כנגדו, והוא ממה שכתב הרמ"א בסימן א' סעיף א' כשישים האדם אל לבו שהמלך הגדול הקב"ה אשר מלא כל הארץ כבודו עומד עליו ורואה במעשיו. הרי דהרמ"א הביא דין זה אפילו שלא בשעת התפילה וכמו שכתב הרמב"ם במורה נבוכים ח"ג פנ"ג (ומ"ש ברמ"א וכן בדרכי משה בשינוי פרק ל"ב ט"ס וצ"ל נ"ב.) כשניעור משנתו בבקר מיד יחשוב בלבו לפני מי הוא עומד. ועיין עוד במורה נבוכים ח"א פי"ט. וא"כ כל היום יחשוב כאילו שכינה כנגדו וזה יועיל שלא יתנהג שלא כהוגן. ועיין בספר אשדת הפסגה לידידי הרב שמואל אברהם מלצר שליט"א בסימן א', ועיין בשו"ת יין הטוב סימן א' להגר"י ניסים שליט"א דהעיר דמגמרא דסנהדרין כ"ב משמע דיחשוב דשכינה כנגדו כל היום ולא רק בשעת תפילה. ועיין מה שביאר הדברים בטוב טעם בשו"ת חמדת צבי להגרמ"ר וולנר שליט"א בסימן ב'. וכתב לבאר דיש ג' מעלות בכונת התפילה. ועיין חיי אדם כלל כ"ב אות י"א בשמו"ע ויעמוד באימה ויראה כי השכינה נגד המתפלל וישים אל לבו אף שבלאו הכי מלא כל הארץ כבודו מ"מ עכשו עומדת לנגדו.

Rivevos Ephraim vol. 1, Orach Chaim chapter 1

On is required to imagine as if the Shechinah is before him the entire day.

It appears from what the Mechaber has written in chapter 98 [of the Shulchan Aruch] that one who prays must have the intent… and imagine as if the divine presence is before him. Nevertheless there is basis throughout the entire day to consider that the divine presence is before him and not only during the times of prayer.  This is what is written by the Rema in chapter 1, seif 1, [of the Shulchan Aruch] that a person should place upon his heart that the Great King, the Holy One blessed be He (whose Glory fills the entire world) stands before him and observes his actions.  Note that the Rema applies this ruling even when it is not during times of prayer, just as was written by the Rambam in the Moreh Nevuchim 3:53 (….) that when one awakes from his sleep in the morning he should immediately contemplate in his heart before Whom he stands, and see further in the Moreh Nevuchim 1:19. Therefore one should consider as if the divine presence stands before him throughout the day, and this will assist him avoid impropriety. And look in the first chapter of Sefer Ashdot HaPisgah of my friend haRav Shmuel Avraham Meltzer shlita, and also in the first chapter of Sh’ut Yayin Tov by haRav haGaon Yitzchak Nissim shlita who stated from the Gemara Sanhedrin 22 that we can infer that one should consider it as if the divine presence stood before him the entire day and not only during prayer.  And see how the matter is clarified with good reasoning in the second chapter of Sh’ut Chemdas Tzvi by haGaon Rav Moshe Dov Vilner shlita, and he writes that there are three levels of preparation for prayer.  And see Chayei Adam: klal 22:11 that during Shemoneh Esrei one stands in fear and awe since the divine presence is before one who prays. One must take it to heart that even though His Glory fills the earth in any case, nevertheless now he is standing before Him.

(Any comments on how to improve this rough translation are welcome)

Olive Seedlings on Emunah Peshuta

After checking out the Blog of someone whose comments I found refreshing I was pleased to come across the following post at Olive Seedlings on Emunah Peshuta:

While we, today, no longer have that degree of direct knowledge, we do have the historical tradition of that experience, which (among other things) provides a rational basis for our belief in God and the Divine origin of the Torah. With that basis, we can then have faith, of the rational kind, that even when we do not understand why God does something, there must be a good reason for it.

It is only in this context that the concept of emuna peshuta - simple faith - comes into play. We trust God because we have simple faith in Him. But before we can trust him, we must first know that He exists. That initial knowledge cannot be based upon "simple faith." 

It touches  upon some of the same issue as I discuss here