An Hour after Tefillah
“The Chasidim Harishonim waited an hour before as well as an hour after their tefillah” (Brachos 32b).
The purpose of their tarrying after tefillah was in order to take stock of their tefillah; they searched, firstly, for faults in their tefillah, for lacks of enthusiasm, or of application of mind. But more importantly, they focused on what they had gained from their tefillah, ideas and emotions they had experienced, as well as different ways they had resolved to change themselves for the better; for an entire hour they contemplated these gains in order to hold onto them and crystalize them until they could remain permanently embedded in their hearts and in their minds forever.
