<b>And God Almighty give you mercy before the man (Gen. 43:14).</b> May it please our master to teach us the number of times a man must pray each day. Thus did our masters teach us: A man must not pray more than three times each day, as instituted by the patriarchs of the world. Abraham established the morning prayer, as it is said: <i>And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord</i> (Gen. 19:27). The word <i>stood</i> refers only to prayer, as is said: <i>Then stood up Phinehas, and prayed</i> (Ps. 106:30). Isaac instituted the afternoon prayer, as it is said: <i>And Isaac went out to meditate in the field</i> (Gen. 24:63). The word <i>meditation</i> is used with reference to prayer, as it is said: <i>A prayer of the afflicted when he fainteth, and poureth out his meditation for the Lord</i> (Ps. 102:1). Jacob introduced the evening prayer, as it is said: <i>And he lighted upon the place</i> (Gen. 28:11). The word <i>vayifgah</i> (“lighted upon”) alludes to prayer, as is said: <i>Therefore, pray not thou … neither make intercession</i> (<i>tifga</i>) (Jer. 7:16). And it is written concerning Daniel: <i>And he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed</i> (Dan. 6:11). However, in this verse, the time of prayer is not specified. It was David who came and set the time for prayer, by saying; <i>Evening, and morning, and at noonday, will I complain and moan, and He hath heard my voice</i> (Ps. 55:18). Therefore a man may not pray more than three times a day.
R. Yohanan declared: Would that men were permitted to spend the entire day at prayer. Antoninus asked our saintly Rabbi: “What if a man should pray every hour?” He replied: “That is forbidden.” “Why?” he queried. “So as not to act irreverently towards the Mighty One,” he responded. But Antoninus, however, would not accept this answer. What did our saintly Rabbi do? He arose early (the next day) and went to him and said: “O master, O ruler.” An hour later he visited him again, and said: “O emperor.” After another hour had passed, he called out: “Greetings, O king.” The king said to him: “Why do you ridicule the emperor?” And he replied: “Let your ears hear what your lips are saying. You are a mere mortal, and yet you say that the man who greets you every hour mocks you; how much more so, then, should the King of Kings, who is not a mere man, not be annoyed every hour.”
R. Yosé the son of Halafta declared: There are times that are appropriate for prayer, as it is said: <i>Let my prayer be unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time</i> (Ps. 69:14). When is an <i>acceptable time</i>? When the congregation prays together.
It is essential that a man rise early to pray, for there is nothing more powerful than prayer. A proof of this is that though at first it was decreed that Moses was not to enter or even see the Holy Land, yet because he prayed for a long time, it is written concerning him: <i>The Lord showed him all the Land</i> (Deut. 34:1). Similarly, because Hezekiah prayed, the decree against him was abrogated.<sup class="footnote-marker">9</sup><i class="footnote">Hezekiah averted a decree of death for his failure to marry and beget children by reciting prayers (see II Kings 20:1–7, Isa. 38:1–8).</i> And Jacob also prayed for his sons when he sent them to Egypt, as it is said:; <i>And God Almighty give you mercy</i> (Gen. 43:14).