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Feet touching (רגל אחת)


The placing of the feet in Rabbinic Tradition is assumed to be close together during the recital of the principal prayer. The Talmud Berakhot 10a says:

R. Jose son of R. Hanina also said in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob: When one prays, he should place his feet in proper position, as it says, And their feet were straight feet. (Ezekiel 1:7).

This of course is not the only way to understand this verse. The Islamic haddith have this same custom. The ahaddith say:

Hadhrat Umar (ra) narrates that Rasulullah (saw) said: “Straighten the sufoof, line up the shoulders, close the gaps and become tender in the hands of your brothers. Do not leave any gaps for shaitaan. Whoever joins the saff, Allah will join him. And whoever cuts the saff Allah will cut him.” (Bukhari & Abu Dawood)

While it is Sunni custom that the worshipers “‘should stand apart (with his feet) so that there is a distance of four fingers in between them”, there are some Salafi who have the custom that the feet should touch. Unlike Rabbinic custom, the Salafi do not say the feet should not touch each other, rather the foot of one person should touch the foot of the person next to him, so as to facilitate “joining shoulder to shoulder”.

This concept, by coincidence, is quoted by the prophet Zephania in connection with the true Bnei Noah “For then will I turn clear language to the Nations, that they may all call upon the name of G-d, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder.” Zephania 3:9

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