Note 112 — II. OUR DUTIES. (continued 3)

It is a matter of course that indecorous conduct, unbecoming attitudes, and the like cannot harmonise with true devotion. With regard to language, form, time, and place of prayer nothing was fixed originally; all was regulated by the momentary impulse of the heart of the worshipper. But people who considered themselves incapable of giving adequate expression to their devotional feelings borrowed the words of those more capable than themselves and followed their leading. Such a course was also necessary for common and united devotion. When a certain prayer or a certain order of Service was frequently repeated at the same season and in the same place, the form, the time, and the place of prayer became to a certain degree fixed by custom—minhag—and that which had in the beginning been voluntary (‏רשות‎) was subsequently made law or duty (‏מצוה‎ or ‏חובה‎).112