Prayer Skills: Mabit: Standing

The 23rd of Nisan is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Moshe (ben Yosef) MiTrani, the Mabit. One must stand while involved in both prayer and sacrifice. The reason for this is because one of the most visible differences between man and beast is the fact that man stands erect on 2 feet. The soul of the animals descends to the earth, and it therefore walks on all four, looking at the place of its origin. But man’s soul is hewn out from under the Throne of Glory, and he therefore stands erect and looks upward. (Rabbi Moshe of Trani; Beit Elokim, Tefillah 7)