The speedy davening boys have now left us and returned to their yeshivas,
leaving us practically without a minyan. The adult hazans have gone back
to the usual 40-45 minutes, much to the annoyance of those of us who have
to be at work at 8 A.M.
However, my shul (Beit Mikdash Katan, as one reader would have it) is in
a religious school, and school starts again on Sept. 1, next Sunday.
So our answer is not far off.
Now there will be no dilly dallying. School must begin at 8, and prayers
over by then. Perhaps new speed records will be set. I see nothing wrong
with speedy prayers in order to get to school or work on time. Had B'nei
Yisrael not hurried to get out of Egypt, not even waiting for their bread
to rise, we would never have had Pesach or gotten to the Promised Land, so
in some circumstances hurrying is a Mitzvah.
If one has Kavannah in one's heart, 30 minutes is enough to express it, or
for that matter, so is 30 seconds.
May I take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very Shana Tova,
with much prayer with kavannah, no matter how long they take.
Alon Klamkin
Ashkelon, Israel