Tehillim vs. Tefilla

I often find that in Ma'ayanot davening, students (including myself) will be talking with their neighbors, taking naps, study for tests, etc. During Tehillim at the end of davening, however, all of a sudden everybody gives the utmost respect towards the prayers. Mrs. Billet often even makes a special announcement to remind everyone to have special respect for these Tehillim-type prayers. So, whats the deal with this? Is Tehillim more important than actual tefillah? Why does everyone make the biggest deal out of Tehillim? I don't deny its general importance, but it's not even part of our mandatory prayers. I'm confused.
-Rikki Novetsky

A: In all my encounters with people of all ages who have trouble with focusing on Tefila, I have found that what they do connect to is davening for people. I have found in my own davening that when I focus on specific needs of others, I feel that my prayers are stronger, less given to rote, and more likely to “rise to the kiseh hakavod”, so to speak. I keep lists (hence the imitations of me at Shabbatons carrying a siddur overflowing with papers) of people who need a refuah shelaimah, singles who need to find a marriage partner, couples who need to conceive a child, families who need parnasah, who need help with a wayward child, and more, because I feel having this focus (actually throughout my tefila) gives my tefilot a sense of purpose and direction. I also have observed that when it is pointed out to them, people are more willing and find it easier to focus briefly on these Tehillim and supplications (as opposed to asking them to focus on the whole long shacharit), so at least a few minutes of the time allocated for tefila can be spent meaningfully. In the same vein, I find that when it is pointed out to people that we do so little for chayalei tzahal except pray for them, those people who are being appealed to actually take it to heart, stand for the tefila for chayalei tzahal and for the tefila for shlom hamedinah, and concentrate for the minute or two that it takes. Suggesting to people that they concentrate during the whole amidah, or say the whole kri’at shema carefully and with kavanah the way it is supposed to be said falls on deaf ears because it is too huge a project and too multi-focused for the indifferent davener to feel that this is a goal she can undertake and succeed at.

Although I clearly feel that it is important and it is the halakha to say the whole tefila each day, Rambam and others tell us that the d’oraitah commandment of tefila can be fulfilled simply by saying a few words of praise, thanks and request in our own words. Simply put, if you were to say “G-d you are my best friend, thanks for the gifts you’ve given me and please help me get through this day” you have fulfilled the minimal Torah obligation of Avodah shebalev. When we say Tehillim for a sick person, we are actually saying words of praise in the text of the Tehillim itself (lehallel means praise!), we surely are making a request for a refuah shelaimah for the sick person(s) and inevitably, we are reflective about thanking G-d for our own good health, or that of our family as we contrast our own ability to pray for someone else with the neediness of the person(s) we are praying for. So I emphasize saying the Tehillim at school because in my feelings of “kol Yisrael areivim zeh” I am happy if even for those few short minutes, the whole tzibbur stands together as one voice and appeals to Hashem for the real people in our lives who need His help and who need our compassion, caring and understanding, and who need the tefilot we are prepared to offer on their behalf.

As a strong believer in acharei hape’ulot nimshachim halevavot, that our hearts can be led and transformed by our actions, I truly think that by sharing the religious experience each day of praying for the health of others, we experience a taste of davening that may actually encourage our hearts to feel that tefila is a more compelling experience than we otherwise thought. I know that when I have attended Tehillim “rallies” in my shul when a member of the community is gravely ill, it is an exceptional experience to stand several hundred strong and focused on a refuah shelaima for the person.

So Tehillim is clearly not more important than tefila. Tehillim share characteristics with many parts of tefila, but tefila, particularly the amidah, is also different from Tehillim. Certainly, Tehillim is an important source for so many of the passages that constitute the praise portions are incorporated into tefila. What you have read above is my personal common sense reasoning for emphasizing Tehillim in the hope that a few minutes will be devoted to tefila by all, and in the sincere desire to try to help others through out prayers when this is the only way we have to demonstrate our caring, our solidarity, our love and our compassion for others.