Nahmanide
1194-1270 13th century
Prayer begins in the way one speaks to others the rest of the day.
Who was Nahmanide?
A physician and rabbi of Girona, he was the master of Jewish Catalonia in his century, consulted from one end of the peninsula to the other. In 1263 the king of Aragon compelled him to dispute the faith in public at Barcelona; he answered so well that he had afterwards to leave the country. He made his way to the Holy Land, found in Jerusalem a community all but erased, and sent his son, left behind in Catalonia, a one-page letter that has been copied ever since.
In their own words
Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. Make it your habit to speak all your words gently, to every person and at every time; by this you will be kept from anger, which is an evil trait and makes men sin.
Let all your words be gentle, your head bowed, your eyes turned down toward the earth and your heart turned upward.
In all your words, your deeds and your thoughts, at every moment, hold in your heart that you are standing before the Holy One, blessed be He, and that His Presence is upon you, for His glory fills the world.
At the time of prayer, put away from your heart all the affairs of the world, make your heart ready before the Omnipresent, blessed be He, purify your thoughts, and weigh each word before it leaves your mouth.