הלכה על משלי 14:28

It is a great mitzvah to pray in a synagogue or in a Beis Midrash¹⁹House of Study. because these are sacred places. Even if it happens that there is no minyan,²⁰Ten people which form the quorum necessary for congregational prayer. Nevertheless it is better to pray in a house with a minyan rather than in a synagogue without a minyan. it is nevertheless a mitzvah to pray there even when praying alone, because these are holy places. If you usually study in a Beis Midrash you should also pray there, with ten people, even though in your city there is also a synagogue. However, if you are not accustomed to study in a Beis Midrash, you should pray in a synagogue where there is a multitude of people, for "In the multitude of people is the glory of the king."²¹Proverbs 14:28. If there are two synagogues in your city, you should go to the more distant one, in order to earn a reward for the added steps. Said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: "A person should always awaken early and go to a synagogue in order to be counted among the first ten people, because even if a hundred come after him, he receives a reward equal to all of them."²²Maseches Berachos 47b. Our Sages, of blessed memory, have also said: "Whoever goes morning and evening to the synagogue or to the Beis Midrash in the proper time, and remains there the proper amount of time, and conducts himself there with proper sanctity, will merit long life, as it is written: 'Fortunate is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My door.'²³Proverbs 8:34. And it is written following this: 'For whoever finds Me finds life.'"²⁴Proverbs 8:35.,²⁵Maseches Berachos 8a.

A similar query was addressed to Rabbi Moses Feinstein by a mohel who sought permission to decline an invitation to officiate at a circumcision on Shabbat. The mohel explained that he did not wish to witness desecration of the Sabbath. Rabbi Feinstein, Iggrot Mosheh, Yoreh De'ah, I, no. 156, agrees that the sentiments of the mohel are well founded. Indeed, the Gemara, Yoma 70a, states that merely being present at the performance of a mizvah is meritorious because "in the multitude of people is the king's glory" (Pro. 14:28). By extension, the more individuals present at the commission of a transgression, the greater the dishonor to the King. Hence, being present when a transgression occurs is itself an infraction. However, the mizvah of circumcision constitutes an overriding obligation and cannot be suspended or postponed because of transgression on the part of the nonobservant. Accordingly, Rabbi Feinstein directed the mohel to perform the circumcision but to depart immediately thereafter.

The mitzvah done to perfection is to hear the Megillah in the synagogue, where there is a large number of people,⁶Mishnah Berurah quotes Chayei Adam who wrote that if you pray all year with a specific minyan, you need not leave it to go to a synagogue where there are more people. Mishnah Berurah comments that Chayei Adam’s ruling applies only when the minyan is held in a Beis Midrash, but if the minyan is held in a private home, it would seem that you should leave and go to the synagogue to hear the Megillah. (Ibid 687:7) for "In the multitude of people is the splendor of the King" (Proverbs 14:28). You should at least make an effort to hear it read with a minyan. If it is impossible to have it read with a minyan, each individual should read it from a valid Megillah, and recite the berachos before the reading. If one of them knows how to read it and the others do not, then the one who knows it should read and the others should listen and fulfill their obligation in this manner, even though they are not a minyan. However, the berachah after the Megillah reading should be said only when there is a minyan. However, without mentioning God's name and Kingship [i.e., Elokeinu melech ha'olam], even an individual may recite the berachah.