individual and the prayer of a community? For when a community
prays, their prayer enters before the Holy One--blessed be He!--and He
is not particular to regard and criticise their works and their
intentions and thoughts, but receives their prayers immediately. But
when an individual prays, the Holy One--blessed be He!--regards and
scrutinizes his heart, whether it be devout and whether he be a
righteous man. Therefore, one should always pray with the community, and
this is why the text (Ps. cvii. 17) ends with the words, "And not
despise their prayer." Although there are some of the community whose
prayers, on account of their evil deeds, deserve to be despised, He,
nevertheless, does not despise their prayer.

_Kitzur Sh'lk_, fol. 51, col. 1.

A man should study less on Friday, that he may occupy himself with the
preparation for the Sabbath. And accordingly we find in the Gemara that
some of the great and esteemed sages occupied themselves on that day in
preparing what was needed for the Sabbath. Therefore, though one may
have many servants to wait upon him, it is a great merit personally to
prepare for the wants of the Sabbath in order thus to honor it; and let
him not think it derogatory to his own honor to honor the Sabbath thus,
for it is his honor to honor the Sabbath. It is written of H'A'ree of
blessed memory, that he was in the habit of sweeping away the cobwebs in
his house (in honor of the Sabbath), and it is well known to the
initiated what a wonderful mystery it is to abolish the unclean spirits
from the house, "And this is enough for him that understands."

Ibid., fol. 61, col. 1.

One should trim his finger-nails every Friday, never on Thursday,
otherwise the nails will commence growing on the following Sabbath. He
should pare the nails of the left hand first, beginning at the fourth
finger and ending with the thumb; and then he should pare the nails of
the right hand, beginning with the thumb and ending with the fourth
finger; he should not vary the following order: 4th, 2d, 5th, 3d, 1st of
the left hand; then the 1st, 3d, 5th, 2d, 4th of the right hand. Never
pare two (contiguous) fingers one after the other, for it is dangerous,
and it also impairs the memory. The reason and mystery about the order
for paring the nails are well known to the expert.

_Kitzur Sh'lh._

In the Zohar it is explained that the benefit of immersion on Friday
amounts to the restoration of the soul to her proper place, f