Paying extra for prayer at its proper time
Question
A question that arose from the study of the Mishnah Berurah:
A person wants to travel abroad, and his flight is before sunrise (netz ha-chamah), and he cannot pray Shacharit with a minyan, nor with proper kavanah (concentration). He has the option of another flight after sunrise, but at a slightly higher price. Is he obligated to postpone his flight to after sunrise? And another question: if it is more convenient for him to depart before sunrise, for example, at that time the airport is less crowded, may he choose a flight for that time, or must he wait until after sunrise? For in the Mishnah Berurah (siman 58, se’if 3) it appears that only one who is an ones (under compulsion) may recite earlier than sunrise (and it is explained there in the Mishnah Berurah that this is not limited to one who is literally under absolute duress. Ones — and the same applies when there is a burial in the city, or a brit milah, or on Hoshana Rabbah when there are many supplications and one needs to prepare himself — he may recite from when dawn has risen).
Answer
Shalom u’vracha
This is considered a case of ones (compulsion), and there is no need to pay extra for this.
