296. Before Shacharis; Before Mincha

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 6:4

One is not permitted to eat anything or to do any work from dawn until after he has davened shacharis. One may also not visit a friend before he has davened shacharis, nor depart on a journey before doing so. One may eat or do work before davening musaf or mincha, though one should not have a full meal close to the time for mincha.

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 6:5

Once the time for mincha gedolah has arrived, one may not go to the bathhouse. He should not even take a “shvitz” (sauna or steambath) before davening out of the concern that he may become faint and end up not davening. Similarly, one should not even eat a snack out of concern that he may continue eating and not daven. For the same reason, one should not judge a legal matter, even if it’s only to render the final judgment, out of concern that the verdict be disputed and the case will be drawn out, causing him to miss davening. One may likewise not go to the barber - not even for a trim - until he has davened, out of concern that the scissors may break. One may not enter a tannery close to the time for mincha before he has davened out of concern that he may see a deficiency in the work which he will feel the need to address, causing him to miss davening. If one has begun doing one of these things, he need not stop when the time for mincha arrives; one may finish his business and then daven mincha.