{"id":6294,"date":"2010-01-17T07:00:17","date_gmt":"2010-01-17T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=6294"},"modified":"2018-05-24T11:44:33","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T08:44:33","slug":"02-17-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-17-07\/","title":{"rendered":"07 – Praying Silently"},"content":{"rendered":"

We learn many essential halachot<\/i> from the prayer of Chanah, who stood and begged Hashem to remember her and grant her a son. Her prayer was accepted and she merited giving birth to Shmuel the prophet, who was the greatest prophet of Israel after Moshe Rabbeinu. As it says, (1 Samuel 1:13), \u201cChanah spoke upon her heart, only her lips moved, her voice was not heard.\u201d The Chachamim<\/i> teach, \u201c\u2018Spoke upon her heart\u2019 \u2013 from here [we learn] that the person praying must direct his heart (have kavanah<\/i>). \u2018Only her lips moved\u2019 \u2013 from here [we learn] that the person praying must mouth the words. \u2018Her voice was not heard\u2019 \u2013 from here [we learn] that it is prohibited to raise one\u2019s voice while praying\u201d (Berachot<\/i> 31a).<\/p>\n

The primary objective of the Amidah<\/i> prayer is to express the deep aspirations of one\u2019s soul before Hashem, and therefore it is not proper to recite the words aloud and to manifest these desires and needs outwards. On the other hand, one does not fulfill his obligation with thought alone, since every concept must possess a tangible expression in this world. Very often, our inner desires are praiseworthy, but their outer expression is flawed. Therefore, our task is to express our inner good will, in actuality. Hence, even the subtlest mitzvah like prayer requires some sort of expression, by silently articulating the words with one\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n

There are different minhagim<\/i> regarding the proper way to pray silently. According to the majority of poskim<\/i> and a few kabbalists, one reciting the Amidah<\/i> must utter the words in such a way that only he hears his voice but those praying next to him do not (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 101:2; Mishnah Berurah<\/i> 5-6). According to most kabbalists, the Amidah<\/i> is so intense and internal that even one\u2019s own ear should not hear the words; instead, he should only mouth the letters with his lips (Kaf HaChaim<\/i> 101:8). It is proper that each person follows his family\u2019s minhag<\/i>, or conduct himself in the way that he can have the most kavanah<\/i>.<\/p>\n

B\u2019dieved<\/i>, even if a person recites the Amidah<\/i> out loud, he fulfills his obligation. Therefore, if a person who has difficulty concentrating silently is praying alone, he may pray out loud. However, in a congregation, he may not recite the Amidah<\/i> out loud under any circumstances, so that he will not disturb the rest of the people praying around him (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 101:2). Overall, it is better that he prays in a minyan<\/i> silently, even if he will concentrate less, for prayer in a minyan<\/i> is accepted (Mishnah Berurah<\/i> 101:8).[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Regarding the other sections of the prayer service, such as Birkot Keriat Shema<\/i> and Pesukei d\u2019Zimrah<\/i>, which are not as internal and intense as the Amidah<\/i>, all opinions agree that the person praying must hear the words he is reciting. It is even customary to recite the first verse of Keriat Shema<\/i> aloud in order to arouse kavanah<\/i> (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 61:4). Similarly, one must answer Amen<\/i> and Baruch Hu u\u2019varuch Shemo<\/i> out loud, and one must especially try to respond to the Kaddish<\/i> out loud as well (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 56:1).<\/p>\n

\n
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[4]<\/a>.\u00a0On the High Holy Days, when everyone has machzorim<\/i>, whoever has difficulty concentrating silently is permitted to raise his voice slightly, provided that he does not disturb the neighboring congregants (Shulchan Aruch<\/i> 101:3). However, in a place in which the custom is to pray silently even on the High Holy Days, one who raises his voice will most definitely disturb the other people praying. Even in a place in which people pray out loud during those days, it is forbidden to shout out one\u2019s prayer, for one who does so, behaves like the false prophets who think that their gods are hard of hearing and that one must yell in order to be heard (Berachot<\/i> 24b).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We learn many essential halachot from the prayer of Chanah, who stood and begged Hashem to remember her and grant her a son. Her prayer was accepted and she merited giving birth to Shmuel the prophet, who was the greatest prophet of Israel after Moshe Rabbeinu. As it says, (1 Samuel 1:13), \u201cChanah spoke upon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-the-amidah"],"yoast_head":"\n07 - Praying Silently - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-17-07\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"07 - Praying Silently - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We learn many essential halachot from the prayer of Chanah, who stood and begged Hashem to remember her and grant her a son. 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