Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
Our parashah describes Benei Yisrael, when they were slaves in Mitzrayim, crying out loud to God.
וַנִּצְעַק אֶל ה' אֱלֹקֵי אֲבֹתֵינוּ
וַיִּשְׁמַע ה' אֶת קֹלֵנוּ
וַיַּרְא אֶת עָנְיֵנוּ וְאֶת עֲמָלֵנוּ וְאֶת לַחֲצֵנוּ.
We cried out to the God of our ancestors.
God heard our voices
and saw our suffering, our struggle, and our oppression
Hannah had a different style of prayer.
וְחַנָּה הִיא מְדַבֶּרֶת עַל לִבָּהּ רַק שְׂפָתֶיהָ נָּעוֹת וְקוֹלָהּ לֹא יִשָּׁמֵע…
Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard…
So what’s better, loud prayer like Benei Yisrael’s, or quiet prayer like Hannah’s?
The Gemara (Bavli Berakhot 31a) says that, in general, it’s best to pray quietly like Hannah did. This is why we say the Amidah silently. We praise God and we ask God to meet our personal needs — without anyone else listening in. The Gemara also warns that praying out loud could even be a sign of lack of faith; people who pray this way might be showing that they don’t believe God can hear their silent prayers, even though God can! (Bavli Berakhot 24b).
There are a number of halakhot about when and how to pray silently, and when and how to pray out loud.
- When you say the Amidah, it’s good to mouth the words just loud enough for you to hear them, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear (Rambam, Laws of Tefillah 5:9).
- If saying the words of the Amidah out loud helps you focus and have כַּוָּנָה (kavvanah, appropriate intention), then you can say it out loud as long as no one else is around. The general rule is that it’s better to pray in silence with less kavannah than to disturb your friend’s tefillah by praying out loud and distracting them (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 101:2). Your kavannah shouldn’t come at the expense of someone else’s!
- In Shaharit, Pesukei Dezimra and the blessings for Keriat Shema are a great time to pray out loud or in song. Feel free to belt these out! (Mishnah Berurah 101:7)
-------------------
-------------------
