Two years ago, I posted about people who overemphasize the /z/ in tizk'ru in Sh'ma. Over Shabbos I was reminded of equally annoying behavior.
On Rosh Chodesh, we all the paragraph of Ya'aleh V'Yavoh to our Amidah. It is important to remind the congregation to say it since (at least in the case of Shacharis and Mincha) failure to add the paragraph means that you have to repeat the entire Amidah. So, I certainly understand the gabbai making an announcement to say it before the Amidah. I can even understand the *first* person in shul who gets to Ya'aleh V'Yavoh saying the words aloud since someone might have forgotten since the announcement. However, I don't understand why the next person has to say it out loud only thirty seconds later. It's not like most of us are going to forget it after the last person *just* reminded us. And then it is repeated again by the next person, and the next, and the next. By Ma'ariv on Friday night, I heard the words "Ya'aleh V'Yavoh" out loud during the Amidah at least a dozen times. What's the point? So that the person can "prove" to everyone in the shul that he said it?
The Amidah is a silent prayer; let's keep it that way.
(Just to be fair: In the shul that I davened in on Saturday, *no one* said it aloud -- but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.)
The Wolf
7 comments:
Interesting. I never noticed this behavior in the O shuls I attend. I do frequently start the amidah by springing towards the ceiling as someone klops on the table with such force I expect to see it lying in two pieces. I do appreciate the first person saying Yaleh V'Yavoh - I still forget it about 50% of the time if the only reminder is a klop. Recently I purchased Pathways to Prayer, which contains the Amidah and commentaries. This seems to help - Yaleh v'yavoh takes up over a page which gives me enough time to remember to say it.
I am with you 100%. In fact, I had never really reflected on how distracting this "custom" was until this weekend, so this post was quite timely for me.
Been my pet peeve for years...even worse the first couple of times we add Mashiv haruach or switch between V'sen Bracha and Vsen Tal Umattar
Dag,
It's a peeve for me too, but not a pet peeve--more like a feral peeve that takes stuff out of the dumpster.
There are some shlichei tzibbur who do Kedushah in sing-along mode. So people sing along. But some people who want to sing along don't want to repeat themselves, so they yell "nigh nigh nigh" so loud that it drowns out the shaliach. That drowning out of the shaliach is my pet peeve.
one possible theory
many people, after completing amida, cannot recall if they did indeed say yaale veyavo or not.
therefore when they get up to it, they say it out loud, resulting in raising the ire of the rest of the congregation who will approach the individual and chastise him.
this will leave the person with no doubt that he did indeed say yaale veyavo
The Chazon Ish was vehemently opposed to people doing that in the middle of shmoneh esrei. I think I saw this in a biography on him called Ma'seh Ish. I don't remember the exact citation. I believe he held it is to be considered like talking to someone in the middle of your amidah which is a hefsek.
The only next annoying thing is when it's Rosh Chodesh on Shabbat, or some other occasion when you don't say Tzedchacha, there's always a competition who'll be the first person to yell out, "Yisgadel!"
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