11 Nov PARSHAS CHAYEI SARAH: DAVENING OUT LOUD

And Yitzchak went out
to meditate (daven) in
the field towards the
evening. Bereishis
24:63
Although the common
practice among the
Jewish people is to daven Shemoneh Esrei in
a very quiet voice and that is what we are all
used to, there are times when this may not feel
sufficient for one’s needs and a person may
want to express his tefillos out loud. Whether
it is during the Yamim Noraim, a time of
struggle or sorrow, or when one is dealing
with illness, for example, it may feel preferable
— or even necessary — to daven in a loud
voice or even to shout one’s tefillos. Is this
considered an appropriate behavior? Is it
permitted? Or must one always daven quietly?
The Sources for Quiet and Loud Tefillah
There are three different passages in the
Gemara that state that a person should daven
quietly, and each one provides a different
reason.
First, the Gemara (Berachos 31a) derives from
the description of the tefillah of Chana that
when davening, a person should move his lips,
but his voice should not be heard by others.
Second, the Gemara (Berachos 24b) teaches
that one who davens aloud is regarded as
lacking emunah, and that one who raises his
voice is considered akin to a false prophet. On
a basic level, this means that one who feels the
need to raise his voice demonstrates that he
doesn’t fully believe that Hashem can hear
even those tefillos that are recited quietly, and
one who screams his tefillos thinks that
Hashem needs help hearing. Alternatively,
one who shouts his tefillos is putting on a
show, just as the false neviim did in their
confrontation with Eliyahu HaNavi at Har
HaKarmel. However, this Gemara qualifies
the statement that if a person needs to raise his
voice in order to concentrate properly, he may
do so. Nevertheless, even that allowance is
only when davening alone, so as not to disturb
anyone else.
Finally, the Gemara (Sotah 32b) explains that
the rule against reciting tefillos out loud was
instituted to avoid embarrassing sinners. We
are concerned that one who is in need of
forgiveness will confess his aveiros in his
prayers, which, if done aloud, could lead to his
being forced to suffer public humiliation.
Despite the Gemara’s clear ruling that tefillah
must be done quietly, there are two major
sources in the rishonim that permit and even
encourage the raising of one’s voice during
davening.
The Ramban (Shemos 13:16) writes that we
learn from the pasuk in Yonah (3:8) that when
one needs to call out to Hashem, he must do so
in a loud voice. Similarly, the Gilyon to

Tosafos (Rosh Hashanah 17b s.v. Shalosh),
states that when one cries out to Hashem, the
middah of “chanun” indicates that Hashem
will respond to such a loud cry with mercy,
even if the individual is not deserving.
It would thus seem that sometimes crying out
to Hashem in a loud voice is not only
permissible, but perhaps even more proper,
when done under the right circumstances.
The most straightforward resolution to these
sources is that the three passages in the
Gemara all specifically refer to Shemoneh
Esrei, which everyone agrees must be recited
quietly. However, other spontaneous, personal
tefillos can, and sometimes should, be said
aloud and even shouted.
Exceptions and Details
Although it is clear from numerous sources
that a person should recite Shemoneh Esrei
quietly, it is less clear how quiet that should
be. The Tur (O.C. 101) rules that he must
speak loudly enough that he can actually hear
his own voice, but not so loudly that others
can hear it. The Beis Yosef explains that this is
the opinion of the Rashba (Berachos 31a s.v.
VeKolah). However, the Yerushalmi suggests
that the Tosefta (Berachos 3:9) seems to
disagree with this, as it understands from the
words of the Navi to mean that Chana, who is
held up as a role model of silent prayer, was
davening so quietly that she couldn’t hear her
own voice.
The Beis Yosef says that this is also the
opinion of the Zohar (Vayakhel 202a). Indeed,
Rav Chaim Vital (Shaar HaKavanos Drush
Bircas HaShachar) records that the Arizal,
based on the Zohar, was careful never to raise
his voice during any part of tefillah, even
Pesukei D’Zimra, except on Shabbos.
Practically, the Shulchan Aruch (101:2) rules
that one should be able to hear his own voice
when davening. The Mishna Berura (101:5)
adds that there are those who understand that
the Zohar actually agrees with the Rashba and
the Tur, that one should be able to hear his
voice while davening, and the Zohar only
meant that b’dieved one who did not hear his
voice is yoztei.
As previously mentioned, the Gemara permits
a person when davening alone to raise his
voice in order to concentrate properly on the
tefillah. The Mishna Berura (101:8) cites the
Taz, who says that even one who can have a
basic kavanah while davening quietly may
daven aloud in order to improve his
concentration. The Bei’ur Halacha (s.v.
DeAsi) cites the Perisha, who holds that if one
cannot have kavanah at all without davening
out loud, theoretically he should daven at
home in order to be able to daven out loud and
focus. However, he adds that we generally
don’t advise this since it will lead to many
people not attending minyan, which will

ultimately weaken the tzibbur.
The Tur (O.C. 101) also cites a Yerushlami
that allows a person davening at home to raise
his voice to teach those in his home how to
daven properly. The Tur understands this
based on a story recounted in the Yerushalmi
where Rabbi Yonah davened out loud until the
members of his household were able to daven.
However, the Beis Yosef suggests that the
Yerushalmi may not mean that purposefully
doing this is permissible, but simply that
Rabbi Yonah’s family heard him davening out
loud so frequently (for his own kavanah) that
eventually they learned how to daven from
hearing him.
It may also be that one is permitted to daven
out loud when confident that in doing so he
would be assisting, rather than disturbing
others. Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik’s practice
was to fulfill the shofar blowing of Musaf
during the silent Shemoneh Esrei on Rosh
Hashanah (as is done in many communities).
However, he required that everyone be at the
appropriate point in their davening when the
shofar was blown, in order to synchronize the
tekios with the berachos of Malchiyos,
Zichronos, and Shofros. Therefore, he
davened the Musaf Shemoneh Esrei a little
louder than usual, in order to help the kehillah
maintain a similar pace in their davening.
Yamim Noraim
The Tur and Beis Yosef (ibid.) write that there
is an important exception to this general rule.
During the Yamim Noraim it is considered
appropriate to daven in such a manner that
one’s voice can be heard. In fact, the Teshuvos
Siach Yitzchak (48) quotes from the Shelah
HaKadosh that the entire misunderstanding
between Chana and Eli HaKohen was based
on this halacha. Eli saw that Chana was
davening quietly, which was unusual because
she was there on Rosh Hashanah, during
which time the minhag was to daven out loud.
He therefore mistook her for a drunk. She
responded that she was davening quietly
because her tefillos were centered around a
personal issue, not one that relates to the
Yamim Noraim, and were therefore not
subject to the custom to daven out loud on
Rosh Hashanah.
On the other hand, the Shaarei Teshuvah
(582:8) writes that, based on the Zohar, one
should be even more careful to daven quietly
on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Since
this is the appropriate way to daven in general,
one should be extra careful to do so during the
Yamim Noraim. Similarly, the Piskei Teshuvos
(582, footnote 47) quotes from the Riminover
that even the Tur and the Beis Yosef did not
actually hold that one should daven out loud
on the Yamim Noraim. They were trying to
defend and provide a reason for the practice of
many Jews who daven out loud. Essentially,
they were being melamed zechus on a difficult

practice, but they certainly wouldn’t
recommend doing so l’chatchilah. However,
the simple reading of the Tur and Beis Yosef
seems to indicate that they do in fact permit,
and perhaps even encourage, davening aloud
at this time of year.
The Beis Yosef offers two possible
explanations as to why davening out loud
might be preferable during the Yamim Noraim.
First, the Piskei Tosafos (Rosh Hashanah 72)
points out that the Shemoneh Esrei on the
Yamim Noraim is different from the one that
most people are used to, and thus it is helpful
to daven slightly louder to make sure a person
doesn’t make a mistake. Second, since this is a
time of teshuvah, it is normal for people to cry
loudly during these periods of tefillah. While
this tends to disturb others during the rest of
the year, the Yamim Noraim davening is
beloved to people and they pay extra attention
and will not get confused. If the primary
concern with davening loudly is that it will be
disruptive to others, during a time of year that
it will be inspiring to others, we would permit
it.
Indeed, the Siach Yitzchak (cited previously)
lists many sources showing that during an eis
tzarah, one’s tefillah should be done out loud.
Similarly, the Yehuda Yaaleh (1, O.C. 183)
cites the opening Rambam in Hilchos Taanis
to show that it is a mitzvas aseh to cry out
during a time of great need. However, the
Darchei Moshe (101, 583:9) favorably quotes
the opinion of the Mahari Veil, who cautions
that even if one is permitted to raise his voice
to the point that it is audible, he is not
permitted to scream, since such a practice
would resemble those of the nevi’im of the
Baal.
The Beis Yosef himself even extends the
permission to daven aloud on Yamim Noraim
to include Viduy as well. Although the Gemara
forbids davening out loud to avoid publicly
humiliating someone who is confessing his
sins, the Beis Yosef clarifies that this concern
is only relevant on regular days when most
people are not reciting Viduy, making a
personal confession more noticeable. On Yom
Kippur, however, this is not much of a
concern, since everyone is confessing their
sins and reciting the same, standardized text of
Viduy.