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And here's today's email (in its entirety, except for today's special Shabbos-related mitzvah):
Hilchos Boruch Hu U'voruch Shemo & Amein
I'd really like to get the word out about this as much as possible. Phil Chernofsky, in his weekly Torah Tidbits (available at the OU website; neither Phil nor the OU has any knowledge of, let alone association with, my blog), has a column called "Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading." Highly recommended. The Amein Chatufah is a pet peeve of his, as well. He's elaborated on the problem - many times, the "perpetrator(s)" of the infraction will be so loud as to drown out the Amein, so that other can't properly answer Amein at all, thus (potentially) creating a b'racha l'vatalah! He mentions that this problem is especially bad for Yom Tov davening. Think about it - how often do we hear "Hamevarech es amo Yisra'el BaSha-main". Not right.
And not restricted to Yom Tov, either. I heard it yesterday, in a nowhere-near-full-shul, on Tish'a B'Av! (Many) People don't listen to the bracha; they seem to just answer amein out of reflex. I'm no rabbi (and no expert on davening or kavanah), but that certainly doesn't seem right to me.
Hilchos Boruch Hu U'voruch Shemo & Amein
1017. Amein Chatufah - literally a "snatched Amein". One must be careful to pronounce the letter Aleph of Amein with the correct vowel which is a "Kamatz". Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 124:8
1018. Another understanding of Amein Chatufah is that one must not answer Amein until the person making the beracha completes the last word of the beracha. Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 124:8
1018. Another understanding of Amein Chatufah is that one must not answer Amein until the person making the beracha completes the last word of the beracha. Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 124:8
I'd really like to get the word out about this as much as possible. Phil Chernofsky, in his weekly Torah Tidbits (available at the OU website; neither Phil nor the OU has any knowledge of, let alone association with, my blog), has a column called "Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading." Highly recommended. The Amein Chatufah is a pet peeve of his, as well. He's elaborated on the problem - many times, the "perpetrator(s)" of the infraction will be so loud as to drown out the Amein, so that other can't properly answer Amein at all, thus (potentially) creating a b'racha l'vatalah! He mentions that this problem is especially bad for Yom Tov davening. Think about it - how often do we hear "Hamevarech es amo Yisra'el BaSha-main". Not right.
And not restricted to Yom Tov, either. I heard it yesterday, in a nowhere-near-full-shul, on Tish'a B'Av! (Many) People don't listen to the bracha; they seem to just answer amein out of reflex. I'm no rabbi (and no expert on davening or kavanah), but that certainly doesn't seem right to me.
