Can you fulfill the obligation to pray if you can't hear the leader?

Question

The gemorah in Sukkah daf 51b explains that, in the enormous shul in Alexandria, in order for everyone to know when to answer Amen when the shliach tzibbur (prayer leader, aka sha"tz) was davening, flags would be raised since not everyone could hear the sha"tz.

But if not everyone could hear, how could they have fulfilled davening? They have to hear whatever brachos were being said in order to be "yotzee" and not just answer Amen.

For reference on the halachos of being yotzee by the Shliach Tzibbur, see Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 124 Sif 1 and Mishneh Brurah there (Sif-Katan 2).

In the gemara's time I have no doubt that this method of prayer (which is now practiced only in certain communities) was still widely being done.

Answer 1

Rabbi Moshe Heinemann of Baltimore uses this as proof that one does not need to hear the words in order to be yotzei; one merely needs to be present. I heard this from him in a lecture.

Answer 2

See Remah 124:11, who says that as long as one knows which blessing is being answered, even if he does not hear the blessing at all he can say Amen. The same thing is for Kaddish, Kedusha, and Baruchu.

(I always assumed that the flag system is Alexandria was a complex flag signaling system that not only told the congregation when to answer, but also what blessing they were answering. Similar to the international maritime signal flag system)

The Mishna Berura (:44) points out that the Remah is not arguing with the Mechaber here, but explaining.

See also Shulchan Aruch HaRav 124:11 for different opinions of the conditions needed to answer Amen when you don't hear the blessing (mainly focusing on whether the rest of the congregation has already said Amen or not).

One of the footnotes points to Shulchan Aruch HaRav 57:2, where it is stated that one can only answer Amen to a Baruchu he didn't hear if there were 9 people who did hear it and answer (he points to a Magen Avraham that I didn't look up). This would have been the case in Alexandria as well. At least some of the congregation would be close enough to hear the Shaliach Tzibbur.

Answer 3

After some investigation I think I've found what could be a reasonable answer in light of the kasha that one could have on the gemorah. How is it they were "yotzee" davening if they couldn't hear the shliach tzibbur?

Look into the Yerushalmi Sukkah Perek 4 Halacha 1 (in my print this comes out on daf 23a a little down from the top.) The version over there the case was that they were leining from the Torah and someone would then alert the tzibbur when to answer Amen on the brachos of Krias HaTorah (according to the Yerushalmi we weren't even talking about Shemoneh Esrei.) Now if one looks into the Karbon Ha'Aeeh you will see this pashut. He does add "v'ee nami" on the brachos of the shliach tzibbur. However I think he is perhaps forced to add this pashut in only because of the traditional understanding of the bavli. However I want to say that without the Yerushalmi you can't begin to understand what the case was exactly. Is there any proof there from the Bavli that it's speaking about Shemoneh Esrei davka? It just uses the word "brachos" However clear in the words of the Yerushalmi that it's talking about Bircas HaTorah.

From the Rosh in Brachos Perek 7 Siman 17 one could say not like this and that pashut in the gemorah was that it's speaking about Shemoneh Esrei. However he also says there that perhaps the gemorah was speaking about when they were already yotzee davening.

So between Yerushalmi and the Rosh there seems what to be in order to answer this kasha on the gemorah.