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If someone is praying an amidah in a loud voice that disturbs the rest of the congregation are any of the following permitted:

  • by someone (a) praying his own amidah or (b) who has finished

    • to hush the other person with his voice

  • (c) by someone praying his own amidah

    • to pronounce the sibilants in his amidah loudly until the person quietens.
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  • You cant do anything if one is in there own amidah it would invalidate it and you would have to start over.
    – Qoheleth
    Aug 28, 2012 at 21:24
  • I've always wanted to answer Amen to their brachot in a loud voice. (I do, of course, do so in an undertone, but that isn't the focus of this question.)
    – Double AA ♦
    Aug 28, 2012 at 22:10
  • @Qoheleth Yes. Interesting though how is this different to the child?, [Mishna Berura 104 (1) [1]](torah.org/advanced/mishna-berura/S104.html) “One must not interrupt - Even a non-verbal gesture is forbidden, except in the case of a crying child, where it is permissible to gesture to him with his hands so that the child will quiet down and not disturb one's prayer. If such gestures don't work, one should distance oneself from the child, and not speak to him.”
    – Avrohom Yitzchok
    Aug 29, 2012 at 20:19
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    @DoubleAA I've always wanted to answer Amen to their brachot in a loud voice. (I do, of course, do so in an undertone, but that isn't the focus of this question.) There's actually a machlokes haposkim about whether one should answer "Amein" in this case. Riv'vos Efrayim 1:81 holds that you should answer, but he adds that Rav Yisrael Porat felt the need in this case to emphasize the general halacha that one should be careful not to answer louder than the person who recited the blessing (Shulchan Aruch OC 124:12).
    – Fred
    Jul 7, 2016 at 21:06
  • @Fred That's an argument about volume, not if it should be said, no?
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 7, 2016 at 21:07

2 Answers 2

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You shouldn't try to "out do" the loud davener since that would just disturb even more people.

Re how to correct the person. This is the category of rebuke that is mentioned in Lev 19:17. The Rabbis and the sources spend considerable time examining how to properly rebuke a person.

Some ideas in reference to your situation:

  1. I'd do it privately with the person afterwards. No one should be able to hear or realize that you're talking with the person about the issue.
  2. Get to know the person first--do you know his name, his circumstances?
  3. Be very gentle--"did you realize that you were saying the silent Amidah loudly and it might have disturbed others' prayer?"
  4. One of your goals should be to continue the relationship after the rebuke. In other words if your rebuke leaves the two of you not wanting to subsequently talk with each other, then you have failed in your rebuke.

Related to the last point: Most importantly If you are not sure that you will still have a relationship with the person after the rebuke then it is better to not issue the rebuke. (Properly making this judgement requires that you really know the person before considering to rebuke or not.

Remember that you are rebuking the person to help them onto a better path. If you suspect that the person won't "hear" you then you should not deliver the rebuke. You are not to give a rebuke just so you feel better / more rightous / whatever about yourself.

The issue is to assist the other person....

Sources: my teachers. There are many famous gemara on this issue starting with Arachin 16b. A blog post.

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    Good answer. I think it is important to put this in the context of other corrections to the actions of others in which we engage. This is possibly one of the most benign offenses on the spectrum and its commission involves such a positive act that I would be hesitant to take the risks of intervention (including that described by @SethJ).
    – WAF
    Aug 28, 2012 at 22:25
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+50

I personally feel very strongly that nothing should be done. I was once guilty of this about 12 years ago (only once, I believe, though I could be wrong). The reason I was guilty of it was that I was so wrapped up in my Tefillah, with such focused concentration, that I simply didn't realize I was being too loud. Unfortunately, the rebuke I received made me so self-conscious about my Tefillah that I have had trouble concentrating ever since.

I would hope that if someone is being too loud while Davening, he will either catch himself or it will be an isolated incident. If it's an ongoing problem, perhaps a very gentle comment afterwards is warranted.

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    If it is not insensitive, can I ask in what way the rebuke was delivered?
    – Avrohom Yitzchok
    Aug 28, 2012 at 20:57
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    @AvrohomYitzchok A very clearly irritated shush. It was distracting, and pretty much ever since, whenever I start contemplating the depth of my prayer, I am overcome with the need to focus on the volume instead.
    – Seth J
    Aug 28, 2012 at 21:50
  • Technological suggestion that may assist? With your rav's permission, record your own Amidah on your smart phone.
    – DanF
    Jul 11, 2016 at 20:53

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