[Avodah] Amen

[Prof. Levine]

I am posting this to Avodah in response to 
Michael Poppers' request that I do this. BTW, 
someone pointed out to me, "The Mishna Brurah 
says that if one’s intent is to encourage others 
to answer amen, one may say it more loudly."

 From 
http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/thisweek.htm 
. Please note the section A Quiet Amen.

I recall Rav A. Miller learning a Tosephos in a 
shiur that I attended many years ago that said 
something similar. When I asked him,  "In light 
of this Tosephos, why do some people say Amen 
very loudly?"  he gave me one of his knowing smiles, but did not comment. :-)

Yitzchok Levine

Psalm 34: Amen - the Response of the Soul

Amen is an ancient Hebrew word that has been 
adopted by many languages and cultures. What does 
it mean, and how should it be said?

The Sages taught an insightful lesson about Amen 
from the following verse, familiar from the call 
of the chazzan as the Torah is returned to the ark:

"Declare God's greatness with me, and we will 
exalt His Name together." [Psalm 34:4]

What is the difference between the two halves of 
the verse, between "declaring God's greatness" 
and "exalting His Name together"?

Outward Speech and Inner Thought

This verse describes a kind of spiritual dialog. 
There is the one who declares God's greatness, 
and there are those who listen and join in.

We use our faculty of speech to express to others 
our inner awe of God. This declaration starts, as 
the verse says, "with me." We openly express 
these sentiments in order to awaken others to 
join us in sensing God's greatness.

The second half of the verse, on the other hand, 
depicts a different stage. "We will exalt His 
Name together." Together we acknowledge the 
sanctity of God's Name. Concurrently we 
acknowledge the infinite kindness in God's elevated rule.

This second level requires no outward expression 
- just the contemplations of a pure heart, the 
inner feelings of the human soul. Speech is a 
vehicle to inform those who do not know. This 
stage, however, belongs to the future era when 
there will be no need to teach others, a time 
when an inner awareness of the truth will fill the world.

A Quiet Amen

The Sages saw in this verse the dialog between 
the one initiating with a blessing and the one 
responding with Amen. The response, they 
stressed, should be recited as described in the 
verse - 'together' - no louder than the original 
blessing [Berachot 45a]. What is so terrible about an extra-loud Amen?

We first need to determine: what does Amen mean?

By answering Amen to a blessing, we indicate our 
agreement. Amen means that our inner 
understanding is at one with what we have heard. 
It is not a form of public communication, but an 
inner response of the soul. We confirm that the 
sentiments that we have heard resonate with our own thoughts and feelings.

If Amen is said more loudly than the original 
blessing, this would indicate that our Amen is 
coming to add our own emotions to those already 
expressed in the blessing. This is not a negative 
act ­ due to our physical nature, we are 
influenced and emotionally moved by external 
speech and actions - but speech is only a vehicle 
to awaken inner enlightenment. A true Amen is not 
a loud outburst of emotion, but rather the quiet 
reflection of agreement and inner awareness.

The blessing calls out, "Declare God's greatness 
with me!"  It is a public cry to awaken inner awareness in others.

And we respond with Amen. "We will exalt His Name 
together." We exalt God's Name, with inner 
recognition, above and beyond all language. 
Unlike the blessing, expressed openly in speech, 
Amen belongs inside the mind. The blessing is the means, and Amen is the goal.

Short in Letters, Long in Thought

The Sages wrote [Shabbat 119b] that the word Amen 
is an abbreviation for "El Melech Ne'eman" ('God, 
faithful King'). This is another sign that Amen 
belongs to the realm of thought, where speech is 
brief and reflection is extensive. Like an 
iceberg, only a small part of this response is 
revealed; its true content is hidden within.

Rav Kook on the Net: 
<http://ravkook.n3.net/>RavKook.n3.net  [adapted 
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