[Avodah] Amen

[Chana Luntz]

RYL writes:
> I am posting this to Avodah in response to 
> Michael Poppers' request that I do this. 

...

And then posts an excerpt of what I gather is Rav Kook entitled the
"Silent Amen" which includes the following:


> 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.

I confess that I am rather surprised by this.

While it is true that the halacha is that one should not answer amen
louder than the original blessing (Orech Chaim siman 124 si'if 12), it
is also the halacha that one should not answer an amen which is
"chatufa" (missing the aleph) or "katufa" (missing the nun) - see s'if
10 there. These latter halachas would seem to emphasise that it is
important the the amen is articulated clearly, and therefore is by no
means silent.

If anything, one could read the requirement that the amen be no louder
than the original bracha as devolving a responsibility on the one making
the bracha to make it sufficiently loudly so that those answering amen
should not be forced to choose between this halacha and these others
thereby running the risk of articulating less than clearly.

Note also that whoever composed the Vidui Hagadol for the Edot Hamizrach
would seem to have felt that the prohibition on answering an amen
chatufa or katufa, along with yitoma (see also in si'if 10) entails more
grievous sins than answering more loudly than the mevarech, as he
included these three in the list of al chets, but did not include the al
chet of answering more loudly.  (For those Ashkenazim who have never
seen the Vidui of the Edot Hamitzrach, it is a fascinating read  - it is
much much longer than our version, and includes a significant focus on
specifics of halacha - saying several al chets for the various ways we
have failed to say Amen correctly is a classic example, in contrast to
the much more general moral failings of the Ashkenazi version).

Shabbat Shalom

Chana