[Avodah] Neglected Amens (was: Borchu UVoruch Shemo between Borchu and Shmono E sreh)

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' RallisW asked:
> BTW What is the most neglected Omein in Tefilloh? Either
> V'aazor or V'Sigoleh and the following ...vnomar Omein
> before Krias HaTorah. How many answer Omein?

I'll concede that those amens are indeed quite neglected, and probably do hold the record for it. But OTOH, there are not responses to actual brachos, and so the lack of an amen is not quite such a big deal.

In contrast, I'll use this opportunity to cite one of my pet peeves, that the most neglected Amen to a *bracha* is probably the one after Hamachazir Shechinaso L'Tziyon. I am amazed by how many people skip the Amen and go straight to Modim.

On the other hand, at least some of the fault for this must go to the chazanim. I have noticed that in many cases, each of the other brachos are ended on a low note, which signifies the end of a paragraph, which invites the people to respond with Amen. But time after time, I keep hearing "Hamachazir Shechinaso L'Tziyon!" ending on a *high* note, which invites the people to continue with "Modim".

I hope that your shul is not like mine, but if you listen carefully, you may see what I mean. (Disclosure: I confess that I am human, and prone to daydreaming, and I occasionally find myself responding "Modim" along with all the other sheep.)

Akiva Miller