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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>in referrence to:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>>Is this really such a new thing?<BR>>To me, it sounds
extremely similar to the practice of some men who who <BR>recite Birchos
Hashachar out loud, which I've been told is for the specific <BR>purpose
of accruing zechus to the people who answer Amen. (I'm not talking about
<BR>the chazan, but about people who say these brachos aloud from their
seat in <BR>shul.)<BR>>I believe that is also new [or new-ish]<BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Actually the custom to answer amen is quite
old, recorded in the bei yosef to the tur OH, section 6, found in the SH OH
6:4, agree to by the posekim, see shulkhan aruch harav and aruch hashulkhan ad
loc.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>shlomo</FONT> <BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>