Q&A: The Reader’s Repetition of the Amidah
The Reader’s Repetition of the Amidah
Question
Hello.
As is well known, the Men of the Great Assembly instituted the reader’s repetition of the Amidah for several reasons, the main one being to discharge the obligation of worshippers who do not know how to pray (…). Nowadays, we often encounter the phenomenon of a large prayer quorum, even one numbering hundreds of people, where the person who approaches the lectern as the prayer leader is the one who knows how to pray the least out of the entire holy congregation present there; especially on a yahrzeit, when we are dealing—of course—with the very pillars of Torah, such that if they are not maintained, Torah will be forgotten from Israel… My question to you is: hasn’t the time come to prevent those inarticulate people from going up to the lectern, by one means or another? Isn’t the dignity of the congregation part of the picture here? I have noticed that your approach is that when the reason no longer applies, the practice no longer applies, as you rule in practice regarding eating legumes on Passover.
Thank you.
Answer
I do not think that when the reason no longer applies, the enactment is nullified. On the contrary: in my column on legumes, I explained that this is not an enactment, a decree, or a custom, but rather a concern, and only for that reason is it proper to stop this nonsense.
Admittedly, when continuing the practice after the reason no longer applies causes harm, there is room to adopt lenient interpretations (such as a shortened repetition). And in extreme cases perhaps to abolish it, but for that there should be broad consensus (because in principle, when the reason no longer applies, the enactment is not nullified).
You can look at my article here on the site about repealing enactments, or in the third book of the trilogy.
As for a prayer leader or Torah reader who is not proficient, that really is a serious ill—not only because it contradicts the rationale for the enactment, but because in itself it is not proper to do so, and it is also a bother and an affront to the dignity of the congregation. That I would do away with gently, by appointing a regular prayer leader or having a rotation. Of course, if someone would be hurt, then one should not get into it.