Tuesday, June 27, 2017

halacha - Humming during shmoneh esre


On shabbat for shacharit and mussaf, I am usually still davening shmoneh esre by the time the chazzan gets to kedusha. In this situation, can I hum to the tune of kedusha?


This essentially boils down to: At what point does use of your voice for something other than shmoneh esre in the middle of shmoneh esre become a hefsek?



Is saying "oyoyoy" in places where you're not allowed to speak (e.g. Shemoneh Esreh) a hefsek (interruption)? Does it make a difference that it doesn't have any consonant sounds (in which case "oyoyoy" would be permitted and "aididididi" forbidden)?



Answer



Shu"t Shevet haLevi (V:16) divides this into 3 parts:



  1. If the singing is done together with the words of tefilla, this is considered part of tefilla and a kiyum of lezamer leshimcha elyon.

  2. Other times, music is considered separate from the tefilla. For example, the nigun is separated from the words and is "too long" or it's not for the davener's tefilla enhancement, but to get the congregation "into it".

  3. In all cases, a nigun without dibur is not considered a hefsek to have to repeat shemona esre.


To sum up: While the chazzan may sing during recitation of the kedusha (and may be a good thing as well), one who isn't davening should not hum. B'd'eved, though it's not a hefsek.


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