My theory on people shushing others for talking in shul is that they’re just jealous of those talking and having a grand old time in the back row. If they had true kavannah they wouldn’t notice anyone talking, they say that Rav Moshe’s father used to take a really long time when davening shemona esrei and so his boss one time decided to teach him a lesson and shoot a gun near him, he had so much kavannah that he didn’t even notice. If these shushers were on such a high medriega, they could live others talking in shul. With that said, I hate when people decide to talk during the rabbis speech.
Today in shul, two people decided to have a conversation while the rabbi was speaking. It didn’t help that these two people aren’t regulars and it didn’t help that they were sitting near me. I shushed once and they didn’t seem to notice, someone else shushed and they just went on blabbing in supposed undertone. In a more east coast style community, someone would probably have gone up to them, but here on the west coast they say that men aren’t real men. I had a grand scheme in my head, but I’m sure that I would have been called out for publicly embarrassing the two guys.
It’s not like I was even listening to the rabbi, in fact I was reading a Rav Moshe biography, but I felt bad for all the other folks who I knew wouldn’t have enough balls or know how to shush these MFers that decided that their conversation was more important than the weekly fire and brimstone that was coming from the Rabbi.
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It’s disrespectful to carry on long conversations in shul. If you want to have a long conversation, go to the local coffee shop or hang out in the hall.
People who talk a lot I guess want to pretend they attend shul when they’re really busy gossiping for 2 hours.
Is it at all possible that some people shushing others during davening simply have, at a minimum, the same respect for God as you have for your Rabbi, without being on the level of Reb Moshe’s father?
Your shul has too much davening during the talking.
Check out the bumper sticker on The most offensive car that reads Shul talkers cause cancer. I guess the talking car has something to say .
I talk in shul because I’m sick to hell of repeating the same prayers about winning wars that Dovid wrote and the same shemoni estreys, and I don’t skip shul because I don’t want to be outcasted from community. Time to move and go..OTD.
You need to take a break from shul for a while. You have my blessing. Anyone who gives you a hard time just tell them that they need to stop being so haughty because there isn’t room in the world for them and G-d.
Take a break from shul and study some of the prayers until they mean something to you. I try not to daven with a minyan once a week for Shacharis so I can do it my way. Stop trying to fit in and do it your way. I’ve given this advice to others and it has worked wonders for them.
Ha, been saying that for a while the people who shush are the grumps who have no one to talk to.
maybe they don’t want to talk. but to pray (have a conversation with HaKadosh Baruch Hu)
Don’t they have a right to? Do you think that all people come to synagogue to talk?
If you go to synagogue to worship God and you think that it’s important and that prayers actually mean something, do you think that God likes it when prayers to him by other Jews are disturbed and they are being hindered in performing a mitzva?
I don’t care (over much) if people talk when the rabbi is talking. I DO care when people talk when something important is happening – like reading the Torah. This talking seems to be unique to “orthodox” congregations – Sefardi, Mizrachi, & Ashkenazi. Maybe just in North America; there is far less chatter in Bet Shean’s synagogues.
Yohanon, I’ve worshipped in Orthodox, Conservative, and on rare occasion Reform congregations and can safely say “Orthodox” congregations do not hold a monopoly on talkers. I attend a Conservative shul and have shushed numerous people. This is not to say at times I haven’t felt like talking myself but fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) there is almost nobody ever sitting next to me worth talking to. 🙂
I don’t agree that people who don’t like others talking are jealous, but even if they are and they are distracted by this, they have a right not to be disturbed in their prayers and other people have an obligation to respect this. Also, common knowledge tells us that other people talking can in fact be disturbing, as talking is usually forbidden in public libraries!
Maybe you are right that they can not concentrate well enough, but that surely! does not mean that they lack in kavana.
And if they can not concentrate well enough it is even more important that they are not disturbed unnecessarily and against the synagogue rules and halacha.
Also I wonder about the lecture of the Rabbi in your synagogue. Is it really that extremely shallow, or is there maybe more to it than just fire and brimstone (I’m not sure that would be a Jewish concept)
So I hope we will all be in synagogue to worship our one and only god, HaKodosh Baruch Hu