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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman ס״ב · Articulation, voice and language in the ק״ש

מי שלא דקדק בקריאת שמע או לא השמיע לאזנו — the measure of articulation, voice and language in the ק״ש: לא דקדק — יצא; reading it בכל לשון while avoiding the שיבוש; להשמיע לאזנו but if he did not, יצא, provided he moved his lips; קרא בלבו במקום אונס; and the ש״ץ raising his voice at שמע ישראל
סימן ס״ב · ה׳ סעיפים
מי שלא דקדק בקריאת שמע או לא השמיע לאזנו
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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This siman fixes the measure of articulation, voice and language in the ק״ש: one who did not articulate well (לא דקדק) has nonetheless fulfilled it (יצא); one may read it בכל לשון while avoiding the שיבוש; one must make it heard to one's ear (להשמיע לאזנו), but failing that one is quit provided he moved his lips; in a case of אונס one reads it in the heart (בלב); and the ש״ץ raises his voice at שמע ישראל. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ה׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: Articulation, voice and language in the ק״ש — לא דקדק יצא, בכל לשון, השמעה לאזנו, קרא בלבו, ש״ץ בשמע ישראל
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ס״ב · ה׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

Our Sages taught (ברכות ט״ו.): הקורא את שמע ולא השמיע לאזנו — יצא — one who reads the ק״ש without making it heard to his ear has fulfilled it. The siman regulates three requirements: the precision (דקדוק) of the letters, the audible utterance (השמעה לאזנו) and the language (בכל לשון) — each time distinguishing the לכתחילה (what to do at the outset) from the בדיעבד (what one is quit with after the fact). We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct, one refers to the custom and the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The ה׳ seifim — לא דקדק יצא · ק״ש בכל לשון · השמעה לאזנו · קרא בלבו במקום אונס · ש״ץ בשמע ישראל
1. Practical case — articulating the letters and reading in a voice audible to oneself
2. Practical case — saying the ק״ש in another language
3. Practical case — thinking the ק״ש בלב in case of illness or an unclean place
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. Articulation, voice and language in the ק״ש — the ה׳ seifim

דִּקְדּוּק, הַשְׁמָעָה וְלָשׁוֹן בִּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע — precision, utterance and language in the ק״ש — three complementary axes: the דקדוק, articulating the letters exactly (but if he did not — יצא); the השמעה לאזנו, making heard to one's ear what one utters (but failing that — יצא, provided he moved his lips); and the לשון, the language in which one reads (בכל לשון, guarding against the שיבוש). The siman adds two cases: reading בלב in a situation of אונס, and the officiant (ש״ץ) who raises his voice at שמע ישראל.

Séif 1 — לא דקדק יצא: the precision that was missed

אף על פי שמצוה לדקדק באותיותיה, קראה ולא דקדק בהן — יצא.
Séif 1: although it is a mitsva to articulate its letters precisely (לדקדק באותיותיה), if he read it without articulating them well — יצא, he has fulfilled it.
דקדוק — articulating each letter clearly — is a מצוה לכתחילה, but it is not מעכב: one who read the ק״ש without the required exactness has fulfilled it (יצא), since he pronounced the words. (The caveat: if the imprecision changes the meaning of the word — see the פסק בין הדבקים of the previous siman — it is more serious.)

Séif 2 — ק״ש בכל לשון: reading in any language

יכול לקרותה בכל לשון, ויזהר מדברי שיבוש שבאותו לשון, וידקדק בו כמו בלשון הקודש.
Séif 2: one may read it in any language (בכל לשון); but one guards against the corruptions (שיבוש) of that language, and is as precise (וידקדק) in it as in לשון הקודש.
The ק״ש may be said בכל לשון — in any language one understands (source: « שמע » — בכל לשון שאתה שומע, ברכות י״ג.). Two conditions: avoid the שיבוש, the errors and distortions of that language, and articulate in it with as much precision as in Hebrew. לכתחילה, one prefers לשון הקודש, in which one fulfils it even without understanding.

Séif 3 — השמעה לאזנו: making it heard to one's ear

צריך להשמיע לאזנו מה שמוציא בפיו, ואם לא השמיע לאזנו — יצא, ובלבד שיוציא בשפתיו.
Séif 3: one must make heard to one's ear (להשמיע לאזנו) what one brings out of one's mouth; but if he did not make it heard to his ear — יצא, on the sole condition that he uttered with his lips (שיוציא בשפתיו).
לכתחילה, one reads aloud — loudly enough to hear oneself (at least a whisper). But בדיעבד, even without having heard oneself, one is quit (יצא). What is truly מעכב is not the hearing but the הוצאה בשפתיים: one must form and utter the words with the lips, not merely think them.

Séif 4 — קרא בלבו: reading in the heart in case of אונס

אם מחמת חולי או אונס אחר קרא קריאת שמע בלבו — יצא. הגה: ואף לכתחלה יעשה כן אם הוא במקום שאינו נקי לגמרי ואינו יכול לנקותו משום אונס — יהרהר בלבו, ובלבד שלא יהא המקום מטונף לגמרי, דאסור להרהר בד״ת במקום הטנופת [ב״י סימן פ״ה].
Séif 4: if, because of an illness (חולי) or another constraint (אונס), he read the ק״ש in his heart (בלב) — יצא. Rama: and even לכתחילה he will do so if he is in a place that is not entirely clean and which he cannot clean by force majeure — he will think in his heart (יהרהר בלבו); provided the place is not totally defiled (מטונף לגמרי), for it is forbidden to think דברי תורה in a place of filth [Beit Yossef, siman פ״ה].
Normally, thinking without speaking is not enough: one must utter with the lips. But in a case of אונס — a sick person who cannot speak, or a place one cannot clean — one thinks (מהרהר) the ק״ש in the heart. The absolute limit: a place totally defiled (מטונף) — there, even the thought of דברי תורה is forbidden (see the rules of siman פ״ה).

Séif 5 — ש״ץ בשמע ישראל: the officiant raises his voice

צריך ש״ץ להשמיע קולו בשמע ישראל, כדי שישמעו הקהל וימליכו שם שמים ביחד.
Séif 5: the ש״ץ (officiant) must make his voice heard at « שמע ישראל », so that the קהל hears it and proclaims together the heavenly Name (וימליכו שם שמים ביחד).
Even though each person may read the ק״ש quietly, the officiant raises his voice at the first verse. Why? So that the whole assembly hears it and receives עול מלכות שמים with one heart, together — the divine kingship proclaimed in קהל.
The siman in one sentence: the ק״ש requires לכתחילה precision (דקדוק), audible utterance (השמעה לאזנו) and an exact language (בכל לשון without שיבוש) — but בדיעבד, one who did not articulate or did not hear himself is quit (יצא), provided he moved his lips; in a case of אונס one thinks the ק״ש בלב (except in a מטונף place); and the ש״ץ raises his voice at שמע ישראל for the קהל.

Practical cases

Case 1 — Articulating the letters and reading in an audible voice

Situation: how does one read the ק״ש « properly » as to articulation and voice?
Conduct: לכתחילה, articulate each letter (לדקדק באותיותיה) and read aloud — at least a whisper that one hears oneself (להשמיע לאזנו). בדיעבד, if he did not articulate perfectly, or did not hear himself, יצא — provided he uttered the words with the lips. For the exact conduct, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — Saying the ק״ש in another language

Situation: may one say the ק״ש in a language other than Hebrew?
Conduct: yes — one may read it בכל לשון, provided one articulates it correctly and avoids the corruptions (שיבוש) of the language, being as precise as in לשון הקודש (and, according to the decisors, understanding that language). לכתחילה, one prefers לשון הקודש, in which one fulfils it even without understanding. For practice, one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — Thinking the ק״ש בלב in case of illness or an unclean place

Situation: a sick person, or a place one cannot clean — what does one do about the ק״ש?
Conduct: normally one must utter with the lips; but in a case of אונס (illness, or a place not entirely clean that one cannot clean), one thinks (יהרהר) the ק״ש in the heart. Limit: a place totally defiled (מטונף) — there, even the thought of דברי תורה is forbidden. For details, one follows one's Rav (and see the rules of siman פ״ה).

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. One who did not articulate the letters of the ק״ש well — has he fulfilled it (séif 1)?
  2. May one read the ק״ש in another language, and under what conditions (séif 2)?
  3. What does « להשמיע לאזנו » mean, and what is truly מעכב (séif 3)?
  4. When may one read the ק״ש בלב, and what is the limit of the מטונף (séif 4)?
  5. Why does the ש״ץ raise his voice at « שמע ישראל » (séif 5)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 63 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן ס״ב · ה׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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