Our Gemara on Amud Beis explains that the purpose of Chazaras HaShatz, the reader’s repetition of Shemoneh Esre was in order to allow those who were not literate to fulfill the mitzvah by listening.  Of course, we must imagine in a time before the printing press, how much more expensive it must have been to have a copy of a siddur, let alone the time to master reading and/or memorizing prayer.  

Today we are going to discuss a fascinating Rambam and change he made to prayer in his time, though some would say sadly it was not continued past his community, and others would say, “thank goodness it didn’t!”

The Rambam eliminated Chazaras HaShatz as we know it, and instead had the chazzan and the congregation pray at the same time.  The Chazzan would pray out loud, while those who know how to pray, would say along quietly, and should anyone be present who does not know how to pray, he can listen and fulfill his obligation. 

In a responsa, the Rambam offers an explanation that sounds highly contemporary.  As the Gemara we saw says, the purpose of the reader’s repetition is to allow those who do not know how to read still fulfill their mitzvah.  In our times, a person who does not know how to pray sees others, even Talmidei Chachamim, talking during the repetition and not paying attention.  If so, he does not listen either and therefore the prayer is beracha levatala, a blessing recited for no reason. 

The Rambam therefore suggests something that might be considered extra-legal out of desperation and the principle of Eis Laa’sos, which is that one can break the Torah if otherwise it would lead to irreparable and further breaking of the Torah.  Aside from that, he argues that this might stop the ongoing Chillul Hashem, that the gentiles see such a lack of decorum in Jewish synagogues.  His reasoning was presumably, if the prayer time was filled with constant recitation in a group, there would be less temptation to talk. 

I will add a thought of my own.  The Rambam famously had a shita that a blessing in vain violates a biblical prohibition of saying God’s name in vain (Laws of Berachos 1:15).  (He takes the statement in the Gemara (Berachos 33a) literally while others (Tosafos ibid. Rosh Kiddushin 1:49 and Sefer Hachinuch 430) see it as only rabbinic. If so, according to the Rambam, alot was at stake here and perhaps added extra fuel to his rationale.   

The Rambam’s idea did not withstand the test of time. I would assume that the fear of a slippery slope stopped, and stops, rabbinic authority from enacting the Rambam’s practice.  If you start changing prayer, it could lead to a degradation of prayer in general.  Although, judging by many (not all) shuls, prayer has not been particularly upgraded by insisting on Chazaras Hashatz.  

It took me personally many years to learn how to sit through davening.  I found talking in shul lto be childish and loathsome, but I used to bring ample and interesting sefarim to shul in order to keep entertained.  I guess you could say I was doing Chazaras HaShas instead of Chazaras Hashatz. Ironically, I remember first seeing this Teshuva of the Rambam years ago, while combing through interesting Teshuvos while in shul, during what seemed to me then as an interminable davening.

As I got older I learned to be able to enjoy sitting quietly and focussing on the words, but it took a long time.  Folks, I don’t have an easy answer, and I am glad in the end I learned how to patiently sit through and derive meaning from Chazaras Hashatz. But I must say, I do admire the Rambam’s honesty, creativity and courage and wish we had sages such as him around to guide us nowadays. Or, maybe we do, and we just don’t listen to them just as we didn’t listen to him.

Sources: 

 המהדיר יהושע בלאו, שו"ת הרמב"ם, סימן רנ"ח, תשע"ד

https://daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/taleley/hazarat-2.htm

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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