The Virtue of Empathy: Thoughts for Behar-Behukottai, May 16, 2015
I recently attended a daily minyan but could hardly concentrate on my prayers. What was the problem?
One of the worshipers chanted all his prayers in a loud tone of voice, generally a paragraph or two behind the hazzan. The more I tried to focus on my own prayers, the more the loud voice of this person distracted me. Instead of experiencing the prayers with a feeling of spiritual elevation, I found myself feeling annoyed, even angry.