The Matzav Shmoooze: Havaros and Buying Ice Cream

17
>>Follow Matzav On Whatsapp!<<

coffeeDear readers,

I am always bothered that some people give the impression that to them, “havarah” during davening or otherwise, is something they can pick and choose. Recently, quite a few times, I have heard people say brachos in shul and elsewhere and turn their “komatz” into a “kubutz,” so that boruch sounds like burech, etc.

In fact, I went over to one of these people and said, “Are you chassidish?”

He said, “No.”

I asked, “Do you have a Galicianishe background that you are now saying ‘burech“?”

He said, “No.”

“So why in the word are you making your brachos like that is your havarah?” I asked.

“Because it sounds good,” said the person. “That’s what people are doing these days. I also say ‘Umein instead of Amain.”

And then I noticed that in much of the ‘Jewish’ (sic) music we are treated to these days, we hear much of this total mishmash of havaros all over the place. A singer will suddenly start pronouncing a word in middle of a song like he’s a chossid even though he’s as Lithuanian as the Lithuanian President.

Listen friends, the havarah you must use is not like buying ice cream. You can’t just pick a flavor because it sounds good or because it is hip. Don’t pronounce your tefillos like you are a Sefardi or a chossid if you are not. Don’t be embarrassed of your mesorah. And don’t get up for your next aliyah and say, “Borchi es Hashem hamvoruch, Burich atu Hashem…” if that’s not your havarah. Let’s actually try to keep some things genuine.

Thanks for hearing me out.

Shloime Anderson

*****

The Matzav Shmoooze, formerly the Matzav Rant, is a regular feature on Matzav.com that allows all readers to share a thought or analysis, long or short, one sentence or several paragraphs long, on any topic, for readers to mull over and comment on. Email submissions to [email protected].

{Edited: Yossi Schneider-Matzav.com Newscenter}


17 COMMENTS

  1. I agree that people should use the havara of their minhag. But on the flip side, many people have hungarian or galicianer backgrounds, even non chasidish where the custom for hundreds of years before WWII spoke with what we today call the “chasidish havara”. Yet their grandchildren in america (for some reason in england and antwerp not as much) are raised in the litvish system and they are the ones who are changing havara. Perhaps they should use the havara of their grandparents and return to their mesora.

  2. i dont know shlime anderson but it seems that he has a lot of time on his hands he also is a very lucky man if this is what is on his mind and this is this is on top of the list of things that bother him

  3. There could very well be an American havara as there is now forming an a language that can only be described as Judeo-English (Takeh, epes, gradeh)

  4. I was once told the following in regard to a different issue, but it applies the same here:

    After 120 years, if Hashem’s going to “get you”, it won’t be for this.

    In other words, there are a lot of things people can work on and improve upon. IF you are going to give mussar, why is this your focus? Is there nothing more important?

  5. #4 No, you cannot just change your minhag even if you accept all of them. Everyone is supposed to keep his family’s minhagim. Please read Igros Moshe O.C. Chelek 3, Siman 5:

    “One is not allowed to deviate from the (havara) in which his ancestors prayed.”

    If your comment was based on a dissenting posek, by all means post the source.

  6. CALL THIS POILISH, GALITZIANISH, INGERISH, ETC.
    BUT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CHASIDUS.
    IN MARMOROSH, THOSE THAT DAVENED NISACH ASHKENAZ ALSO SAID BURICH, UMEIN, ETC.
    IN RUSSIA, LITA, ETC. THE CHASIDIM SAID BORCHU, OMAIN, ETC.
    IN THE UKRAINE THEY SAID BORICH, OMAIN, ETC.

  7. I agree with the author. I also think #2 is right on the ball here.

    Please note that “…he’s as Lithuanian as the Lithuanian President” is most probably not true. There are very few Yidden today, especially Frum ones, who are true Lithuanians. Most of Lita’s Jews were wiped out by the Nazis YM”SH, and by the Haskala. A large portion of the “Yeshivish” world in the US is actually Hungarian, with some Polish and Galitzyaner sources as well. These are people who, for various reasons, dropped their original Mesorah, and tried to become Americanized. Some just dropped the external trappings, while staying Frum, and others dropped much more. As Yiddishkeit grew again in the US, these people needed to identify as something, and thus was created the “Yeshivish” category. This was influenced by the Litvish-style Yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel and here, making the Litvish Havarah dominant – albeit with an American twist, as #5 points out.
    #5’s point can actually be expanded. The American Yeshivish schools are producing not only a new Havara, but a completely new language. Judeo-English is a nice, polite term for it. In other circles, I refer to it as Jewbrish, or plain Am Aratzus. This is because speakers of this dialect actually think they are speaking a valid language, when actually they don’t really know English, Yiddish, Hebrew (or Loshon Kodesh), or Aramaic. Grammar is non-existent and the spelling is atrocious.

    Oops, looks like I should have sent this in as a rant in-and-of itself…

  8. Whatever happened to live and let live.
    It is none of your business how people want to pronounce their vowels. Get a Life.

    Have A GITTEN SHABBOS.

  9. Acc to R nosson Adler, the rebbe of the chasam soifer, the sefardim actually have the correct havara.

    He went to the sefardim to learn the sefardi havara

    So to all those comments of whether you can or can’t change, and the comments of whether you can change havara only if you change ur minhaagim as well, sorry….. You’re ALL wrong

  10. To # 15:
    NOT THE SEFARDIM BUT THE TAIMONIM!
    EVEN THE BEN ISH CHAI IN HIS RAV PO’OLIM IS NOT HAPPY WITH THE SEFARDIC HAVOROH.

  11. I would worry more on the talking that takes place during davening. I also notice people who are texting during davening. I can see their fingers moving rapidly. I’m certain they are not emailing Hashem. This to me is abhorrent. I once brought this to someone’s attention and he answered me,”But I’m not talking” This was from someone who was wearing a black hat too. WHAT HAS OUR DAVENING BECOME?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here