You must learn and train yourself to pray with a low voice, even the Hymns [of Praise], and to cry out silently. 1 Whatever you say, whether it be Hymns or [words of Torah-]study, should be said with all your strength, as it is said, “All my bones shall say...” (Psalms 35:10) 2
An outcry rooted in deveikut is silent.
To pray out loud
stimulates kavanah. Thus it is customary in many places (and especially
among certain schools of Chassidism) to pray loudly, with great intensity
(except for the Amidah which should not be audible even to those standing
next to you). On an elevated level of communion with God, however, when praying
with profound focus and devotion in the gripping consciousness of being
literally in the very presence of God, the words flow from the very depth of the
heart and soul and are practically silent: “Hannah was speaking from the
heart, only her lips moved and her voice was not heard.” (I Samuel 1:12)
To pray aloud initially is acceptable, and even necessary, for the average
person. Nonetheless, “you must learn and train yourself to pray with a low
voice.. and to cry out silently.”
See below, sect. 34-35, 51, 58, 60, and end of 75.
