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I’m happy to report that I daven in an extremely quiet Minyan, with virtually NO TALKING during the Tefillos.
Unfortunately, there is an individual who is a member of Hatzalah who leaves his radio on the table at an extremely high volume. It disturbs a number of us who sit nearby (and some who even sit further away).
Is it OK to ask him to lower the radio or do Hatzalah volunteers have carte blanche to leave it loud?
No. you should bow down to Hashem and thank Him that your family member is not on the other end of the call. Grow up.
He probably does not want to change the volume from the one he is used to. Maybe give him a pillow so that he can put it over the radio without a need to change the volume. But asking nicely should be OK.
Is this the most serious problem facing Orthodox Jews in NY. I can’t imagine frum out of towners asking such stupid inane questions.
I would think that’s the job of the Ruv.
BTW, One Shabbos I was in a Shul that had a few Hatzolah members & they would take turns Davening in the lobby so they could hear the calls without disturbing the Tefillah.Why not offer to buy him a headset/earphones for his radio, to use during shul, so the radio doesn’t disturb others…
It’s far less of a problem nowadays as the members have the ability to turn their radios to a local channel so the alert tone and talking will only be audible if there is a call in their specific neighborhood. The guidance that I received from Rabbinic authorities many years ago was to make sure the radio was loud enough for me to hear it, not the entire room. If it is causing a great disruption to other mispallelim the best advice I can give is to calmly and respectfully point it out to the member as he may not realize. There are many affordable options today including PTT earpieces and the like that would ensure no one else is disturbed. It’s a matter of communication. He likely is unaware that people are upset and this can all be quickly resolved.
CMI believe that when someone is doing sacred work, especially life saving, he should do the what’s in his best convenience and the rest of us should tolerate. With that being said, he could do lefnim meshiras hadin and take a leap out of comfort zone for others comfortability, but he’s not obligated to.
> thank Him that your family member is not on the other end of the call.
I think OP is not acting out, he is showing respect to the hatzolah here asking how to deal with the issue politely. I am sure if the guy would be on the sports radio, there would be no question and lots of shouting
maybe we can learn from halochos of saving from rodef:
if A is in danger from B, that C can damage property of D to save A and does not have to pay. [but A himself needs to pay if he damages to save himself].But this is when C needs to do damage, maybe even “just in case”. So if hatzolah member is worrying that he’ll miss the call or just does not want to spend extra time on adjusting volume, you should absorb the damage. If he is totally oblivious to surroundings, then he is doing something improper and you should help him understand him – for his sake, rather than yours. So, maybe you can find a creative way to call his attention? For example, have your friend bring a loud device and then loudly explain to him that he is bothering people, or offer that you can monitor the radio outside while he is davening. At the end, if he does not get the clues, you don’t bother him.
In 2026 there are so many noises whether from vehichles outside or cell phones left on. Its part of the background already. Let it be and get used to our enviornement. Yes the guys that shishkar the 80 year old who left his cell phone ringer on disturb me and most people more than the cell phone
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