We can no longer remain silent while the kavod of our shul is publicly trampled. The behavior taking place in our shuls during davening has crossed every line of decency. It is shocking, disgusting, and an absolute chillul Hashem.
Have we fallen so incredibly low that people are no longer embarrassed to commit a blatant dvar issur in public for all to see?
To stand in a Tallis (and tefillin on weekdays) facing the Shechinah, while casually holding and sipping a hot drink is a total slap in the face to the Ribono shel Olam. We are supposed to be accepting the ol malchus Shamayim, but instead, we are treating the shul like a boardwalk cafe.
Look in the Mirror:
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- No Shame in a Public Aveirah: The poskim state explicitly that drinking after Baruch She’amar is an issur. Yet, people openly parade their coffee down the aisles, completely unbothered that they are doing an aveirah in front of the entire kehillah. Where is the basic boosha (shame)?
- Zero Self-Control: Is the addiction to caffeine so severe that you literally cannot finish your coffee before davening? If you cannot wake up ten minutes earlier to drink your coffee like a civilized person, stay in the coffee room.
- A Complete Zilzul: You would never dare walk into a courtroom or a meeting with a king holding a cup of coffee. Yet, standing before the Melech Malchei HaMelachim, you feel entirely comfortable sipping a latte. It is a sickening display of disrespect.
This massive Chillul Hashem must stop today. If you cannot respect the Ribono shel Olam, at least respect the tzibbur trying to daven. Leave the coffee outside the doors, or do not come inside until you are done.
A Pained Member of the Kehillah
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14 Responses
I think this article goes much too far, both in its tone and in presenting a nuanced halachic issue as though it is an obvious “chillul Hashem.”
There are certainly times during davening when drinking is not permitted, and nobody should be walking around the shul disturbing people who are trying to daven. But the halacha regarding drinking coffee during davening is more nuanced than simply saying, “Drinking after Baruch She’amar is an issur.” If someone made the appropriate bracha beforehand, had in mind that he would continue drinking, and is in a situation where drinking is halachically permitted, we should be very careful before publicly labeling that person as committing a “blatant dvar issur.”
And I think we should be careful with the idea that wearing a tallis and tefillin while doing something mundane is somehow inherently disrespectful. Tallis and tefillin are not costumes that we put on only because we are entering some temporary “holy mode.” They are mitzvos that we are commanded to wear. Wearing them should be normalized as part of a Jew’s daily avodas Hashem.
Obviously, there is a proper way to behave in a Beis Midrash. We should be respectful of the המקום, respectful of the tzibbur, and make sure that our behavior doesn’t disturb anyone else’s davening. But we also need to be careful not to turn every behavior that bothers us into a “chillul Hashem” or publicly shame people for something that may actually be halachically permissible.
There is plenty of real disrespect for tefillah that we should be concerned about. Let’s focus our energy on that, and let’s not create new issurim and new standards of “kavod” that are not actually required by halacha.
We can demand proper behavior without turning a nuanced halachic question into a public condemnation of other Yidden.
Be dan l’chaf zechus! Maybe they already davened in an earlier minyan and are now going to learn in shul while drinking coffee. This way, they can answer Amen with the next minyan while learning….
Baruch Hashem yidden are coming to shul
The people that need to hear it aren’t listening. And the people that agree aren’t doing it. Although I think the rav should be in charge of stamping it out
Well said. Its about time rabbonim teach their shuls about the importance of kvod hatefillah.
The first question is do they know that it isn’t permitted to drink after Baruch sheAmar? If they do, then where is the Rav of the shul?
Next, maybe they woke up late or their kid kept them late or any other perfectly understandable reason, but still want to daven biTzibbur before going to work. Can you not find that praiseworthy?
Finally, have you been to every workplace and other meeting where you can definitely state that one would “never” drink coffee there?
IMHO, your point is a good one, and a shul is holy (unlike meetings) and should therefore be treated as such, but a little more positivity to Klal Yisrael would also be good.
Great point!
Perhaps that should have been one of the criteria קבלות for the $1,000,000 גורל that was offered to Shuls who could produce 1,000 קבלות accepted for קדושת בית הכנסת.
The poskim state explicitly that drinking after Baruch She’amar is an issur.
Please state your name and the names of the poskim and where exactly they say this.
The claim needs qualification.
The early primary sources do not explicitly say, “It is forbidden to drink after Baruch She’amar.” Rather:
* The Rif, Tur, and Shulchan Aruch rule that one may not interrupt from Baruch She’amar onward.
* The Shulchan Aruch specifically says:
**“צריך ליזהר מלהפסיק בדיבור משיתחיל ברוך שאמר עד סוף שמונה עשרה”**—one must avoid a verbal interruption. See Orach Chaim 51:4 and [Mishnah Berurah ad loc.](https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/משנה_ברורה_על_אורח_חיים_נא)
* Drinking is not speech. The question therefore is whether an unrelated action—מעשה—also constitutes an impermissible interruption.
Some later poskim explicitly rule that ordinary drinking during Pesukei DeZimrah should not be done because it constitutes a hefsek. For example:
* **Yalkut Yosef, Hilchos Pesukei DeZimrah 51:23**: Even if one made the berachah on coffee before Baruch She’amar, לכתחילה one should not continue drinking during Pesukei DeZimrah, because even an action without speech may constitute a hefsek. However, **במקום צורך גדול**, one may be lenient because בדיעבד an action is not necessarily considered a hefsek. [Text and citation](https://moreshet-maran.com/maagar-halachot/דין-התפלה-מברוך-שאמר-עד-ישתבח/)
* Other contemporary rulings formulate it more strictly: eating or drinking is forbidden wherever interruptions are prohibited, unless the drink is genuinely needed to enable proper prayer. [Discussion and sources](https://www.kiryatmoshe.co.il/index2.php?id=4289&lang=HEB)
But it is not accurate to present this as an absolute, universally uncontested prohibition:
1. **Necessary drinking:** If someone feels faint, is ill, has severe dryness, needs medication, or cannot continue concentrating without water, drinking is permitted.
2. **No new berachah:** If he already made a berachah before Baruch She’amar, the issue is only the physical act as a hefsek. That itself is subject to discussion.
3. **New berachah required:** If he must recite Shehakol during Pesukei DeZimrah, that creates a more serious issue because it is an actual verbal interruption unrelated to the tefillah. It should ordinarily be avoided unless the drinking is necessary.
4. **Immediately after Baruch She’amar:** This may be more serious than later between mizmorim. The Mishnah Berurah 51:4 writes that even an unnecessary pause between the conclusion of Baruch She’amar and the beginning of the zemiros should be avoided, because it is between the berachah and that upon which it was recited.
So the precise conclusion is:
> Poskim do explicitly say that ordinary, unnecessary drinking after Baruch She’amar should not be done and may constitute a prohibited hefsek. But the Shulchan Aruch itself explicitly prohibits speech, not drinking; and drinking for a real need is permitted, with some later poskim allowing additional room for leniency because a silent action is not necessarily a hefsek בדיעבד.
Not to mention the empty cups that people don’t bother putting in the wastepaper basket, nor the kleenex people leave on the table or throw on the floor.
what (source) is the issur of drinking after burich sheamar?
how do you know the person is after burish sheamar?
how do you know the person is not after shmoneh esrai?
I respectfully disagree with the original post, not because I believe matters of halacha or appropriate conduct in shul are unimportant, but because I believe the manner in which this concern is expressed is unnecessarily judgmental and, in my view, counterproductive.
There is a significant difference between respectfully raising a concern and publicly shaming or belittling another person. If our objective is to create a stronger kehillah and greater respect for the Ribono Shel Olam, that effort should begin with how we treat one another.
None of us is perfect. We all have areas in our lives that could use improvement, and none of us should assume the role of judging another person’s relationship with HaShem. We can discuss halacha, religious standards, and appropriate conduct without declaring that someone is disrespectful, embarrassing, or a “sickening display” simply because they do something with which we disagree.
I am particularly troubled by the suggestion that someone who cannot comply with a particular standard should simply “not come inside.” We should be very careful about telling another Jew that they do not belong in their own shul. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. The person we tell to stay away today may be the very person whose presence, friendship, or support we desperately wish we had tomorrow. We should think carefully before closing doors that may one day be difficult to reopen.
Perhaps instead of focusing so heavily on what others are doing wrong, we should spend more time teaching and demonstrating what we want the next generation to become.
Teach our younger people that when they see an older person standing, they should offer their seat rather than remain comfortably seated while someone who may have spent decades contributing to the community stands.
Teach them that when a stranger walks into shul, the appropriate response is not to judge them by how they look, how they dress, or whether we recognize them, but to say hello, introduce ourselves, and make them feel welcome.
Teach them that kavod is not simply about how we conduct ourselves during davening. Kavod is also about how we speak to people, how we treat those who are different from us, how we welcome newcomers, how we respect our elders, and how we make every member of the community feel that they belong.
If we truly want to create more kavod for the shul and for HaShem, perhaps that is where we should begin.
I have no interest in an argument, nor am I suggesting that halacha should be ignored. I simply believe that we can uphold our standards without humiliating people, judging their character, or suggesting that they have no place in the community.
We are all HaShem’s children. We would do well to remember that when we speak about—and to—one another.
Perhaps the greatest lesson we can give our children is not simply what they should avoid doing in shul, but how they should treat the people sitting beside them.
Oh get a life! Be happy they attend shul. Or go to a different shul.
The letter’s author is right. The shul is not a coffee shop. Decency and basic respect for the place of prayer are not optional. This isn’t about personal preference; it is about the kavod of the shul and the community. If we lose the ability to maintain basic standards in our sacred spaces, we lose something essential.