As Bnai Yisrael approach the banks of the Red Sea, they notice the Egyptian army behind them in hot pursuit. Panic ensues. People begin to cry to HaShem, to complain to Moshe and to imply that they would rather be back on Egypt. Moshe's response to this situation of fear and confusion is simple and straightforward: HaShem shall do battle for you; you remain silent (Shemos 14:14).

Rabbi Yonasan Eybeschutz, a great 18th century authority, is said to have commented that there is one major objection to the behavior of the Jewish People for which there is almost no valid response, namely their behavior in shul and during davening. In contrast to non-Jews, he writes, who are silent and respectful in their houses of worship, Jews are often noisy and disruptive in shul, talking when it is inappropriate and disturbing others around them.

As a result, suggested Rabbi Eybeschutz, the Torah informs us that HaShem will do battle for us against our enemies, but only on condition that we remain silent and avoid conversation during davening and in shul. As many of you know, our shul was founded with the goal in mind of establishing the kind of atmosphere for davening which reflects strict adherence to the Dinim of the Shulchan Aruch relating to shul decorum and which allows all mispallelim the opportunity to serve HaShem with kavannah and without noisy disturbance from others at any time. We thus respectfully request everyone who davens with us to bear this in mind throughout davening (even before the Chazoras HaShatz starts and during the recitation of a Mi SheBeirach) and help us maintain the quiet davening atmosphere of which our shul is proud.

This coming Shabbos, Parshas Beshalach, has been selected by the Orthodox Union as a Shabbos of Awareness relating to shul decorum, and many area shuls will therefore explore this issue on this Shabbos. We are pleased to join this effort and invite all our members and friends to become part of this nationwide campaign to enhance our Tefillos individually and communally. It sometimes takes hard work to change bad habits, but if we encourage each other we will all be successful and, we hope, all of our Tefillos will be answered.