Unlike the monks, no Jew had ever taken a vow of silence. The sacred obligation was voice. Being alive, being human, meant hearing from your fellows. Shema Yisroel! Hear O Israel! Read the Torah out loud. It had been that way since the days of Ezra the prophet. Vocalise; make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Talk till you drop. Ignore the futile shaaaah, the pointless shush. It’s only the Christians who bow their heads and shut their mouths in their houses of prayer. Us, we chant, we gabble, we cantillate, we shout. The prophets themselves get into arguments with the Almighty and even if we’re no
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