Hi Rabbi Ingram.  You knew me back in the day when I was fit as a fiddle!  Now I have severe arthritis and can’t manage the distance to my own shul on Shabbos.  The only shul close enough to walk to has a chazan who sings the davening to inappropriate tunes.  I can’t stand it and I think you will sympathise!  Wouldn’t it be better for me to stay at home and daven?  Yours in frustration.  Brian

Sorry to hear of your pain on both counts!

With regard to your question whether not liking your chazan would justify missing davening with a minyan, that’s best addressed by your own shul rabbi!

Thank you, however, for affording me the opportunity to ride one of my hobbyhorses! In my very first article for the shul magazine following my appointment as chief chazan to Central Synagogue, Sydney in 1992, I articulated one of my core beliefs: an effective chazan must always ensure that the tunes he utilises serve as the handmaiden of the text, not the mistress; that the text not be twisted or manipulated to fit the needs of the melody. Such manipulation will often lead to distorting or repeating words which, in the opinion of most poskim presents a halachic problem of hefsek (interruption) if done during a........

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