It is preferable to recite Tehillim in public than to recite it individually.
Sources and Explanations
The virtue of reciting Tehillim is known to all, and this is not the place to repeat what is known. However, the Sefer Pele Yoetz (entry “Tehillim”) writes that its virtue is greatest when it is recited in public, and this is his wording: “If they recite them in public, let them be exalted; they ascend with greater favor than one who engages in Nega’im and Oholot alone.”
Similarly, Rabbi Chaim Palagi writes in the introduction to his book HaKatuv LaChaim: “And all this is individually, a man in the chambers of his imagery. Added to this is also the Torah of the many (meaning, if Tehillim is recited in public), every gathering that is for the sake of Heaven, in a large assembly, the Shomrim LaBoker (those who rise early in the morning), group by group, on Shabbatot and on weekdays, and in the vigils of Erev Rosh Chodesh, regularly in their order, every month in its month, in the synagogues and batei midrash. And it is a shield and buckler for us, that no evil shall befall us. And therefore they are called ‘zemirot.’ And this is as we say in the Yehi Ratzon: ‘to cut down (lezamer) the tyrants and to cut off all the thorns.’ And it nullifies all the accusers and every adversary and opponent from upon us. And this is what King David, peace be upon him, said: ‘Who can express (yemalel) the mighty acts of Hashem, make heard all His praise,’ for ‘yemalel’ is related to ‘you may pluck the ears (melilot).’ And who will merit this? One who can make heard all His praise, which is the Tehillim. Therefore, every person should strive to find a group that recites, in order to recite with them, and it will be considered for him as one who performs a mitzvah with the many.”
It appears that the preference for reciting in public is for two reasons. One, because of the rule of “berov am hadrat melech” (in the multitude of people is the King’s glory); and second, from what is mentioned in the Sifra (Parashat Bechukotai, chapter 2), that the power of the many is greater than that of the individual, and therefore reciting together is of greater virtue. This is the wording of the Sifra: “‘And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand.’ ‘Of you’ — from the weakest among you, and not from the mighty among you. ‘And a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand’ — is that the calculation? (Another version: should it not have said only ‘a hundred of you shall chase two thousand’?) Rather, the many who fulfill the Torah cannot be compared to the few who fulfill the Torah.”
Now, the reason for the virtue of reciting in public because of the rule of “berov am hadrat melech” is explained in the words of Rabbeinu Yonah on the Mishnah in Avot (2:4): “Hillel says: Do not separate yourself from the community. When the community is engaged in Torah and mitzvot, it is the crown of all worlds and the glory of His entire dominion, for when a multitude of people gather to fulfill His commandment, it is the King’s glory, and it is not proper to separate from them, as it says: ‘And He was King in Yeshurun when [the heads of the people] gathered.’ And this refers to a community that goes in the good path and gathers to perform a mitzvah.”
Now, one should investigate what number constitutes “the many” in whose merit the recitation ascends favorably before Him, blessed be He. Are two already considered many and preferable to an individual, or perhaps ten are required, as with the law of a minyan? The poskim disagree about this, and from there we will learn for our case, with Hashem’s help.
For the Chayei Adam (klal 68, se’if 11) writes: “Any mitzvah that one can perform in a group, he should perform in a group and not individually, as it is written (Mishlei 14:28), ‘In the multitude of people is the King’s glory’ (Pesachim 64 and Yoma 70), and Chazal said: the many who perform a mitzvah cannot be compared to the few who perform it. And in Menachot (62a) it is implied that three constitute ‘a multitude of people.’” The author of the Mishnah Berurah disagrees with him in the Be’ur Halachah (siman 226, s.v. “Ela”), and after citing his words, writes that one who recites Birkat HaLevanah should try to wait until he has ten people, because of the rule of “berov am.”
It appears that the Mishnah Berurah himself contradicted this position of his in several places, where he wrote that with two people one also fulfills the mitzvah of “berov am.” See what he wrote on the words of the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 213:1): “For all fruits and other things, except for bread and wine, if those eating were two or more, one exempts the other.” And there, in the Mishnah Berurah (213:3): “That is to say, even if each one knows how to recite the blessing himself, nevertheless one recites the blessing and exempts the other, even initially (lechatchilah), provided that the other hears the blessing from beginning to end and intends to fulfill his obligation, as below in se’if 2. And this is even more preferable, because ‘in the multitude of people is the King’s glory.’” And he repeated this on the words of the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 167:11): “If there were two or many, one recites the blessing for all of them,” and in the Mishnah Berurah (167:54) he wrote that with two, one can exempt the other, and added that the reason is explained below at the beginning of siman 193 in the Mishnah Berurah, and there he explained the reason as being because of “berov am.” This is also the implication of the words of the Mishnah Berurah in the laws of tzitzit (8:13), where he wrote that it is better to recite the blessing and exempt one’s fellow in the blessing on tzitzit, because of “berov am.”
It occurred to me to answer that perhaps his words are not contradictory, for indeed “berov am” is fulfilled even with only a small number of people, but the more people are added, the greater the virtue of the mitzvah. Proof of this is found in the Mishnah Berurah (193:11) in the name of the Darkei Moshe, that when there are more than ten people for the purpose of the zimun, it is the choicest manner of performing the mitzvah (mitzvah min hamuvchar) not to divide up, whether there are twenty or six, because of “in the multitude of people is the King’s glory”; only that according to the letter of the law there is no prohibition in the matter if they divide up. However, he cites that some disagree with this and hold that since in each group there is also some measure of “a multitude of people,” and the mitzvah of birkat zimun is also fulfilled in each and every one, therefore they are equal, and one may do as he wishes, even initially (lechatchilah). Therefore, even though the Be’ur Halachah agrees that there is already the virtue of a multitude of people with three, nevertheless, if one can increase the virtue by waiting for ten, it is proper to do so.
It is likewise proven that the more people there are, the more the rule of a multitude of people is fulfilled to a greater degree, from what Rabbeinu Yonah (Berachot 8) brings: the opinion of the Rambam that it is preferable for a person to pray in the place where he studies if there is a minyan of ten there, and he should not go to the synagogue. Rabbeinu Yonah explained his opinion, that the preference applies even though there is a multitude of people in the synagogue. We see that were it not for the matter of praying in the place where he studies, it emerges that wherever there are more than ten, this is preferable to the ten who are praying.
From the sefer “Shaf Veyativ – Laws of Saying Tehillim” by Rabbi Shay Tahan, Chapter 5: How to Say Tehillim and Precise Pronunciation, Halacha 19 (p. 77 in the print edition). Translated from the Hebrew original.
