One should be meticulous in his reading to pronounce the words properly. However, one who errs in his reading because he is unable to articulate the words, his reading is accepted favorably.
Sources and Explanations
I will copy here what we wrote in our small book ‘Shaf Veyativ’ on the laws of Corona regarding the above matter. The Gemara states in Megillah (24b): “Rav Assi said: [People of] Haifa and (Beit Shin) [Beit She’an] should not lift their hands [to bless]. It was also taught in a baraita thus: We do not send down before the ark neither the people of Beit She’an, nor the people of Beit Haifa, nor the people of Tivonin, because they pronounce alefs as ayins and ayins as alefs.” Rashi explains: “‘Alefs as ayins’ — if they would perform Birkat Kohanim, they would say ‘ya’er’—‘ya’er’ [with an ayin] Hashem panav, and that is an expression of curse, for there are [instances where] ‘panim’ is interpreted as an expression of anger, as in ‘panai yelechu’ (Shemot 33), ‘et panai’ (Vayikra 20), which we translate in the Targum as ‘my anger.’ And they make ayins into alefs and blemish their prayer. And what we say (Berachot 32a) that those of the school of Rabbi Eliezer pronounce alefs as ayins and ayins as alefs, that is in a derashah (homiletic exposition).” End quote. Thus we learn from Rashi that there are two deficiencies in corrupting the language. First, that sometimes it turns his prayer from a blessing into a curse, for example when he says ‘ya’er’ [with an ayin] instead of ‘ya’er’ [with an alef]. And second, even if it does not turn into an expression of curse, it still blemishes his prayer. Now, in the laws of Keriat Shema (siman 62, se’if 1) Maran writes: “Even though it is a mitzvah to be meticulous with its letters, if he read it and was not meticulous with them, he has fulfilled his obligation.” On this the Mishnah Berurah writes: “‘And was not meticulous’ — the matter is not that he did not mention the words and letters, for then he certainly has not fulfilled his obligation; rather, the matter of ‘was not meticulous’ is that he did not leave space between adjoining words, or did not sharpen the zayin of ‘tizkeru,’ and the like, as above in siman 61.” End quote. Thus there is a distinction between a person who articulated the words but did not say them with precision, in which case we say he has fulfilled his obligation, and a person who omitted letters, in which case the meaning of the word has changed. And likewise, it is certainly the same law if he added letters to a word which changed its meaning. And this is not a law only regarding Keriat Shema, for although we find many points of precision in the laws of Keriat Shema (siman 61), the Shulchan Aruch already wrote there (se’if 22) that also in Pesukei Dezimra and in tefillah one must be meticulous in this. And the Mishnah Berurah (se’if 35) wrote that the reason they warned specifically regarding Keriat Shema more than other places in the prayer is because Keriat Shema is given over to everyone and it contains the declaration of the unity of Heaven.
However, this must be known: even though a person fulfills his obligation after the fact if he was not meticulous with the words of the prayer, nevertheless one should not appoint a chazzan who does not articulate the words properly, as the Shulchan Aruch writes (53:12): “We do not appoint one who pronounces alefs as ayins and ayins as alefs.” And the Mishnah Berurah writes (53:37) that the same applies to one who pronounces chets as hehs, or who pronounces ‘shibbolet’ as ‘sibbolet,’ etc., “and the same applies to anyone who cannot pronounce the letters correctly, such as one who is heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue.” However, there is a difficulty with this from the Midrash on Shir HaShirim (parashah 2, ot 13): “Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: ‘Vediglo alai ahavah’ (and his banner over me is love). Rabbi Acha said: An am ha’aretz (unlearned person) who reads ‘ahavah’ as ‘eivah,’ such as ‘ve’ahavta’ as ‘ve’ayavta’ — Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: ‘And his skipping over Me is love.’” And so writes Sefer Chassidim, cited by the Magen Avraham (53:15): “If you wonder about those who stammer in speech and pronounce chet as heh, shin as samech, kuf as tet, and reish as dalet — how do they pray, or how do they read the Torah and say a davar shebikdushah (matter of holiness)? When they reach ‘Nafsheinu chiketah [la-Hashem]’ (our soul waits for Hashem), are they not found to be reviling and blaspheming? [For they say ‘hiketah’ (struck), Heaven forbid.] Do not be amazed at the matter, for our Creator, Who examines hearts, asks only for the heart of a person, that it be wholehearted with Him; and since he does not know how to speak properly, He considers it for him as if he had concentrated well. And likewise those who read Pesukei Dezimra in a loud voice and with pleasant song, and do not know the verses and say them mistakenly, their prayer and their songs are accepted like a pleasing fragrance, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu also rejoices over him with great joy and says, ‘How much he sings before Me according to his understanding!’ And about this it is said, ‘Vediglo alai ahavah’ — his error over Me is love; [as in] ‘bemishpat lo yimal piv’ (his mouth shall not err in judgment), which the Targum translates ‘lo yadgil pumei.’ There was an incident with a certain Kohen who was lifting his hands [in blessing] and said ‘yishmadecha’ (destroy you) (instead of ‘veyishmerecha’), and there was a certain sage there who removed him from before the ark because he did not know how to articulate the letters of Birkat Kohanim; and they showed that sage from Heaven that if he did not return him, he would be punished for the matter.” End quote. Thus we learn from here that if a person cannot say the words of the prayer properly, his prayer is still accepted favorably before the Master of prayers.
And the Shraga HaMeir (vol. 5, siman 13) writes that there is no distinction between whether one skipped entire words or only slightly corrupted the language; even if one actually skips entire words, he still fulfills his obligation, and it is pleasing to his Master, for Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, ‘And his skipping over Me is love.’ However, he writes that one who hears such a deficient or corrupted blessing should not answer amen, since for the listener the meaning is not proper. And likewise, one cannot say that all that Sefer Chassidim permitted is for him to pray thus by himself, but that he may not be appointed as chazzan, for the story he brought at the end, about the sage who removed the Kohen, was [where the Kohen was] blessing the congregation.
And perhaps the explanation for this is found in Tosafot, who asked in Megillah (24b, s.v. Keshe’atah) how Rebbi sent down before the ark a chazzan who did not articulate the words properly — but we do not send down people of Haifa or people of Beit She’an, because they pronounce alefs as ayins, etc. And Tosafot answered that that chazzan was able to read correctly with effort, and therefore Rebbi appointed him. Thus, according to Tosafot it emerges that if he can exert himself to pray correctly, he may go down as chazzan, and what is written in the Midrash and in Sefer Chassidim refers to when he is entirely unable to pray with correct pronunciation. However, the Peri Chadash (53:12) and the Ba’er Heitev wrote that Tosafot’s intention is not to permit bringing up the chazzan only if he will indeed pray correctly, but rather that even when he does not articulate the prayer correctly it should be permitted; and on this they objected that it does not seem so. And they wrote that more reasonable is the answer of Tosafot (in Perek HaSocher, Bava Metzia 86a), that Rebbi sent him down before the ark because it was not possible with someone else.
And the Kaf HaChaim (98:2) warned greatly about this, and writes: “And likewise one must be careful with the words, the letters and the vowels, to pronounce them correctly and in their proper form, and that nothing be missing from them. And Siddur Nehora HaShalem (chapter 13, folio 14b) writes: Therefore a person must be careful throughout the entire prayer — and habit becomes nature — to pronounce proper words in completeness, lacking nothing, for it is known in the holy Zohar that on each and every letter and on each and every tittle hang many thousands of myriads of supernal, holy and hidden worlds, as explained in the holy Zohar (Parashat Acharei, folio 73a). And this is its language: ‘Come and see, the first word of the Torah that is given to young children is alef-bet, etc.’ See there. What emerges from this is that when a person pronounces the word correctly from his mouth, he moves all the worlds that depend on them; but when a person does not set his mind and heart to the sensation of articulating well, he exchanges this word for another word which is not at all in the rectification of the order of the prayers, and causes great blemishes, may Hashem save us, in those holy worlds that depend on those letters of the word, as mentioned in the holy Zohar in many places that the awakening above depends on the awakening below. Therefore he should accustom himself in this, and at the beginning of his habituation he should do as is written in the Darkei Moshe, that he should pronounce the words literally as if counting coins, until he senses within himself that he will certainly not stumble in this, and then he can say the words even somewhat quickly. End quote. And see further there, where he brings an awesome story about this regarding a certain chassid famous in his generation, and after he passed away they wanted to punish him with a great punishment because he was not careful to pronounce the letters and vowels correctly; see there. And see further in our words above (siman 5) what we wrote on this with the help of Heaven. And therefore a person must always set his heart and mind, as a fixed rule, at every time and season that he pronounces letters and words from his mouth in Torah study or in prayer, that he not lose any letter from the beginnings of words or from the ends of words, for there are letters that are swallowed at the beginnings of words, some in the middle, and some at the end. And also people are not equal in their pronunciation, for each one has certain letters which do not come out well in his pronunciation, and he must watch over them; and speed necessarily causes some letters to be lost without his knowing, etc. And especially one must be careful when he pronounces one of the holy Names from his mouth, that he pronounce it with trembling, in holiness and purity, and with great kavanah. And one who comes to purify himself is assisted from Heaven. And may Hashem grant us and all Israel the merit to do His will and to serve Him with a complete heart.” End quote. Thus the ruling concludes: a person who was not meticulous with the words of the prayer has fulfilled his obligation, but lechatchilah (initially) he should strive to be meticulous; and if he is in no way whatsoever able to articulate the words correctly, it is still permitted, and he must pray. And so too with the reading of Tehillim: he should strive to read correctly, and if he does not succeed, he is still permitted to read even though he errs in reading the words; and at any rate he should be especially careful with those words that could sound, Heaven forbid, like reviling and blasphemy.
From the sefer “Shaf Veyativ – Laws of Saying Tehillim” by Rabbi Shay Tahan, Chapter 5: How to Say Tehillim and Precise Pronunciation, Halacha 6 (p. 62 in the print edition). Translated from the Hebrew original.
