Enunciating Words During T’phila and Other B’rakhoth

Yom 5, 27-11-65 —27 Sh’vatt 5773

Question
Shalom, Rav
When davening, how much should I pronounce the words? Is it enough to, as the Rambam suggests, say them in my mind? Should I, like the Shulchan Aruch says, form them with my lips? Or do I need to at a minimum whisper them so I can hear?

Response
Shalom
I assume that your Question relates, in the first place, to T’phila, i.e. Sh’mone ‘Esre. Rambam does not suggest that one should recite the T’phila silently, i.e. in one’s head. In Hilkhoth T’phila 5:10 Rambam states the opposite , namely that while one should not daven aloud, one must enunciate the words with one’s lips and whisper to oneself. Rambam goes on to say that if one is ill, or unable to concentrate without reciting the T’phila out loud, one may do so in private but not in a minyan so as not to disturb others. This is also the view of the Shulhan ‘Arukh Orah Hayim 101:2 who quotes Rambam nearly word for word.
The source for all this is in the Talmud Y’rushalmi B’rakhoth 4:1 and Talmud Bavli B’rakhoth 31a.
The difference between T’phila and other B’rakhoth is that during T’phila one should whisper, whereas other B’rakhoth should be said aloud. See Rambam’s MT Hilkhoth B’rakhoth 1:7.
Rabbi David Bar-Hayim