There is a notion that exists among some, that when it comes to davening, עבודה שבלב, Chasidic davening is, by default, superior than non-Chasidic davening. And not just slightly better, but greatly so, of a different nature and a different class almost.
But is that actually true?
Not long ago, I saw an article at a Lubavitch website, in which a Lubavitcher Rosh Yeshiva strongly chastised his fellow Chasidim for their dismal level of davening, their speeding in it, and lack of kavannah. And the truth is, one can see the same in more than a few other places, in other Chasidic groups as well.
In the old days, Chasidim used to claim that non-Chasidim daven without heart, and with rapidity. Now it seems that many of them are the ones that are leading in that. On the other hand, in many non-Chasidic minyanim, especially (but not limited to) yeshivos and yeshiva type minyanim, davening is often on a relatively exalted level, at a measured pace, with limited talking, and a serious atmosphere of כוונה.
Now of course, we are just generalizing here. There is a wide range of variety and level of Chasidic davening, as there is non-Chasidic davening. But I think it should be clear to honest observers, that the notion that Chasidic davening is automatically way above non-Chasidic davening is not true, sometimes is היפך האמת, and should find repose in the dustbin of history.
In fact, there are grounds to suspect that the longer davening of Chasidim (they have additional tefillos that נוסח אשכנז does not have), and their insistence, על פי קבלה, on not skipping things in the סידור, thereby limiting the application of the כלל of טוב מעט בכוונה מהרבות בלא כוונה, contributes especially to an excessive speeding while davening problem among them, as some people feel compelled to recite many pages in a limited time, which they can only accomplish by speed davening. This is even more acute of an issue in the modern era, when we grapple with an additional reported problem of short attention spans among many.
May Hashem help us merit the fulfillment of וטהר לבנו לעבדך (תרתי משמע - בכלל, וגם עבודה שבלב בפרט) באמת בקרוב.
א גוטען חודש
