I repeated 'Layolom':

In Orthodox services, there's a tendency to frown upon, or entirely ban, word repetitions. And yet, I did something this morning I've never done before: Leading Musaf, in the Kedusha, chanting “Yimoch Hashem Layolom ...”, I repeated 'Layolom'. Nobody complained, but I want to describe the unusual circumstance that made this happen.

As I was chanting the line, I realized I had said that word unclearly, almost a mumble, more like “lolom”. Now I strongly believe that God knows what word I said, He always knows what we mean. And I know that everyone who was there understood me; we all know the text, they probably heard the word clearly despite my poor pronunciation. So why did I repeat the word?

The answer is: because I'm recording an audio book. As I record and edit, I've learned that it's very hard for people to understand mumbled words. And as they've never read the book before, they can't often guess what a mumbled word is. When I'm recording, if I notice a poor pronunciation, I stop and repeat.

Oh, the embarrassment. It won't happen again.

(If you're curious, you can find out about the book here.)