Siman 139

The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch wrote: One who reads the portion must arrange it first two or three times for himself. Like that incident of Rava Akiva, whom they called to the Torah and he did not wish to ascend because he had not arranged it first. And he derived it from the verse: "Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and searched it out." Thus far their words. And the incident of Rabbi Akiva is in the Midrash on Parashat "Ki Tisa," and this is the wording of the Midrash there at the beginning of section 40: A person must... at the time he seeks to say them in public, he should not say: Since I know it well, when I enter to expound I will say it. Rabbi Acha said: You learn from God, when He sought to say the Torah to Israel, He said it four times for Himself before He said it to Israel, as it is said: "Then He saw...", and afterward: "And He said to man...". Rabbi Yochanan ben Torta came before Rabbi Akiva. He said to him: Stand and read from the Torah! He said to them: I have not reviewed the portion. And the sages praised him, thus "Then He saw it and declared it." Thus far his words.

And according to this, one must wonder about the Tur and Shulchan Aruch, who wrote "two and three times," for is it not clear from the Midrash that one requires four times? And it appears to me that this is because in Midrash Bereshit (parashah 24) it is stated: "Then He saw it and declared it" – the Rabbis and Rabbi Acha. The Rabbis say: Every single word that went out from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, to Moshe, He would say it two times in His heart, and afterward He would say it to Moshe. What is the reason? "Then He saw it and declared it" – one... and Rabbi Acha said: Four... Thus far his words. And the Midrash of "Ki Tissa" follows Rabbi Acha, and they ruled according to the Rabbis. And this was in the time of the Shas when the one ascending for the aliyah would read. But now that the sheliach tzibbur reads – he is obligated to review the parashah two times beforehand, even if he is expert. And when he read the shnayim mikra on the eve of Shabbat – he has fulfilled his obligation with this. And there is one who wrote that it is a mitzvah that the one ascending for the aliyah should also prepare (Ba'er Heitev in the name of Knesset HaGedolah). And there is no reason for this, for behold, he says it in a whisper after the sheliach tzibbur. And also, the custom is not so.

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 2: One who does not know how to read—one must protest against him so that he does not ascend to the Sefer Torah. And if they need this person who does not know how to read because he is a kohen or a levi, and there is no other besides him, if when the shaliach tzibbur reads to him word by word he knows how to say it and read it from the script—he may ascend. And if not—he shall not ascend. Thus far his words. And behold, it is certain that "knowing how to read" is only necessary during the time of the Shas when the one who ascends reads himself. But in our times, why is it necessary that he be able to read himself? However, that he be able to say after the shaliach tzibbur word by word is certainly necessary even now, for if not so, his berakhah is in vain. And according to the opinion of our teacher, the Beit Yosef, he must be able to read from the script. And he follows his reasoning in section 4 that a blind person does not read, since it is forbidden to read not from the script. But according to our teacher, the Rema, there, who cited in the name of the Maharil that nowadays a blind person reads regardless, for he does not need to be able to read from the script. However, after the shaliach tzibbur he certainly must be able to read, as our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote below in siman 141, section 2, that the one who ascends must read in a whisper with the shaliach tzibbur; for if not so, his berakhah is in vain, for how can he recite a berakhah on what another reads? But the giants of the world have already written that even a complete am ha'aretz who cannot read even after the shaliach tzibbur, nevertheless ascends to the Torah because "hearing is like responding," and he can recite the berakhah (Taz ibid. subsection 3 and Knesset HaGedolah). And also our teacher, the Beit Yosef, himself in his great book there, wrote based on Zohar "Vayakhel" that in this "hearing is like responding," see there. And such is the simple custom in most of the dispersions of Israel.

One should not ascend to the Torah on his own until they say to him "ascend." Therefore, the custom is that the shaliach tzibbur says "Let so-and-so the son of so-and-so stand." And whoever the shaliach tzibbur called is obligated to ascend immediately, and if he does not ascend, it causes him a shortening of days. And thus they said in Berakhot (55a): Three things shorten a person's days and years, and one of them is one to whom they give a sefer Torah to bless and he does not bless, see there. And now, this is the giving of the sefer Torah, when they call him "Let... stand." And even the gabbai, who is the head of the synagogue, or the chazzan—they shall not ascend on their own until they are told to read.

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 3 that the custom is that when the shaliach tzibbur wishes—he recites the blessing and reads without taking permission, because it is as if from the moment they appointed him as shaliach tzibbur, they authorized him for this. Thus far his words. Our teacher, the Rema, wrote on this that in these countries we do not practice so, and the chazzan does not ascend except when the sagan tells him to ascend. However, they do not call him by his name like the rest of those who ascend, whom they call by their names "Ploni bar Ploni." Thus far his words. For in the country of our teacher, the Beit Yosef, the shaliach tzibbur calls all those called to the Torah of his own accord, and consequently it is as if they gave him permission to ascend on his own, for if not so, who would call him? But in these countries, the shaliach tzibbur only calls those whom the sagan tells him to call, and therefore the sagan calls him as well, only by his name—it is not applicable that he should call him, since he is standing by the Sefer Torah and it is not applicable to say "let him stand" for he is already standing here. Rather, he says to him that he shall be among those who ascend. (So it seems to me the reason from Darkhei Moshe, letter 1, and the Gra, subsection 5.)

He further wrote that one whose father is a transgressor of the entire Torah—they call him by the name of his father's father but not by his name alone, so as not to shame him in public. And specifically if he never in his life ascended by his father's name. But if he is an adult and it was customary in that city to ascend by his father's name, and afterward he turned—they call him by his father's name as was customary, so as not to shame him in public. And so too if there is reason to fear the enmity of the one who turned. And an asufi and a shetuki—they call him by the name of his mother's father. And if he is not known—they call him by the name "Avraham" like a ger. Thus far his words. And behold, a "shetuki" is one whose mother is known but not his father. But an "asufi," even his mother is not known, as we learned at the beginning of the chapter "Asarah Yuchasin." And if so, from where do they know the name of his mother's father? However, it is possible to find this even by an asufi, as is explained in Even HaEzer siman 4 section 32, see there. (See Taz subsection 1 who hesitated to write "by the name of his mother's father" because of a get, see there. And it requires further study, for if so, also by the name of his father's father, and by the name "Avraham" there is reason for concern. And the Eliyah Rabbah subsection 4 already raised this difficulty. Rather there is no concern in this, for the Rav investigates at the time of the get. And see Machatzit HaShekel subsection 2, and Pri Megadim subsection 1, and in Beit Shmuel Even HaEzer siman 129 subsection 19 and subsection 39, and in the Taz ibid. subsection 15. Examine and you will find it simple.)

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, in section 4 ruled that a blind person does not read, because it is forbidden to read even a single letter not from the writing. Thus far his words. Our teacher, the Rema, wrote that nowadays a blind person reads from the Torah, just as we read the Torah for an ignoramus. Thus far his words. He wrote this in the name of the Maharil, meaning: that such is the custom even though his own opinion is not so, as he wrote in his book Darkhei Moshe, see there. And so the great Acharonim decided. They wrote that it has already become the custom to call a blind person to the Torah in the presence of the world's giants and they did not protest (Bach and Magen Avraham subsection 4, and Taz in siman 141 subsection 3, and Eliyah Rabbah subsection 5), for the reason that since nowadays the sheliach tzibbur reads and not the one called up himself—there is no concern in this. However, in any case, it is required that he read the words after the sheliach tzibbur (see Magen Avraham ibid.). And it is no wonder that this one blesses and is unable to read, for how can another read on his behalf? For we learned in the Tosefta of Megillah and in the Yerushalmi (chapter three): It happened with Rabbi Meir that he read while sitting, and gave it to another and he blessed over it. And it asks: Does this one read and this one bless? Rabbi Yirmeyah said: From here we learn that one who hears is like one who reads (Taz ibid.). But there is no proof from this at all, for there the one blessing is fit to read, but the blind person is not fit. And as we say generally: Anything fit for mixing—the lack of mixing does not hinder it.

And I have a great wonder in this matter regarding our teacher, the Beit Yosef, in his great work in siman 141, who wrote in the name of Sefer HaEshkol, and this is his wording: That which we learned in the chapter "Hakorai Et HaMegillah": A blind man does not read from the Torah – this is to say that he does not read by heart. But placing another person... Thus far his words. And behold, it is not a Mishnah in any place; on the contrary, so we learned there (24a): A pochiach spreads the Shema, but he does not read from the Torah... A blind man spreads the Shema..., see there. And it did not mention regarding a blind man the reading of the Torah at all. And on the contrary, one should infer the opposite: since regarding a pochiach it taught it, and regarding a blind man it did not teach it – conclude from this that it is permitted. However, it is possible that there is no need to teach this regarding a blind man since he cannot see, and certainly such was the version of the text they had in the Mishnah. And so I found in the Rif this version. Nevertheless, the simple custom is that a blind man goes up to the Torah. (And as for what we questioned: that he is not fit to read – one can say according to what the Tosefot Yeshanim wrote in Yoma 70a, that this rule that "words that are in writing you are not permitted to say by heart" is only for a choice fulfillment of the mitzvah and not as a requirement, see there. And if so, a blind man, where it is impossible in another way – it is permitted ab initio. And with this it is settled, for behold we find Rav Yosef and Rav Sheshet who said the Haggadah as is explained in Pesachim 116b, and there are many verses there. And we have already explained regarding this matter above in siman 49, see there.)

Each of those called up blesses before it and after it. And this is not related to the blessing over the Torah, for these blessings were instituted for the honor of the Torah. And even if one blessed the blessing over the Torah and immediately they called him to ascend to the Torah – he blesses in his usual manner. And one should not say: since he just now blessed the blessing of "Who has chosen us" for himself, how can he return and immediately bless this same blessing without an interruption in between? For there is no concern in this, since he acts according to the institution of the sages. Furthermore: for in truth he will interrupt with the verses or with the Mishnah of "These are the things" that we say after the blessing over the Torah. And even if there is no time, nevertheless, while walking he can say some verse (Magen Avraham, subsection 11), such as "May He bless you," which is a short verse. However, if they called him to ascend to the Torah before he blessed the blessing over the Torah for himself – he is already exempt from blessing the blessing of "Who has chosen us," for it is no worse than one who is exempted by "Ahava Rabba," as I wrote in siman 47. And he should only bless "to engage" and "make pleasant, please." And even though according to this he preceded "Who has chosen" before these blessings, and in the blessing over the Torah it is not so, nevertheless – there is no concern in this.

The first blessing over the Torah is "Who has chosen us...", for it is the most excellent of the blessings (Berakhot 11b) because it contains thanksgiving to the Omnipresent and praise for Israel and for the Torah (Rashi). And the final blessing is "Who has given...", and this refers to the Written Torah; "and planted eternal life within us" refers to the Oral Torah, for the essence of Torah study is the Oral Torah. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not establish a covenant with Israel except for the sake of the Oral Torah (Gittin 60b). And this blessing is fitting to be said after the reading, for by what do we merit eternal life? It is surely for the sake of Torah study. Therefore, after the study, which is the reading, this blessing is fitting. (And if he reversed them and recited "Who has given" before it, and "Who has chosen" after it—he has fulfilled his obligation. Magen Avraham, subsection 5.)

In the time of the Mishnah, not all those who ascended would recite the blessings; rather, the first would recite the blessing before it and the last would recite the blessing after it. All those who ascended would read without a blessing, and they all fulfilled their obligation through the blessing of the first and the last, for they are all one matter. And so we learned in the Mishnah at the beginning of the fourth (third) chapter of Megillah. The sages of the Gemara ordained that each of those who ascend should recite the blessing before it and after it, as a decree on account of those who enter in the middle of the reading—they might say that there is no blessing before the Torah. And on account of those who exit, so that they should not say there is no blessing after it because they saw several who ascended who did not recite a blessing (Megillah 21b). And it appears to me that we only required this reason in the time when the one who ascended read for himself. However, according to our custom where the sheliach tzibbur reads—it is a necessity that all those who ascend recite the blessings, for if not so, by what is it recognizable that they are ascending to the Torah?

One who ascends to the Torah opens the Torah, and sees the verse that he must read, and blesses while it is open. And at the end of Megillah, Tannaim disagree regarding this: for Rabbi Meir holds that he sees, and rolls the Sefer Torah and blesses, and after the blessing he opens it and reads. And the reason: for if he blesses while it is open, they will say that the blessings are written in the Torah. And Rabbi Yehuda says: he opens and sees, and blesses while it is open, and we are not concerned lest they say the blessings are written in the Torah. And the halacha was decided in the Gemara there like Rabbi Yehuda, that he opens and sees and blesses. And so ruled the Rambam in chapter twelve of Tefillah and the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch section 4, and so we practice. However, our teachers the Tosafists there wrote that ideally he should roll it, see there. And it appears that they hold that even Rabbi Yehuda admits that this is more preferable to roll it, but rather he holds that it is not necessary for this (and so wrote the Bach). And there is one who practices so. And I do not know if it is correct to do so, since from all the poskim it does not appear so. And they hold that according to Rabbi Yehuda specifically he should bless while it is open, for since he must read it – how shall he close it? And therefore they all ruled that after the reading he should roll it and bless, because when he finished the reading he must close it until another ascends and opens it. (And in Pri Etz Chaim page 72b he also wrote like the Tosafists. And see Magen Avraham subsection 6, and Taz subsection 4, and Bach and Eliyah Rabbah subsection 7. And they all agreed with the ruling of the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch. And regarding what the Taz wrote that the Tosafists distinguish between their time and our time, see there – I do not know who forced him to this. And their reason is as I have written, and so wrote the Bach.)

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote that at the time one recites the first blessing—he should turn his face to the side, so that it does not appear as if he is reciting a blessing from the Torah. And it seems to me that he should turn his face to his left side. Thus far his words. For the left side is the right of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as I wrote in siman 123 (Magen Avraham, subsection 8). And I do not know what the comparison is to there, for there it is during the prayer and it is like standing before the King, but in every place the right is more significant. And in my humble opinion, the reason seems to be because the reader stands at his left, as is known, and therefore he turns toward him. And I have seen those who practice that during the final blessing he turns his face to his right side, and it is correct. But there are some of the great authorities who complained about the essence of this law, and wrote that if so, why did Rabbi Meir say to close it so that they should not say the blessings are written in the Torah, he should have said to turn the face (Taz there and Bach and Eliyah Rabbah)? And in my humble opinion, it seems that this is not a contradiction. And it can be said that Rabbi Meir holds that this recognition is not sufficient, and Rabbi Yehuda holds that this is sufficient. And as for why he did not mention this, it is because he can make some other recognition. And there was one of the great authorities who would look outside the Sefer Torah, and would not look at the script (Eliyah Rabbah in the name of Knesset HaGedolah).

Some are accustomed to bow during the blessing of the Torah. And some have complained about this, for one should not bow except in those places established by the sages (Ma'adanei Yom Tov, end of the fifth chapter of Berakhot). And some have written that the early ones did so, for this is only due to the honor of the Torah (Magen Avraham, subsection 6 in the name of the Shach), and so wrote the Rokeach (siman 319, and Rama Mi-Pano siman 256). Nevertheless, we do not practice this. And one should shake the Torah at the time he says "and gave us His Torah," and similarly in the final blessing when he says "Who gave us the Torah of truth" (Magen Avraham, subsection 12), to indicate that this is our Torah. And it is understood that this is not an absolute requirement but merely a custom, and where they are accustomed—they are accustomed. And the shaking is a slight lifting by means of the poles that he holds in his hands.

One must hold the pillars of the Sefer Torah during the blessing and during its reading. They based this on what is stated regarding Yehoshua: "This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth," which implies that one holds it in his hand. After the reading, one should kiss it. We are accustomed to kiss it by means of a tallit or by means of a cloth, before the blessing and after the reading, to show its preciousness to us. There are those who are accustomed that before the blessing one should hold both pillars, and during the blessing he should remove his left hand in order to strengthen the right (ibid. subsection 13 in the name of Kavanot). And there are those who are accustomed that during the blessing one should hold the parchments of the Sefer Torah with both hands, by means of a cloth or by means of the tallit, and after the blessing he should remove the left (ibid. in the name of Ketavim). When it happens that he has saliva—he should spit and afterwards kiss, and not the reverse (ibid.). And know that in the verse "shall not depart" it is written: "be strong and courageous." From this they were accustomed to say to the one who completes a book, "Chazak chazak venitchazek!" And there are those who want them to say "Chazak" three times, which are the numerical value of "Moshe," and it is correct.

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 5: It is the custom to cover the writing with a cloth between one person and the next. Thus far his words. That is to say: that which was explained, that after the reading one rolls the Torah—it is the custom not to roll it, but rather they leave it open, and spread the mantle of the sefer Torah over the writing until another person ascends. But we do not practice this custom, and as our teacher, the Rema, wrote, that in these lands it is the custom that it be rolled between one person and the next. And such is the primary ruling. Thus far his words.

The one who ascends says "Barchu" and the blessings in a loud voice. And one who says them in a whisper is in error, for they are only to be said in the presence of ten. And when the ten do not hear and do not answer "Amen" – his blessing is in vain (Beit Yosef). And the same law applies to Kaddish and "Barchu" in the prayer (Magen Avraham, subsection 10). And there are some of our teachers who ruled that if he blessed in a whisper – he must return and bless in a loud voice, so that the people will hear and answer "Blessed is Hashem the Blessed One..." (the Ri). Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, in section 6 brought this opinion. And it seems to me that even according to the opinion explained in siman 124 that one may answer "Amen" even without hearing the blessing, provided only that he knows which blessing it is, nevertheless "Barchu" must necessarily be heard from the mouth of the one blessing. And after the people have answered "Blessed is Hashem the Blessed One..." – the one blessing returns and says: "Blessed is Hashem..." in order to include himself in the group of those blessing, for previously he said "Barchu" so that others would bless. Our teacher, the Rema, wrote in section 6 that if the congregation did not hear the one blessing when he said "Barchu," even though they heard the chazzan answering "Blessed..." – they should not answer with him but rather answer "Amen" to the words of the chazzan. Thus far his words. And we have already explained in siman 124, section 16, that regarding "Barchu" in the prayer it is not so; and there, if the majority of the congregation heard "Barchu" from the mouth of the one blessing, then even the individual who did not hear, when he hears the congregation answering "Blessed..." – he may answer with them "Blessed...". And see what I wrote in siman 57.