Siman 282

After Shacharit, they take the sefer Torah out from the Aron, and everyone stands because of its honor, and they are not permitted to sit until it reaches the reading table and they place it upon it. And they say "Vayehi Binsoa HaAron" and "Berich Shemeh" from Zohar Vayakhel (page 206a), until "Letav Ulchayin Ulshalam Amen." And they honor someone with the removal of the sefer Torah and he hands it to the Shliach Tzibbur, but the Shliach Tzibbur should not take it out from the Aron Kodesh, for in such a manner there is more honor, as is explained in the Mishnah at the beginning of the seventh chapter of Yoma, see there. And the Shliach Tzibbur takes the sefer Torah with his face toward the people, and says aloud: "Shema Yisrael etc.," and the people answer after him. And afterward he says: "Echad Hu Elokeinu, Gadol Adoneinu Kadosh Shemo," and on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur they say: "Kadosh VeNora," but in Masekhet Soferim chapter 14 (halacha 10), it says that they must always say "Kadosh VeNora" in order to say three praises: Gadol, Kadosh, and Nora, corresponding to the three patriarchs and corresponding to the three Kedushot, see there, and the congregation answers after him "Echad Hu Elokeinu etc." And afterward the Shliach Tzibbur turns his face toward the Heikhal and bows slightly, and says "Gadlu L'Hashem Iti etc.," and the congregation answers "Lecha Hashem HaGedulah etc.," "Al Hakol Yitgadal Veyitkadash etc.," and the Shliach Tzibbur walks with the sefer Torah to the right, until the table upon which they read, and places the sefer Torah on the table. And some are accustomed to walk after the sefer Torah, and so it is in Masekhet Soferim there (end of halacha 14), and this is its wording: "Thus the pure-minded of Jerusalem used to do: when they would take out the Torah and return it—they would walk after it because of its honor," see there, and a hint to the matter is "After Hashem your G-d shall you walk" (see Sotah 39b). And there are those who refrain from walking after the sefer Torah, because it appears like yuhara, that he is worthy to walk after the sefer Torah. And know, that in Masekhet Soferim there, there are other verses, and that the Maftir is the one who says the verses, and that the hagbahah is before the reading of the Torah, see there. And for us, it is impossible to change from the custom, and there is no concern in this.

And it has already been explained at the beginning of siman 135, that Moses our teacher ordained for Israel to read each and every sidra on its respective Shabbat, and Heaven forbid to exchange this sidra for another. And there are 54 sidrot in the Torah, and in the Zohar everywhere it says 53, and it seems to me that its intention is regarding the Shabbats on which the sidrot are read, to exclude 'Vezot HaBerachah' which does not have a Shabbat but rather is designated for the final Yom Tov of the festival of Sukkot, in Eretz Yisrael - on Shemini Atzeret, and in the diaspora - on Simchat Torah. But all 53 sidrot are designated only for the Shabbats of the year. And because in a non-leap year there are not 53 Shabbats, and aside from the days of Yom Tov that fall on Shabbat, for then the sidra is not read, and in a leap year there are more than 53 Shabbats - therefore there are sidrot that are joined together, which are read as two on one Shabbat. And it has already been explained there that if due to some reason they did not read the sidra on this Shabbat - they read it on the following Shabbat with the sidra belonging to it, and even if there were then two sidrot - they also read the sidra of the past Shabbat; see there.

The Zohar wrote (Vayakhel page 206b): "It is forbidden for one who reads from the Torah to pause a parashah, or even a single word, except in a place where Moshe paused a parashah for the holy nation shall he pause etc." Thus far his words. And the intention is not regarding each of the individuals called up that he should not pause except at a parashah, meaning a petuchah or a setumah, for if so, from where would we take seven individuals called up? For behold, there are sidrot that have no petuchah or setumah at all, such as 'Vayetzei' and 'Miketz', and there are those that have only one parashah, such as 'Balak' and 'Ha'azinu', and there are many sidrot that do not have seven parashiyot. Rather, the intention is regarding the completion of the individuals called up, that they should finish exactly at the end of the sidrah, and not before and not after even a single word, and certainly not many, as he concludes afterward and this is his wording: "And he shall not pause the words of this Shabbat's parashah within the parashah of another Shabbat... since these have completed the pausing of the parashiyot of the entire year and were crowned before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and they say 'I am from such-and-such Shabbat from such-and-such congregation'... and it is forbidden for us to mix these with those... even as much as a hairsbreadth and even with one word etc." Thus far his words. And the meticulousness is only on Shabbat morning and not at Mincha and not on Monday and Thursday, for those readings are not part of the general reckoning. And the proof is that on Shabbat morning they return and read those same parashiyot, and this is like the reading of Rosh Chodesh and the festivals. (See Magen Avraham; and that which they said in Berakhot 12b, 'Any parashah that Moshe did not pause - we do not pause,' that is to establish it permanently so, like the verses of Balak which they sought to establish in the reading of the Shema, see there. But at Mincha on Shabbat and on Monday and Thursday, since afterward on Shabbat they complete it - we have no concern with it, and only in the middle of a verse is it forbidden, as we say in Ta'anit 22b. And that which they said in Megillah 29a that in the West they would pause for three years, the truth is so, for they were not concerned for this, and therefore indeed their custom did not spread, and all of Israel complete it in one year. And that which in the Mikdash they would divide the parashah of Ha'azinu - there it was not for the sake of Torah study for all of Israel, but rather the Levites would play in song, as is found in Rosh Hashanah 31a. See there and examine carefully.)

And they bring out the Sefer Torah and read from it with seven called-up ones, no fewer. However, they may add to the called-up ones if they have need for this, as we learned in the Mishnah at the beginning of the third chapter of Megillah. And from the Levush it is implied that it is an elevation to add, as he wrote that one elevates in holiness; see there. But it does not appear so from all the poskim, but rather that they gave permission to add. And according to the commentary of Rashi there, the reason is because there is no neglect of work, and according to the Ran there, it is because its holiness is great; see there. And according to the opinion of Rashi, even on Yom Tov it is permitted to add to the number of called-up ones, since there is no neglect of work, and such is the opinion of the Rambam in the twelfth chapter of Tefillah. However, according to the opinion of the Ran, only on Shabbat was it permitted to add and not on Yom Tov, and such is the custom in these lands, except on Simchat Torah when they add many. And the Maftir is not of the number of called-up ones, even on Yom Tov when they read a different parashah for him, and all the more so on Shabbat, when he repeats and reads what the seventh read.

In the time of the Mishnah, not everyone would recite the blessings; rather, the first person would recite the first blessing and the last person the last. For thus we learned there: "The one who opens recites the blessing before it, and the one who concludes recites the blessing after it." In the time of the Gemara, each of those who ascended began to recite the blessing before it and after it, and it says there (21b) the reason: a decree because of those who enter and because of those who leave. See there. And now, it is simple that it is necessary to do so, for in the time of the Shas, each of those who ascended would read. But now that the reader reads, if the one who ascends does not recite the blessing—by what is his ascent to the Torah recognizable?

Therefore, some say that even though according to the law of the Mishnah one may add to the number of those called to the Torah on Shabbat—this was in their time, when each individual did not recite a blessing. However, when each individual recites a blessing, and when they add, the blessings will increase, and it is close to being blessings in vain, since they did not institute these blessings (Magen Avraham, subsection 1, in the name of the Tashbetz). And although these are certainly correct words, nevertheless, this opinion was not accepted. Most of the poskim did not agree to this (ibid.), for already in the time of the Gemara each of the olim recited a blessing as I have written, and despite all this, all the Rishonim wrote that one may add. Such is the common custom. There are those who practiced not to add more than three, which is to say up to ten olim to the Torah besides the Maftir (Eliyah Rabbah). However, even now there are those who do not add to the seven called, and it is very proper. It is appropriate to practice this way except at a wedding or a brit milah and the like (Magen Avraham, ibid.).

And even according to the one who holds that on Yom Tov one should not add, nevertheless when it falls on Shabbat—it is permitted to add, and likewise on Yom Kippur that falls on Shabbat. And there are those who are meticulous not to add on Yom Kippur even when it falls on Shabbat, because the beginnings of the parashiyot are directed toward matters of atonement, and it is good not to change them (ibid. subsection 2). But what shall we do if they will not obey us, saying that they are forced to add because of the complaints of the householders who want to be called up to the Torah? And since there is no prohibition in the matter, it is not worthwhile to stand in dispute and protest against them.

Our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 2: It is permitted to call many olim, even though this one reads what that one read and blesses again—there is nothing wrong with this. Thus far his words. Our teacher, the Rema, wrote regarding this: And there are those who prohibit. And such is the custom in these lands, except for Simchat Torah because they are accustomed to increase the number of those called, and they conduct themselves according to the first opinion. Thus far his words. And even at a wedding or when there are many obligations—they are not accustomed to read what the second read (Magen Avraham, subsection 4). And there are those who are lenient at a wedding (ibid.). But it is better to refrain from this, for in truth the proofs of those who prohibit are clear from that which is in Taanit (27b) that they did not permit skipping backward, and the one who permits only permitted when it is impossible otherwise. And in the Mordechai at the end of Megillah, he brought that our teacher Ephraim left the synagogue in a rage because of this, see there. (And it is proper to distance oneself from this. And it is simple that even according to those who permit, this is not within the number of the seven called when he read what the previous one read. And from the Gemara it appears that the primary importance is the third oleh, but from the Zohar Parshat Shelach page 164b it is explained that the sixth is preferable. And so it is in Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar HaShabbat, end of chapter 19, that it is the foundation. See there, and examine and you will find it easy.)

All may ascend for the count of the seven, even a woman, and even a minor who knows to Whom one recites a blessing, who possesses some level of understanding to comprehend that the blessing is to Hashem, may He be blessed. However, the sages said that a woman should not read in public due to the honor of the congregation. And even according to the law, they only join for the count of the seven, but not such that they would all be women or minors. However, for the minor to be the reader—he cannot until he brings two hairs (Magen Avraham subsection 5). And the minor only ascends for the count of the seven, and not for the three on Monday, Thursday, and Shabbat at Mincha (ibid.). And it is not understood what the difference is between this and that? But according to what will be explained, that the minor cannot ascend for all the aliyot—it works out well. And they wrote further that even a minor kohen, if there is no adult kohen there—he may ascend. But when there is no levi, such that the minor kohen would read twice—it is certainly not proper (ibid.). And there is one who expresses doubt not to call a minor kohen, for regarding him it is not applicable to say "and you shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your G-d," since he is disqualified from offering (ibid.). And this is no proof, for he will eventually come to the status of offering, and he also eats of the most holy offerings. Also, a blemished kohen ascends first even though he is disqualified from offering.

And know that from the words of the Peri Etz Chaim there, it is explained that that which the sages said, "All may ascend for the count of seven," refers to the seventh only. And he wrote the reason there: because it is smaller in stature than all of them, see there. And in the Rivash (siman 321), he wrote in the name of our teacher Tam that he may ascend for the count of seven, and only for maftir when there are two Sifrei Torah, where only one person reads from the second—a minor should not ascend. See there. And I saw one who wrote in his name that for the count of seven he does not ascend, only for maftir (Magen Avraham, subsection 6). And I am astonished, for this is the wording of the Rivash there: And for this reason the Manhig wrote in the name of our teacher Tam: that on a day when there are two scrolls, where the maftir reads that which is the obligation of the day—we do not have a minor read maftir. And even though we hold that a minor ascends for the count of seven, nevertheless it implies that for that which is the obligation of the day, where only one reads—it must be an adult. However, for the count of seven, a minor ascends when the others are adults. Thus far his words; behold, it is explicitly like our words. And in the Rokeach (siman 53) he wrote: And a minor who reads maftir in the Prophets—shall not read fewer than twenty-one verses...—implying that only for maftir does the minor ascend (and so wrote the Magen Avraham there in his name). But it is not so, for later (siman 56) he wrote: A minor does not ascend for the count of three, but for the count of seven—he ascends. Thus far his words. And it must be said that what he wrote previously was because it is the custom to call a minor for maftir. And so is our custom now, that the minor does not ascend except for maftir. But from the essential law, we have not seen any of the poskim who would prevent the minor from ascending for the count of seven, except for the Arizal, of blessed memory, who did not permit it except for the seventh, as I have written. However, for the count of three, several of the poskim hold that he does not ascend, as I have written. And certainly so it is also on Rosh Chodesh, Yom Tov, and Yom Kippur, and only on Shabbat when there are seven—he ascends. And according to the Arizal, only for the seventh. And so when the maftir is in a second Sefer Torah—the minor does not ascend, as I have written in the name of the Rivash. And in the Yerushalmi of Megillah (chapter four, halacha 3) it is stated that a slave ascends for the count of seven, see there. And our teacher, the Rema, wrote that his law is like a woman, meaning that ab initio he should not ascend because of the honor of the congregation. But if his mother is from Israel—he is permitted to ascend ab initio, for he is a complete Israelite, as he follows his mother. He further wrote that a mamzer is permitted to ascend to the Sefer Torah. And it is forbidden to read with an uncovered head, meaning if not with a complete covering. And even if he has a light covering, as in prayer where one needs either a hat or a tallit on his head, and as I have written in siman 91, section 6, see there. He further wrote that there is no prohibition to call an honored and wealthy am ha'aretz and a great man of the generation before a Torah scholar. For this is not a disgrace to the Torah scholar, but rather honor for the Torah, which is honored by great men. Thus far his words. And it is understood that this is when necessity leads to this. And above in siman 137, the order of the aliyot is explained, see there. (See Magen Avraham, subsection 8, and according to what I have written it works out well. Examine and you will find it simple.)

And know that it is found in Masechet Soferim (chapter 18, halacha 4): "That women are obligated to hear the reading of the scroll like men… and it is according to the law to translate for the people, for the women and children, the entire order and the Prophet of the Sabbath after the reading of the Torah." Thus far his words. And it seems to me that it does not mean a complete obligation, but rather it is similar to children, for she is exempt from the study of Torah, and furthermore, there is no greater time-bound commandment than this. And as for the fact that a woman counts toward the number of seven who ascend, the Tosafot have already written in Rosh Hashanah (33a, starting with the words "Ha"), that this is like their reciting a blessing over every time-bound positive commandment, or that it refers to the time of the Mishnah, when not all those who ascended would recite a blessing, and furthermore that these blessings are not for the sake of Torah study; see there. And one should not compare this to the commandment of Hakhel, where the Torah commanded: "Assemble the people, the men and the women and the small children," for that is a unique commandment once every seven years, where the king himself would read the book of Deuteronomy, which are words of admonition. But to say that they are obligated every Sabbath in the reading of the Torah—this is certainly a matter of wonder, and daily practice proves otherwise, as for the most part it is impossible for them to hear. Rather, Masechet Soferim speaks by way of ethical instruction, in the time when they would translate, that it is proper to translate before them and before the children to root in their hearts the fear of Hashem and His love, may He be blessed. (See Magen Avraham, subsection 6, who is uncertain about this, and in my humble opinion it is clear as I have written, that it is similar to children, and so wrote the Perishah; see there.)

The common custom when two parshiot are joined is that the fourth person called to the Torah reads the end of the first parsha and the beginning of the second, so that the seven called to the Torah will be equal between the two parshiot. The Levush wrote that in a place where they add to the seven called to the Torah, there is no benefit in this, for there will still be more in the second than in the first. Rather, if they add, for example three, making a total of ten called to the Torah, they should read five in the first and five in the second; see there. But the custom is not according to his words, for the essence is the seven called to the Torah. And I am very much surprised at him, for it is necessary to say so, because if not, there is always a maftir, and if so, we should read four in the first and four in the second. And if it is because the maftir only repeats and reads what the last person read, behold in Vayakhel-Pekudei when they are joined, and they contain one of the four parshiot as is known, nevertheless the fourth person joins them. However, it can be said regarding this that since the maftir reads in another place, he is not part of the count; but in any case the truth is so, that the essence is the seven called to the Torah, and our custom is well-settled. (See Magen Avraham subsection 9, who wrote that they were accustomed to sell the shishi by itself, and we do not know of this custom.)

The matter of the maftir is because there was a time when oppressors decreed not to read from the Torah, and they instituted to read twenty-one verses from the Prophets, corresponding to the seven called to the Torah, three verses for each, and they instituted blessings for this before the haftarah and after it. Afterward, when the decree was nullified—they did not want to nullify it, and they instituted that the maftir should read from the Torah first for the honor of the Torah, so that the honor of a Prophet should not be equal to the honor of the Torah, and consequently he recites blessings before it and after it like all those who ascend, and for a distinction they made it that he reads what the one before him read. And there is a dispute whether the maftir counts toward the quorum of seven or not, and the primary ruling is that he counts toward the quorum. Nevertheless, on Shabbat, Yom Tov, and Yom Kippur, when it is permitted to add to the number of those called according to the essential law, they instituted that the maftir should not be from the quorum of those called, in order to fulfill the obligation according to those who hold that he does not count toward the quorum. And even according to the one who holds that he counts—it is permitted to add. Only on Yom Kippur at mincha, and on Tisha B'Av and every communal fast at mincha when it is forbidden to add—it is necessary to stand upon the essential law, that the maftir is from the quorum of those called, and the third is the maftir. And the Geonim instituted to say kaddish before the maftir, to make known that he is not from the quorum of those called. Therefore, at mincha on a communal fast when he is from the quorum of those called—we do not say kaddish before the maftir.

But on a day when they take out two scrolls—the maftir does not go back and read what the previous person read, but rather reads from the second scroll. Nevertheless, they say kaddish beforehand, because the number of called participants has already been completed in the first scroll. Therefore, on a day when they take out three scrolls, such as Rosh Chodesh Tevet or Rosh Chodesh Adar that fell on Shabbat, where the seventh person reads from the second scroll—in truth, they do not say kaddish over the first scroll, but rather over the second. The general principle of the matter: kaddish on Shabbat and Yom Tov is always before the maftir.

And there is a question regarding this: since we have said that the maftir who reads from the Torah does so not for the sake of the reading itself but for the honor of the Torah, and because of this he does not read a new matter but rather what the previous person read—if so, on Yom Tov, why does the maftir read a new matter? We should have instituted that first one of the called-up ones should read the parasha of the second scroll, and afterwards the maftir should read it, just as on Shabbat. And granted that regarding Yom Tov it is possible to say that the reading of the parasha of the Musaf offerings which the maftir reads was not mentioned in the Gemara, and it is from an enactment of the Geonim, therefore they were not concerned about it. But what shall we say regarding the maftir of Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, and of Chanukah, and of the four parashiot, which are by the law of the Gemara—why do we not do as on every Shabbat? And the answer to this is: that it certainly would have been possible to do so, but the Sages did not want to burden the congregation to hear one parasha twice. Only on all regular Shabbats was it necessary to do so to complete the sidra, for otherwise it would not have been possible to say Kaddish in the middle of the sidra, and the Kaddish is a necessity to indicate that the number of called-up ones has been completed. But on these Shabbats, where the called-up ones have finished and it is possible to say Kaddish—they did not want to burden that one of the called-up ones should read the parasha of the maftir first and afterwards the maftir should read it, for we do not burden the congregation excessively. (And so wrote the Gr"z in section 14). And if there are in some places other customs in this—they should act according to their custom, and our custom is the primary one and accords with the halacha.

Our teacher, the Rema, wrote in section 4: That a katan may read the parashah of the musafim or the four parshiyot that are added in Adar, and this is the custom even though there are those who disagree. Thus far his words. And some say that for Parashat Zakhor he should not ascend, for it is from the Torah and everyone is obligated in it, and how can the katan fulfill their obligation. And those who permit it hold that the katan is not reading the parashah, but the reader is an adult and fulfills their obligation. And there are those who do not allow a katan to ascend for maftir on the first day of Shavuot when they read the maftir of the Merkavah, nor on the seventh day of Pesach when they read the Song of David, nor on Shabbat Shuvah when he awakens the people to repentance. And in our countries, we do not allow a katan to ascend for maftir in any of the four parshiyot, and it is correct and one should not change it. And know, that the katan they permitted is one who knows and understands the matter well, for if not so, one should not allow him to ascend to the Torah.

If no one is found who knows how to read the haftarah except for those who have already ascended to the Torah, if the shaliach tzibbur already said Kaddish after the reading of the parashah—one of the olim, who has already ascended, shall ascend and recite the blessings before and after, and even if the seventh oleh ascended, since they have already interrupted with Kaddish. But if they have not yet said Kaddish—the one who ascended for the seventh shall read the haftarah, and his reading of the Torah that he read shall be considered like the maftir who read from the Torah. For is he any worse because he is the seventh? Behold, in any event, the Torah reading preceded the reading of the Prophets. And consequently, they shall not say Kaddish until after the haftarah and its blessings, for if they say it before—behold they have interrupted between the Torah reading and the reading of the Prophets with Kaddish, and then the Torah reading no longer has a connection to the maftir, and the maftir would remain without a Torah reading; rather, they shall say the Kaddish after the blessings of the haftarah. And this is not an interruption, for it itself is connected to the Torah reading, according to the enactment of the sages (Magen Avraham, subsection 16). However, it is better to obtain someone who has not yet ascended to the Torah. And let it not be difficult in your eyes regarding what we said: that if they interrupted with Kaddish—one of the olim recites the blessings over the Torah a second time, even though he already recited the blessings. For this is no difficulty, as the blessings are for the honor of the Torah, and every time one ascends—it is the honor of the Torah. And if one ascended to the Torah in this beit knesset and returns and ascends in another beit knesset—he is obligated to return and recite the blessings. And more than this, for a kohen who ascends also in place of a levi—behold he recites the blessings twice, as written in siman 135, and he blesses one after the other immediately and in one place.

If the shatz erred and finished the parashah with the sixth aliya and said Kaddish—it is not necessary to call another person for the seventh, but rather he should read with the Maftir what he read for the sixth, and the Maftir shall ascend for the count of seven, for such is the primary law as I wrote in section 13. And if he read the parashah and skipped one verse or even one word—they are obligated to return and read this verse with two additional verses with a blessing before and after. And even if they already read the Haftarah and prayed Musaf, and even at the time of Mincha—they are obligated to return and read as I have written, and so it is found in Masechet Soferim at the end of chapter 11, see there. But on Shabbat at Mincha and on Monday and Thursday if this occurred—he does not return, for they will read on Shabbat. And the laws of the obligations will be explained in the next siman with the help of Heaven.