So, Kriyat HaTorah (Torah reading) number four. That’s what we’re up to. What was Gimel (the third letter) last time? Holidays—what to read when. I thought we were going to discuss Shemi’ah (hearing) or Kri’ah (reading). Is it in the fat book? Should I look in the fat book? I think this is number five. Okay, I think I have it now. It’s called “Kriyat Torah, chiyuv Kri’ah or Shemi’ah,” right? Fine. Let’s begin. Stash usually reads the introduction.
What does chovat tzibur mean? Say that in English. “Obligation on the congregation.” I would call that a communal responsibility. Kriyat HaTorah is a communal responsibility. That means that when there are ten people in the room, I have to do it. I don’t have to do it on my own. I might have a responsibility to get to the ten people, but I don’t inherently have my own responsibility. Therefore, if I miss it, I’m off the hook. I never had an individual responsibility. When I get to the tzibur (congregation), I might have a responsibility to get there, but once I’ve joined the tzibur, it’s not my problem.
“Oh, didn’t we do this already?” Yes, this was already explained. Now we’re going through the exhibit in the background for the next step. Oh, okay, good. It’s really a personal responsibility, but you can fulfill this personal responsibility only with a tzibur. Good. Put that on the slide.
Now we have a new question. This is the good old yeshiva trick, number nineteen. Every time you have a responsibility, you bring in this chakira (analytical inquiry). Tell me at least one other time we had this question. Go ahead, Haim.
“Ha’im hamitzvah al kulam hi likrot baTorah, vehakore motzi (fulfills another’s obligation) et harabim yedei chovatan midin Shomea Ke’oneh (hearing is like answering)?” Is the mitzvah that you should read from the Torah, and the reading itself fulfills the people’s obligation through the principle that hearing is like answering? Good. Or is the mitzvah to hear? You only have to hear it; you don’t have to say it. If your obligation is only to hear it, you’re just listening, and that fulfills it. In other words, when Rabbi Eli Levy reads, what’s the pshat (meaning)? Is the idea that I really should be reading, and Rabbi Eli Levy is being motzi me, fulfilling my obligation for me? Or do I just have to hear it from Rabbi Eli Levy? Omnam.
Tell me at least one other example. We had this chakira about Shomea Ke’oneh. “Megillah.” Good. Is the pshat that I have to read the Megillah myself, or can I hear you read it and fulfill my obligation through Shomea Ke’oneh? Good. We have a reason for asking: the nafka mina (practical difference). Would Amalek also be the same? Good. Anything else? Shofar (ram’s horn). Very good. With shofar, is your obligation to blow it or to listen to someone blowing it? Is the obligation to blow, or can you listen? Good. That’s the same question here: what is your responsibility? What about the Haggadah? Good example.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking these two things depend on each other. If it’s a chovat hayachid (individual obligation), you might think it’s Shomea Ke’oneh; if it’s a chovat hatzibur, you might think I only have to listen. If I have to do it myself, obviously I have to do it myself. If the tzibur has to do it, the tzibur only has to listen. That sounds like a good answer—but don’t say that. That’s why we brought in the previous point. Don’t make the mistake of saying that these two things hinge on each other.
Teddy, tell me what you would say first, and then tell me why we shouldn’t say it. My first reaction might be that if it’s a tzibur responsibility, I just sit and listen while the Chazan reads, and I’m Shomea Ke’oneh. But if it’s an individual responsibility, maybe I actually have to read it. Good. Don’t say it depends on that. You mean it could be the reverse? It could be an individual responsibility and still be Shomea Ke’oneh; it could be a tzibur responsibility and I would still have to read it. Right. It could be the opposite of each one. How would that work? I don’t know. Does everyone understand, besides Teddy? Good.
Does that mean that if I’m sitting in shul listening to the Torah, it’s not enough just to listen? Do I have to read word for word with him? No, it might be the opposite: I only have to listen. Don’t get involved in whether it’s an obligation on the tzibur or on the yachid (individual). Don’t think that whether it’s your responsibility depends on whether you read or listen. Does everyone understand? Good.
It’s a little hard to say that with a chovat tzibur: that I would also be responsible to read, even though I don’t have to read on my own. The hava amina (initial assumption) is good. If it were a chovat tzibur, I would think I only have to sit and listen. How can you say it’s a chovat tzibur and I have to read? Even if I can fulfill it with Shomea Ke’oneh, it’s still hard. It’s not on me, so why do I have to actively read? If we didn’t have Shomea Ke’oneh, maybe all ten people would have to sit there and read. Maybe the whole tzibur would have to read it. I hear both sides.
What would the difference be? Either way, you’re sitting and listening, no? You want to know the nafka mina? Let’s say you’re not in shul. If it’s a chovat yachid, does that mean you don’t have to go if you’re not in shul? Now you’re in shul. If it’s a chovat hayachid, does that mean I have my own personal responsibility to read it, or can I be yotzei (fulfill the obligation) with Shomea Ke’oneh? Exactly. Or maybe you don’t have to read it at all. It’s the same with the tzibur: perhaps once the tzibur comes together, each of the ten people has to read it. Or perhaps the tzibur only has to hear it. And the same goes for the yachid: perhaps each individual has a responsibility, but not a responsibility to read—only to hear. Each possibility goes both ways. That’s the opening point.
One nafka mina is whether the reader has kavanah (intention) for you to be yotzei. Does the reader have to have kavanah latzet? You get up in some little backyard minyan around a pool, and some guy who has no clue what he’s doing gets up to read. Are you upset? You’re in Brooklyn and we’re in Deal. I don’t know what the idea is of being in Deal if you can’t pray properly. I mean anyone praying in a minyan around a pool where they can’t hear anything. I’m not sure it has to be at the pool; it doesn’t matter. That’s not being run properly. I don’t see why anyone would want to do that. Maybe he’s not allowed in shul because of certain restrictions. If he’s not allowed, fine.
We had a beautiful minyan in shul on Shabbat. Aslan was there, social distancing, one person per table. Aslan finally showed his face. We had to make some changes because the 8:30 minyan was overcrowded. The 8 o’clock minyan was less crowded, so we split it between the kolel and downstairs, and moved the 8:30 minyan to the front. The 8:30 was more popular than the 8 o’clock. We had an 8 and an 8:30, and the last two weeks we had two 8 o’clock minyanim and an 8:30. This week there were fewer people, so we had one 8 and one 8:30, and split the 8:30.
Now we have the Mishnah. One of our favorite places is Masechet Megillah. Many of our sources in Kriyat HaTorah come from Masechet Megillah. We need to focus on one line, discussing what a katan (minor) can’t do. You have to know what pores al Shema means, which we learned last time. Pores al Shema is a fancy way of saying Barechu and being motzi et hatzibur as a Chazan. I’ll read this line to make it clear, and then Teddy can take over.
“Katan koreh baTorah.” A katan can be the reader. “U’metargem (translates)?” So a katan can be the reader. There might be issues with kevod hatzibur (dignity of the congregation), but technically, can a katan read? Our bar mitzvah boys read; at least some of them read the maftir. “Katan koreh baTorah u’metargem. Aval eino pores al Shema, ve’eino over lifnei hateivah, ve’eino nose et kapav.” He can’t do chazara (repetition). He can’t do birkat kohanim (priestly blessing). So, as far as a katan is concerned, we differentiate between the Sefer Torah and everything else. The question is why.
Why would I think a katan can read and be motzi you, but can’t be motzi you in the chazara? Why would I say he could? Why is Kriyat HaTorah different? Think about it, based on what we learned before. Let’s talk for a few minutes with a partner and think about why.
We have a situation where a child who isn’t yet a bar mitzvah can read the Torah for other people. We weren’t sure what the mitzvah of reading the Torah is: is it to hear it, or is it an obligation that begins when a congregation gets together? Does an individual always have to listen, or only when there’s a minyan? Does an individual have to make it his business to find a minyan to do the mitzvah? If there’s no minyan, you don’t have to do it. You can read it as a Chumash, but is the mitzvah of Kriyat Sefer Torah itself fulfilled or not?
My guess is that because a child can read it, the obligation is only on the tzibur. A child is not chayav in mitzvot, and if he can be motzi others, that means the obligation is on the tzibur, not the individual. So if there’s no minyan in shul, you don’t have to read. You can still speak about the law of the etrog, because that doesn’t require a minyan. But is the Torah reading we do every Shabbat only for a minyan, or do you have to do it anyway? You have to find a minyan. Because a child who isn’t chayav in mitzvot can read for you, the obligation is on the tzibur, not on the person.
Stash, what do you think? If it’s an obligation on the congregation and not a Shomea Ke’oneh situation, then as long as it was read for the congregation, it should be okay. But if it is Shomea Ke’oneh, then the reader himself has to be obligated. Since he’s under thirteen and isn’t obligated, he can’t be motzi me through Shomea Ke’oneh. Beautiful. So the Torah part could work differently. That’s a major nafka mina, seemingly: whether it’s Shomea Ke’oneh or not.
Rashi says, “Katan eino pores al Shema.” He cannot do chazara or Barechu. “Lefi shehu ba lehotzi rabim yedei chovatan.” So he can’t be Shomea Ke’oneh. The Torah part can work, though. That’s a major nafka mina. Look at the bottom line in the gray box: what’s the difference with Kriyat HaTorah, that a katan can read it? He can’t be motzi everybody in their obligation. Right.
Rabbi Meir and Avi were still in the breakout room. What happened? I assume you got the right answer. I wanted to say that if he can be yotzei, then it means the obligation is just to hear it, not Shomea Ke’oneh, because if it were Shomea Ke’oneh, he wouldn’t have the same chiyuv as I do. Beautiful.
Next page, we go to Rabbi Yonatan of Lunel, a Rishon (early authority) and a student of the Ravad. The guys found us this commentary on one of the Rishonim in Masechet Megillah. At the bottom left-hand corner it says: “Katan koreh baTorah, befi shekriyat haTorah einah ela lehashmi’a letzibur.” A katan can read the Torah because Kriyat HaTorah is only to make it heard by the tzibur, so the tzibur should hear it. “Mai li bein hashma’at gadol lekatan?” What difference does it make who reads it, as long as I can hear it?
Based on that statement, it sounds like we should be able to hear it from a tape recorder. No, you need a human being reading. That isn’t called reading. What’s the difference? I thought you would ask the better question Teddy was going to ask. We’ll see.
Let’s have a recap. We have a chakira, a Mishnah, a Ravad, and a Rashi. It’s either an obligation on the tzibur or on the yachid. Don’t think that whether it’s an obligation on the tzibur or the yachid determines whether someone fulfills the obligation through Shomea Ke’oneh or merely by hearing. The question is: when a person fulfills his obligation, is it through Shomea Ke’oneh, or simply by hearing the baal korei? Don’t think that this chakira determines whether the chiyuv is on the tzibur or the yachid.
What do we learn from the Mishnah in Masechet Megillah with Rashi? A katan can read, and I can fulfill my obligation, but he can’t be motzi me in the other things where I would normally need him to be able to fulfill my obligation. So I see that, for Kriyat HaTorah, the obligation is fulfilled by my hearing it. That was Rabbi Yonatan of Lunel.
Now Teddy has a question for the oil. This bothered me immediately. We learned about Shomea Ke’oneh and shofar, too. If a katan can blow the shofar—though a Mishnah says a katan cannot blow the shofar—and the mitzvah is to hear it, then if all that’s required is hearing, why can’t I hear it from him? We had that question. We said there are two sides: maybe the obligation is to blow it yourself; maybe the mitzvah is the blowing.
He’s telling us that you need a mitzvah blowing. It’s not enough to hear a sound, like a muffler; I need to hear a shofar. To make it a mitzvah blowing, I need a bar chiyuva (obligated person) to create that shofar blowing. It isn’t just the sound of a horn. A non-Jew can’t blow it; it needs to be a shofar blowing, and only a bar chiyuva can create that.
That’s a fine line. What you just said is called lomdus (Talmudic analysis). It can sound like saying the same thing twice, but it isn’t. I don’t need the person to be with me; all I have to do is hear. What do I have to hear? I have to hear a shofar blowing, and only a bar chiyuva can create a shofar blowing. What’s the difference? The question is whether it works through Shomea Ke’oneh or through shemi’ah on its own. What’s the nafka mina? The beracha. You’re saying that nafka mina isn’t really a nafka mina. That’s the point.
The question on the table is why, with Kriyat HaTorah, I don’t say the same thing: that I need a bar chiyuva to read the Torah. It’s a mitzvah, so why don’t I say that I need a mitzvah reading, just as I need a mitzvah shofar blowing? Isn’t reading it a mitzvah? Yes. Not listening? Who said listening is a mitzvah? You just have to read it. If you have to read it, then of course you need Shomea Ke’oneh: you have to hear it being read. So why don’t I say the same thing about shofar—that I have to hear it being blown, and it’s not enough to hear a horn being blown; I have to hear a mitzvah blowing? We’re saying that shofar is not Shomea Ke’oneh.
Let’s look at the Chazon Ish, which we did last time, in Elul (Hebrew month). “Vechein le’inyan tekiat shofar (shofar blowing), ein yotzei b’shemi’ah, ela bekol shofar shel mitzvah (the sound of a shofar used for a mitzvah).” You need a kol shofar shel mitzvah. “Ein yotzei mecheresh, shoteh vekatan velo mitasek (acting without intent).” If the person is blowing without intention, that isn’t a shofar blowing. I need to create a shofar blowing.
Here’s the answer. With a Sefer Torah, you aren’t creating a Sefer Torah reading. You have to hear the Sefer Torah read, and you heard it read. There’s a thing called the Torah; there are Hebrew words, and you heard Parashat HaShavua (weekly Torah portion). The person is reading. Imagine someone reading from a Sefer Torah because he’s practicing. Here’s a good example: an adult is practicing Parashat Korach. He’s an American boy in the Mir Yeshiva, practicing Parashat Korach. Can an Israeli listen from the window? The reader isn’t reading for the purpose of reading the Torah; he’s practicing. He’s reading in front of ten people. With shofar, if a person is practicing, you can’t fulfill your obligation by listening, because it isn’t a shofar shel mitzvah; it’s just blowing. But when someone reads from a Sefer Torah, did you hear Parashat Shlach? Yes. That’s your job: you have to hear Parashat Shlach. It’s devar Torah. What do I care what the person was thinking when he said the devar Torah?
People say that with Shema, if someone is reading the parashah just to fix the Torah, and he doesn’t have it in mind, it might not work, because mitzvot tzrichot kavanah (commandments require intention). That’s the reason. This is the distinction between shofar and Kriyat HaTorah: why, with shofar, even though the mitzvah is lishmoa, you can’t hear it from a katan, while with Sefer Torah, if the mitzvah is lishmoa, you can hear it from a katan.
Can someone explain it back? By shofar, a katan cannot blow the shofar for me because the blowing has to be a mitzvah blowing. A person who has a chiyuv has to create that sound, a mitzvah sound. With Torah, we don’t have that. Once the person is reading the Torah, he’s reading the Torah. There’s no creation of a mitzvah reading. Therefore, a katan could read the Torah for an adult, while he cannot blow the shofar for the adult. Is that clear?
There’s also a big difference between the two, isn’t there? One needs a tzibur and one doesn’t. That’s true, but I don’t know if it makes a difference. Something about kevod hatzibur will come up eventually. What about the fact that the reading of the Torah is derabbanan? That’s also true, but all these things are different; don’t assume they make the difference. So did we say it’s not Shomea Ke’oneh? Right now it sounds like it isn’t, because how could the katan read it? We’ve been on that track from the beginning.
Now we read another Rishon, the Me’iri. Go ahead. He says the whole kavanah is to be heard, not a mitzvah gemurah (complete mitzvah), like other mitzvot. The guys are being medayek: “not a mitzvah gemurah” means you don’t need a ma’aseh mitzvah (act of the commandment), unlike shofar. With shofar, I need to hear a mitzvah activity. Here I don’t have to hear a mitzvah activity. There’s no cheftza shel mitzvah (object of the commandment).
Every mitzvah has a cheftza, an item. I need a lulav; I need an etrog. With shofar, my item is the sound of the shofar, and that sound has to be a cheftza of a mitzvah. Who creates the kol shofar? Only a bar chiyuva can create it. With listening to the Sefer Torah, there’s no cheftza here. You have to learn; that’s it. Whoever teaches you is fine. But isn’t the Sefer Torah itself the cheftza? It’s the machshir (enabling instrument). The mitzvah is Talmud Torah (Torah study); you have to learn. With shofar, the cheftza is the item of the mitzvah, the kol shofar, and to create that cheftza you need kavanah from a bar chiyuva. I don’t see the difference. You need a Sefer Torah. That’s just an enabler. The Sefer Torah is the place I’m reading from, to hear the devar Torah, so to speak. It’s a very fine line.
What makes the distinction between a sound and somebody taking sounds and making them into words that I need to hear in order to learn? What makes us do this is that we have to differentiate between the katan and shofar. There’s a famous story: a rabbi said a certain chiluk, and another rabbi asked him, “Do you say a shiur?” He said, “No.” “Then there’s no reason to say that.” If you have to give a shiur, I can understand why you have to make the distinction. What’s the reason to do it if you have no shiur to say? But in this case, we have to do it. We have a difference between shofar and Sefer Torah. We can’t say they’re the same and move on when we know they’re not the same.
A real yeshiva guy keeps thinking about the difference between shofar and Kriyat HaTorah, even when he’s sitting by the pool or eating lunch. At night, with his head on the pillow, he thinks: What’s the difference? How come with this one the katan can, and with that one he can’t? How come this is a cheftza of a mitzvah, and this isn’t? That’s how you become a great man.
Why can’t we just say it’s derabbanan? That’s a difference, but I don’t know if it makes the difference. You’re right that if both are derabbanan and the katan could be motzi them, that could be a difference. Maybe we have to see if it’s true. This is how you lift weights and build up your lomdus muscles: take an idea like that and think about it.
A fellow gave me a speech on Friday about a friend of his who doesn’t exercise or work out. He said, “What’s wrong with him? Does he think he has an everlasting lease on life and can just sit back forever?” There’s some truth to that. On the other hand, you could tell him, “You’re right, you don’t have a lease on life. We’re going to Olam Haba (World to Come). The guy pressing weights three times a week with a personal trainer is building his muscles. Where are your lomdus muscles? You’re going to need them for millions of years. You’ll sit in Hashem’s class and won’t be able to listen to the shifty. That’s all they do in Olam Haba: one big shifty land. You want halakha lema’aseh (practical law)? They’ll say, ‘Sorry, bud. There is no halakha lema’aseh up here. We don’t do anything here. We just learn; it’s in the next room.’” All the halakha people are in the other room. We’re learning forever and ever. You have to develop your learning muscles by taking a good lomdus, a chakira, and chewing on it.
Can you exercise both muscles? Yes, that’s ideal: three days a week with a personal trainer and three days a week learning. That’s the balance. Ask your doctor what you need. My doctor told me to walk an hour a day, so I listened to him. Health is very important.
If you saw Salanter—I’ve told this story before—one Tuesday night he was looking at the sky. Someone asked, “What are you looking for?” He said, “I’m looking for three stars.” They thought he’d lost his mind. They asked, “Rabbi, it’s Tuesday night. What are you looking for three stars for?” He said, “I had a problem with my eyes. I had an eye procedure. They told me I can’t learn until the day is over. So I have to look and see when it’s three stars and the day is over, and then I can start learning.” He took his medicine according to halakha. You have to take care of yourself. Seventy-two minutes, not forty. The doctor said until the end of the day: seventy-two minutes.
Don’t we know stories where rabbis had to take medicine, but it would affect their memory or learning, so they didn’t take it? No, that was pain medicine. They were willing to suffer the pain. They weren’t alone. Ravan, if you’ve never heard of him, is a Rishon. Certain things aren’t the same on Zoom. We could call him, but I’ve forgotten his number. Call Shimon.
Why do we start with Barechu et Hashem hamevorach? New topic. Your family is a family of ba’alei kodesh. Why do we say Barechu et Hashem hamevorach? It just makes people stumble; they go up and say the wrong line. Is it a personal responsibility to make a beracha? Before you do what? Chaim Volker is the king of berachot. Do they say Barechu et Hashem hamevorach before he does his besamim? No. So why do we say it? We do it by Barechu, but why do it by an aliyah? Why do we do it by Barechu, anyway? It’s not something you can just say.
Maybe because Birkat HaTorah (Torah blessing) is connected to “Ki shem Hashem ekra, havu godel” (When I proclaim the name of Hashem, ascribe greatness): we say it together, and we tell the kahal to bless Hashem together. If the Birkat HaTorah learned this from “Ki shem Hashem ekra,” should we do it together? Isn’t “havu” also the source for doing it together? Is that from zimun (invitation to bless together)? I think zimun is another thing. Maybe zimun comes from “Gadlu laHashem iti” (Magnify Hashem with me), or “havu godel.” If you want to connect the “havu” here to the “havu” there, I don’t know.
Isn’t the source Boaz? Do you want to incorporate more use of Hashem’s name in praising Him? No, that isn’t Barechu et Hashem hamevorach. That’s the other thing, greeting people with Hashem’s name. It’s connected a little. Let’s find out what the Ravan says. Is it brought down in the Gemara, those words? I know the beracha before and after it is in the Gemara. That’s a good question. Do you have a Shulchan Aruch in your house? A real Shulchan Aruch? No, I don’t have my complete library here. Aki, what’s the source? He wants to know why we do it.
Which siman? Kuf lamed tet, סעיף vav? “Omer Barechu et Hashem hamevorach bekol ram, veha’omrim...” “Veha’omram belachash to’eh.” “V’yesh omrim shetzarich lachzor...” What does the Be’er HaGolah say on the side? It’s a source from Saadia. You hear that? It’s not a Gemara. The earliest source is “a re-Barcelona of Saadia.” The Gra says it’s in Berachot daf nun. Let’s look. This passage talks about zimun. Let’s start from Tanakh—oh, Barechu. It’s a Mishnah about zimun. So Barechu shows up there, and that’s his source. But when do we say that in zimun? We don’t now. Oh, sorry, that’s not it. Look at the end of the Mishnah: “Amar Rabbi Akiva: ma matzi?” The first Mishnah gives different ways of saying zimun with ten, a hundred, or a thousand people. “Amar Rabbi Akiva, what are you talking about? Ma matzi? Beit haknesset, echad merubim,” where there are many people, “echad me’atim,” where there are few people, “omer: Barechu et Hashem.” Yishmael says, “Barechu et Hashem hamevorach.” That’s the source in the Mishnah for the words Barechu and Barechu et Hashem hamevorach.
I always thought that was talking about the Chazan saying Barechu. The Gra says this is the source for Birkat HaTorah saying Barechu. Isn’t this talking about tefillah, regular prayer in shul? Yes. I thought it meant that. So the Gra is saying that this is the source—the earliest source for Barechu and Barechu et Hashem hamevorach. But we still don’t know who put it by the Sefer Torah. I like that question, Moshe Sudri. The earliest Torah shebe’al peh (Oral Torah) source for Barechu et Hashem hamevorach is the Mishnah in Masechet Berachot. We don’t know exactly what it’s talking about, only that it’s in shul. It doesn’t say specifically whether it’s for Torah or for the Chazan doing it by Yotzer (morning blessing). Even after finding the source and the Rabbenu Yonah who says it was being done in Barcelona when someone got an aliyah, we still don’t know why it’s done.
Now we’re ready for the Ravan. He’s quoting his brother. How many years have we been saying Barechu et Hashem hamevorach by the Sefer Torah, and no one was bothered by the question? That’s what you should be tossing and turning on your pillow at night about. “We do what they tell us to do.” That’s not what we’re supposed to do. Somebody makes a plaque and puts it on the table, and that’s it? That’s the halakha question.
Here’s my answer: the reader is waking everybody up. In the old days, the person who got the aliyah read; they didn’t have a baal korei. Everyone knew how to read, so you got an aliyah and read. Before you read, you tell everyone, “Hello, wake up. I’m not doing this just for myself; I’m doing it for you.” It’s like what you say before the shofar: “Rabbi, this Nisim Salem will have you in mind when he blows the shofar, and you should say amen on the beracha.” Instead of Rabbi Ozeri announcing that, they put it into the Sefer Torah. He says, “Barechu et Hashem hamevorach”—everybody, listen up; we’re doing this together. “Taskimu likriyati,” agree to my reading, and make a blessing with me. They answer, and I read the Torah. Everyone should also be saying it.
That’s what you do by Birkat Hamazon (Grace after Meals), too. In the old days, in the original zimun, the person who led it read the whole Birkat Hamazon to be motzi everybody. So Barechu et Hashem hamevorach is said when someone reads to fulfill the others’ obligation. “V’chein,” continue.
Does he mean everyone should also say the same beracha? Yes, they are being motzi through the beracha, through Shomea Ke’oneh. But you really should be saying it. “Amimotziu.” Shomea Ke’oneh. The first person going up is the main one. We know there are seven, but that’s another discussion. “Tzrichin tihyu likriyati u’virchati u’tevarchu imi.” It sounds as if they should all say the beracha. Yes. It sounds like Shomea Ke’oneh.
Wouldn’t “Baruch Hu u’varuch Shemo” lead me to that? No, the opposite. You shouldn’t say “Baruch Hu u’varuch Shemo.” Rabbi Malka used to yell at us if we didn’t say it. Well, the Ravan would yell at you if you did say it. He’s telling you that you should be—don’t just think about the reading; start with the beracha. “Kriyati u’virchati.” You have to make sure you’re being yotzei with the beracha, too. Start with the reading: you have a chiyuv to read, and now you have to make a beracha on that reading.
“V’chein, shaliach tzibur (prayer leader) omer b’Yotzer u’ma’ariv.” He says it there, too, before Arvit (evening prayer) and before Yotzer. In the old days they were amei ha’aretz (unlearned people). The Chazan would get up for them, and they’d listen along with him. No one knew how to read, so he would say, “Listen to my beracha, Yotzer.”
Avi Galadi did it again. We had this once before: if somebody helps the tzibur, he automatically gets siata dishmaya (heavenly assistance) with his learning. Moshe Sudri came up with his greatest chidush (novel insight) about mezuzah last year while he was helping with Chavrut Tonight. Since Chavrut Tonight fizzled out and Abigaladi took over Torah Mines, the siata dishmaya switched over to Abigaladi. That’s the rule: if you help the tzibur, Hashem pays you back with chidushim. How do I get my powers back? You have to revive it. Officially, Chavrut Tonight stopped because people stopped coming. We could say it ended with the winter season and rejuvenate it when we get back to Elul, if anyone wants to learn in person again.
Let’s recap. Aki, can you recap? I lost my train of thought. We’re taking a survey. You’re in Deal now, and you have a Shas (Talmud) in your Brooklyn house. Do you have a Shas in your Deal house? No. We asked about a television, and the answer was yes in both houses. Then we asked about essentials: Teddy, do you have a Keurig in your Brooklyn house? No. They even make perked coffee on a percolator they don’t sell anymore. Ike, do you have a Keurig in Brooklyn? Yes. In Rio? No. So you got off the hook. I didn’t get any kudos. I had the safari handy and found Hosni. Does Janet have room for a Shas in her Deal house? The whole Deal house. Bad boy. Whatever Teddy really wants, he’ll do it. That made me worse. Thank you. We’ll throw you under the bus. “I have the mini one, a mini Shas.” Do you have a small television at home? No? There’s no small in Deal. Somebody take over and recap. Rabbi, you should send us an ArtScroll promo.
Stash, what did the Ravan just tell us? He told us three major chidushim with one theme about Barechu et Hashem hamevorach. What’s the theme? “Wake everybody up.” To get their attention—for what? To praise Hashem and fulfill their mitzvah. They have a chiyuv, and you’re fulfilling the obligation for them. That’s what you say: “Barechu et Hashem hamevorach.” So this sounds like we’re turning to Shomea Ke’oneh. Exactly. The yeshiva guys won’t give you only one side.
How will he explain the katan? Good question. Why don’t we do this with all mitzvot that are Shomea Ke’oneh? Why don’t we say Barechu et Hashem hamevorach before Megillah? Why only these three? To get everyone’s attention and let them know they have an obligation: the reading I’m doing now is something you should be reading, and I’m doing it for you, with the beracha in mind. You could say the same thing the other way: you’re waking everybody up and telling them to start listening. You could have said that, but the Ravan didn’t. Barechu et Hashem hamevorach isn’t proof of Shomea Ke’oneh; it just means listen. It could be.
Wait, I still don’t get it. The reading I’m doing now is a reading of what? Teddy, we’re reading the Ravan again. It’s important. Start again: “Sha’alani?” Yes. “Achir?” Yes. Brother? Yes, the brother of Rabbi Hezkiah. “Sha’alani Rabbi Hezkiah.” The reader is addressing the whole tzibur when he reads the Torah. He’s telling them, “You are all obligated to say the beracha and read as I am. ‘Taskimu’—agree to my reading and my beracha and say it with me.” Then he adds that when we say it before the reading, he is fulfilling that role.
What’s bothering you? We said it’s on the tzibur to do. This sounds like individualized obligations. No, it might be that once the tzibur comes together, every individual has a chiyuv. That was the discussion before. Don’t get stuck on the further lomdus. We’re saying that when he goes up and says Barechu, we should really be doing it too. Through Shomea Ke’oneh, I’m listening to him, and his beracha and his reading are mine. Good.
Now go back to the commentator at the bottom. It sounds like he’s saying that each person has to say it, not just sit and listen. That’s another side. What does he do with the Mishnah? What does he do with the katan? Let’s read the gray box. We’re explaining that reading the Torah is an obligation of reading, and the reader fulfills the congregation’s obligation through Shomea Ke’oneh. “Lefi zeh tzarich lomar: mai katan koreh baTorah lo kashya? Mai shna mi-pores al Shema de’eino yachol hotzi et harabim yedei chovatan?”
That means everyone uses the same trick. What did he say? At the end of the day, it’s Talmud Torah. Even if you have a mitzvah to read and the reader fulfills it through Shomea Ke’oneh, you don’t need a bar chiyuva to fulfill it through Shomea Ke’oneh, because there’s no real ma’aseh mitzvah going on. He started by saying that maybe it’s just learning Torah. All I’m doing is learning Torah.
Still, it’s a weak answer. Why? It makes it sound as if I don’t have a chiyuv to read from a Sefer Torah. If I say I have a chiyuv to read from a Sefer Torah, how is he fulfilling my chiyuv to read from a Sefer Torah? You’re going back to the other question: maybe the real reason is only that you should learn Torah and not go three days without learning. But the line said you have to read it. If you have to read it, how could someone who isn’t a bar chiyuva fulfill the obligation? All right, next.
“Amar Rav Huna: keivan sheniftach Sefer Torah, asur lesaper. Afilu devar halakha” (Rav Huna said: once the Torah scroll is opened, one may not speak, even words of law). Even halakha. When they opened the Torah, everyone stood in silence.
Now Tosafot. “Keivan sheniftach...” When they were doing the Sefer Torah, he would turn his face and read. We saw this in the Gemara. He was learning among the tzibur, praying, or whatever it was. Could it mean he was reading the Torah? No, he was doing girsa (reviewing text), learning Gemara. “Masila memar.” Perhaps he turned his face. “Inami, Rav Sheshet shani.” Rav Sheshet is different. Does anyone know anything about Rav Sheshet? He was blind. “Patur mikri’ah (exempt from reading).” He was exempt because he was blind. You can’t read by heart; you can’t do Torah shebe’al peh by heart.
The problem is that Tosafot says Rav Sheshet was blind and couldn’t fulfill the mitzvah because he couldn’t read. He couldn’t do it by heart. Now ask the question: if the chiyuv is shemi’ah or chiyuv kri’ah, which side does this Tosafot present a problem for? Kri’ah? No, it’s the opposite. If the chiyuv is shemi’ah, why can’t a blind man fulfill it? It’s a good proof. Does everyone understand it?
Explain the proof. Rav Sheshet was learning during the Torah reading, even though you aren’t allowed to talk or read something aloud during the Torah reading. They ask how he was allowed to do that. One answer is that he was allowed because he was patur from Kriyat HaTorah, since he was blind. He couldn’t read, and you can’t do Torah shebe’al peh by heart. If my chiyuv is to read and I fulfill it through Shomea Ke’oneh, that works: he’s patur. But if my chiyuv is just to hear it, why would he be patur? He can sit there and listen. So the question is whether the mitzvah is hearing or reading. If it’s hearing, blind people can hear; if it’s reading, blind people can’t read. The fact that he’s patur because he can’t read shows that the mitzvah is to read, not to hear.
How did they find this? The Ravan is in Masechet Sotah daf lamed tet, in the Tosafot. You’re impressed with them? That’s their job. Maybe they used that super-duper thing. Would Rav Sheshet have been exempt from Shnayim Mikra (twice-reading practice), too? Seemingly. I don’t know; it’s a good question. Do you have to do Shnayim Mikra from the Sefer? You’re right. He never said Pesachim or something like that. Correct; that’s why he always did Targum (Aramaic translation). Very good. Tosafot in Bava Kama: Rav Sheshet was an expert in Targum because you aren’t allowed to do things by heart. He was blind, so he couldn’t do things by heart. How could he say pesukim if he wasn’t allowed to do them by heart? Therefore Rav Sheshet was an expert. Rav Yosef and Rav Sheshet were both blind and experts in Targum.
What about Megillah? Isn’t he chayav in Megillah? We had that discussion once, somewhere else. “It was a Yehuda, it was summa.” It was included. Okay.
I always thought the kid could read only the last aliyah because it’s a repeat. Is that the halakha? That’s what Stash said. That’s the question of whether kids can read, but I didn’t want to get into it. This is unrelated, just to show you Moe Bay’s great knowledge. He was an expert in Targum. There are many Targums. The rest of that aside is not clear. Don’t say something about his blindness as the reason. If it’s “et la’asot” (it is time to act), amar hatam, shari. If it’s “et la’asot,” if you’re stuck, you’re allowed to. There’s no et la’asot for a blind man.
We have a kushya (difficulty). If a blind man is considered an et la’asot, and that’s why he’s allowed to read, why did Tosafot say Rav Sheshet had a problem? I’m asking the question now. If we can answer it using the idea from earlier, I’ll be proud of myself. It’s a sevara, and Tosafot itself. I wonder if Aki Bag will say something. He says, “I am Shabbat.” Which Masechet Shabbat? What did you read? “Kuf tet vav amud alef,” “velo natnu.” Maybe he’s talking about kol kitvei hakodesh (all sacred writings). The discussion is about what you can save from a burning place: books you can save and certain books you can’t. Maybe the ones in a different language are not permitted. “Korimayim.” The question is whether a Sefer Torah written in a foreign language is a valid Sefer Torah. Rav Yosef was blind, and Targum is allowed; there’s no problem of “Shurishai” with Targum. That’s not related to our discussion.
Bottom line, what do we see from the fact that Rav Sheshet was patur? We see that he holds there’s a chiyuv kri’ah. Good. Is there another rabbi saying that?
Can I say something a little crazy to try to resolve it? Maybe it could still be listening. Even if it’s a chiyuv of listening and an obligation of the tzibur, perhaps to fulfill the mitzvah of listening, you have to be a candidate to help everyone else. Since Rav Sheshet can’t read, he can’t actively participate in the tzibur to help everyone hear it. Maybe that’s why he’s excluded, even though it’s hearing.
But then what about a mute person? According to what I’m saying, he would be excluded too. I don’t think that’s true. Fine, just trying. Don’t excuse yourself. Rule number one in the yeshiva game: it’s like a basketball court. You shoot the ball. Do you apologize every time it doesn’t go in the hoop? No. What percentage of a good player’s shots go in? Forty-five percent? Morris Bader disagrees; maybe it’s sixty. Fifty percent is a good draw. They definitely don’t get every shot in, even the best players. You have to keep shooting. “Those good-to-lean love Deal.” Keep shooting; that’s the main thing.
Could we squeeze in another session this week? It’s up to Teddy. Put your schedule in the Shifty chat and we’ll figure it out. We have another minute. It’s 11:33. We’re going to read from Rabbi Engel. I thought we were done. You have a minute. Rabbi Yosef Engel: “Mistapek (I am uncertain). Mitzvat Kriyat HaTorah, mai inyanah?” I’m not sure what the mitzvah is. Is the chiyuv just to listen to what’s being read, or does each person have to read? That’s the original question.
Since that was the takkanah (enactment), because they went three days without Torah, you should go learn Torah. As you’re listening to the reading, you’re learning, as long as you understand it. Just thinking about Torah doesn’t require a beracha. So what is he trying to say? Learning is about thinking; thinking is the main thing. If the main thing is that I can’t go three days without learning, it doesn’t mean I can’t go three days without speaking and learning. It means I can’t go three days without thinking and learning. When I listen to the baal korei, I’m thinking and learning, so why should I have to read it? He’s back on the listening side. Seemingly, if the original takkanah was not to go three days without learning, listening is enough to count as learning. That’s like the other rabbi’s view. The Ravan said the opposite: because of the takkanah, everyone has to read. He’s on the reading side. To be continued.
I don’t know if you were in shul this week, but we spoke about something in the parashah. I’m just reflecting. There’s a sefer, Chut Shel Chesed, from the Baal Shevet Musar. He’s Rabbi Eliyahu from Izmir. The upside-down nuns—ready for this one? Why the upside-down nuns? One nun for na’aseh and one nun for nishma. One hundred berachot. That’s what I said this week. The mit’onim (complainers) are mit nunim: your nuns died. Okay, got it. Take care, guys.