Rabbotai (gentlemen), we’re learning the Hallel (praise) story. We’re still learning the Hallel story. So we came out yesterday, lema’aseh (in practice), Hallel on Chanukah (Dedication) is a big item: Hallel gamur (complete Hallel).
Marcelo asked on the way out, “What about—I knew we said ladies.” Ladies, no; on Chanukah, yes, they could say the Hallel, but without a berachah (blessing), for whatever reason. Hacham Ben Tzion said it, Hacham Ovadia said it, and they based it on the Rambam. They found it befeirush (explicitly) in the Rambam—as explicit as you could have. The Rambam said clearly that if a man says the Hallel for the congregation, they answer, meaning they answer as they normally do during Hallel. But if a lady says the Hallel, they have to say every word with her, because the lady cannot motzi (fulfill for others) the men. Oh, that means a lady is not chayevet (obligated).
But then we saw the halachah (Jewish law), and Shelomo confirmed it: on Leil Pesach (Passover night), at home or in shul (synagogue), the ladies have to say Hallel with a berachah. So there has to be a difference. Even though Maran wrote in Hilchot Pesach (Laws of Passover) that nashim chayavot bechol mitzvot (women are obligated in all commandments) that the men are obligated in on Pesach, Pesach is different for some reason.
We know they are chayav (obligated) in matzah (unleavened bread), even though it is a mitzvat aseh shehazman gerama (time-bound positive commandment), because matzah is connected to chametz (leaven). So whoever is obligated not to eat chametz is obligated to eat matzah. Lo tochal (You shall not eat) is connected to eating the matzah. So leave the matzah. They are chayav in arba kosot (four cups): af hen hayu be’oto hanes (they too were part of that miracle). Nashim chayavot be’arba kosot she’af hen hayu be’oto hanes (women are obligated in the four cups, since they too were part of that miracle).
That sevara (reasoning) of af hen hayu be’oto hanes can turn a petur (exemption) into a chiyuv (obligation). Logically, they should be exempt from arba kosot. Arba kosot is a mitzvat aseh shehazman gerama. It is miderabbanan (rabbinically ordained) and zman gerama (time-bound), but it is still zman gerama: you drink arba kosot only on Pesach. So af hen brings them in. Okay, there is a chiyuv of af hen; no problem.
And the Hallel also, lich’orah (apparently), is a mitzvat aseh shehazman gerama, whether de’oraita (Torah-level) or derabbanan (rabbinically ordained), whatever level it is on; it doesn’t matter. But they are chayavot on the night of Pesach. They are chayavot on the night of Pesach with a berachah. So what’s the difference?
He says here in Nes Tzion, “Ulefi zeh nimtza degabei Hallel shel Chanukah asher nitkan mitzad hoda’ah al hanes” (Accordingly, Chanukah Hallel was instituted because of gratitude for the miracle). Why do we say Hallel on Chanukah? Hoda’ah for the miracle. “Uchleshon HaRambam, umipnei zeh”—meaning, because of the miracle—“hitkinu chachamim shebe’oto hador yemei simchah vehallel” (the sages of that generation instituted days of joy and Hallel). The Mordechai has the same lashon (wording): “dehallel ulehodot kav’u mishum hanes” (they instituted Hallel and thanksgiving because of the miracle).
“Im ken hanashim shechayavot bener Chanukah”—if women are obligated in the Chanukah lamp—“nashim chayavot bener Chanukah she’af hen hayu be’oto hanes,” “af hen tihyenah gam ken beHallel me’oto hata’am.” So then they are chayav in Hallel, too! Once you bring them into the lighting, and the lighting is about the miracle, anything connected to the miracle will obligate them. “Vedumya dehallel deleilei Pesachim” (and similarly, the Hallel on Passover nights). Hallel on Leil Pesach—lich’orah, why are they chayavot in Hallel? For that reason! “Velo rak Hallel shebahaggadah” (and not only the Hallel in the Haggadah). We know they are chayavot in the Hallel of the Haggadah (Passover Haggadah), because that Hallel is said with the arba kosot.
So the chiyuv of dalet kosot comes with the Hallel, right? When they established arba kosot, they didn’t establish them in a vacuum; you have to say Hallel over the Haggadah. You have to say the arba kosot over the Haggadah. And part of the Haggadah is what? It’s Hallel. We say the Hallel in the beginning, and then we cut the—No, there’s Hallel. Two cups are said over Hallel, by the way. The first cup and the last cup. The first cup is half Hallel, and the last cup is the rest of Hallel. You can’t tell me they are chayavot in arba kosot but not chayavot in the Hallel. That, I can say, is a package; no problem.
But they are also chayav: “velo rak Hallel shebahaggadah,” “ela af Hallel shebebeit hakneset mevarchot” (and not only the Hallel in the Haggadah, but they also recite a blessing over the Hallel in the synagogue). Wow. Everybody saw that; he showed it to us. “Dehanes hu sibbat mitzvat hayom, umimeila af haHallel bikhlal” (the miracle is the reason for the mitzvah of the day, and consequently Hallel is included as well). “Ve’af al pi shebeHallel demo’adim peturot” (although they are exempt from Hallel on the other festivals), “mikol makom beHallel deChanukah chayavot” (nevertheless, they are obligated in Chanukah Hallel). “Sheyihyu chayavot”—that they should be obligated.
On Pesach, why are they chayavot? Hoda’ah al hanes? She’af hen hayu. She’af hen hayu. That’s part of af hen hayu. “Af al pi shehu beveit hakeneset, bivrachot, ve’od, hanes hu sibat mitzvat hayom” (even though it is in the synagogue, with blessings, the miracle is still the reason for the mitzvah of the day). What is the reason we do all these mitzvot on Pesach? The miracle. The miracle, ladies—boom, throw everything on their heads. What are we doing Chanukah for? The miracle. Boom, throw everything on their heads. Sof kol sof (ultimately), they should be chayavot.
Oh! So that’s the question, then. And that’s his question: why is it different from Pesach? “Yesh sheratzulomar shehaHallel nitkan lehoda’ah al nisei hamilchamah, uvazeh ein nashim shayachot” (Some wanted to say that Hallel was instituted to give thanks for the miracles of the war, and women are not relevant to that). Ladies don’t go to war. Now they do. So he says, “Omnam nechezi anan shelo amru shetiknu lomar Hallel al kol tzarah vetzarah shenig’alu” (But let us consider: they did not say that Hallel was instituted for every trouble from which they were redeemed). And the Gemara’s wording is that Hallel is for the ge’ulah (redemption). “Ulefi zeh lich’orah mistabra” (accordingly, it would seem reasonable): maybe they didn’t go to war, but they were saved. Therefore, they should be equal.
All right, so he says, great. If that’s the case, then you should exempt them from the menorah (lampstand), too, because ladies don’t light the menorah in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple). I mean, once you start getting tactical: af hen hayu be’oto hanes. What miracle? The miracle of the hadlakah (lighting)? Women don’t do the lighting. The Hallel? Women don’t take part in the war. Rather, they are part of Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people). They are part of Klal Yisrael; they enjoyed this miracle, whatever. By the way, then forget about ladies: you, a Yisrael, should be exempt on Chanukah, too. You don’t light the Chanukah lamp in the—We don’t get that technical about these things here.
Tosafot on the miracle. By the way, Rashi, on af hen hayu be’oto hanes, says, “shenitzlu migzeirot hahegmon” (they were saved from the decrees of the governor), “benisu’eihen” (concerning their marriages). He gives a specific example involving women, not just the general miracle that we were saved. They were specifically saved because the hegmon used to go every betulah (unmarried woman). So when the gezeirot (decrees) were over, that decree ended. The ladies, too, had a personal miracle.
Rashi always learns af hen hayu be’oto hanes by finding something specific to the ladies. By Chanukah, he says this; by Purim, he says Esther; and by Pesach, bizechut nashim tzidkaniyot (in the merit of righteous women). There are two ways of learning af hen hayu be’oto hanes: either they were saved, or they were the ikar (primary element). Tosafot doesn’t like that, because af sounds like “they too”—as if they were secondary, not the ikar. Rashi turns them into the ikar. Nonetheless, Rashi is going to understand that they had a specific miracle, too. Right, they were part of the miracle, not just bystanders. They had something to celebrate for themselves. In the other cases, they were central to the miracle: Esther and Yehudit, and also here.
Anyway, “Omnam al ha—” This is a reason to say Hallel for the ladies. “Omnam leshon haRambam: Bechol yom mishmonat hayamim ha’elu gomrim et haHallel. Af al pi shekri’at haHallel mitzvah midevrei soferim mevarech alav” (The Rambam’s wording is: On each of these eight days, they complete Hallel. Although reciting Hallel is a mitzvah from the words of the Scribes, one recites a blessing over it), because we make blessings on rabbinic mitzvot. “Velo Hallel shel Chanukah bilvad hu shemidevrei soferim ela kri’at haHallel le’olam midevrei soferim” (It is not only Chanukah Hallel that is rabbinic; reciting Hallel is always rabbinic), “bechol hayamim shegomrim bahem et haHallel” (on all the days when Hallel is completed). “Ushmonah asar yom bashanah mitzvah ligmor bahem et haHallel”—eighteen days—“ushneim asar yom bechutz la’aretz,” whatever. And afterward he writes, “Ve’im hayah hamakra katan o eved o ishah, oneh achareihem mah shehem omrim milah bemilah” (If the one leading the recitation is a minor, a servant, or a woman, the others repeat after them word by word). That’s the Rambam.
Then, if a lady is going to read it, you have to say after each word, lich’orah, “im ne’emar deveshe’ar Hallel deSukkot (Booths) ve’atzeret modeh haRambam leda’at Tosafot de’ishah peturah” (If we say that, regarding the other Hallel of Sukkot and the assembly, the Rambam agrees with Tosafot that a woman is exempt), “im ken,” “achar shekatav haRambam din kri’at Hallel al yedei ishah de’einah motzi’ah” (after the Rambam wrote the law that a woman reading Hallel does not fulfill the obligation for others), “mashma deka’i akulhu beshaveh velo rak beHallel deSukkot ve’atzeret” (it implies that he is referring equally to all of them, not only to the Hallel of Sukkot and the assembly), “ela gam beHallel deChanukah.” Right? So lich’orah, Chanukah is included.
Now you’re saying, “But that’s not what I just told you. I just told you, lich’orah, ten reasons why the ladies should say Hallel.” “Velo chidvareinu” (That is not what we said). “Achen hineh hamedakdek bilshon haRambam” (But one who examines the Rambam’s wording closely) will see that “dechaluk Hallel deChanukah mishe’ar Hallel demo’adim” (Chanukah Hallel is different from the Hallel of the other festivals). Why? “Shekatav shelo rak Hallel deChanukah midevrei soferim ela kol kri’at Hallel” (He wrote that not only Chanukah Hallel is from the words of the Scribes, but all recitation of Hallel is). “Ve’im hayah inyanam shaveh” (If their status were equal), “hayah lo lomar yud-chet yamim gomrin et haHallel ve’af al pi shehu midevrei soferim mevarchim alav” (he should have said that Hallel is completed on eighteen days, and that although it is rabbinic, a blessing is recited over it).
He put Chanukah in a separate category. He said, “shelo rak Hallel deChanukah midevrei soferim”—not only is Chanukah Hallel rabbinic, “ela kol deHallel.” Why did he mention Chanukah? He could just say, “Rabbotai, there are eighteen days when you say Hallel, and they are all rabbinic.” He wrote it in a way that makes Chanukah seem special, “velo rak Chanukah,” as if there is something special about Chanukah, “ela”—so he is going to start working with that diyuk (textual inference). Why did he put Chanukah in a separate—Why not? It’s the only rabbinic holiday on which we say Hallel. Yeah, but all of them are—They said, “not only,” meaning that you would have thought, havah amina (one might have thought), that it wouldn’t apply on the Torah-level days, but even—Go ahead, the Torah-level days. Yeah. Okay, but this halachah is not about holidays; it’s a Hallel halachah.
So he says, “yud-chet yamim korim et haHallel,” and you should say, “vechulam derabbanan” (and they are all rabbinic). “Vechol Hallel, vechol haHallelim derabbanan” (all Hallel, and all the recitations of Hallel, are rabbinic), although I heard what you just said. But he says no: know that Chanukah Hallel is rabbinic, “velo rak Chanukah,” “ela” the other days, too. So why did the Rambam put it that way? He could have made it more—That’s what he’s going to talk about now.
“Ve’im hayah inyanam shaveh,” if they were equal, “hayah lo lomar yud-chet yamim gomrin et haHallel, ve’af al pi shemidevrei soferim mevarchim alav.” “Umedei chelkam” (and from the way he divided them), “mashma kamevo’ar deHallel deChanukah al hanes hu ba” (it is clear that Chanukah Hallel comes because of the miracle), “vehu vahavi chelek mimitzvat hayom” (and it becomes part of the mitzvah of the day). That is the mitzvah of the day. Chanukah is a day of a miracle, and what does the miracle include? Lighting and Hallel. “Mah she’ein ken Hallel demo’adim eino chen” (That is not so with the Hallel of the festivals). The Hallel of the festivals has a different geder (category).
“Ve’al zeh ka’amar, delo rak Hallel deChanukah hu midevrei soferim kechol mitzvat Chanukah, ela gam Hallel demo’adim” (And this is why he says that not only is Chanukah Hallel rabbinic, like all the mitzvot of Chanukah, but the Hallel of the festivals is as well). “Ume’atah yesh lomar degam mah shekatav besof devarav, de’im hamakrei ishah o katan oneh acharav mah she’omer, kai rak al Hallel haregil shehu Hallel demo’adim, velo al Hallel deChanukah.” He says that since he already separated Chanukah and put it in a different category, at the end of the halachah, when he writes that if a woman is leading the recitation, the man has to repeat every word, that is not referring to Chanukah. He already put Chanukah in a separate category. That is referring to the other festivals. But on Chanukah, if the lady reads it, the man can be yotzei (fulfill the obligation).
You see what he did to try to stick to his—First of all, he creates a new way of learning halachah, but he puts Chanukah in a separate category. Chanukah was nitkan mishum nes (instituted because of a miracle). Okay, but it is rabbinic, like everything is rabbinic on Chanukah. And ladies are chayavot on Chanukah, by the way, af hen hayu, so therefore ladies are chayavot in this. But then he says that the other days on which we say Hallel are all rabbinic, not because of a miracle, but because the sages instituted Hallel on festivals—simchah, whatever you want to say. Okay, beautiful. And therefore, ladies are going to be exempt.
And that is what he says at the end of the Rambam. Exempt? Pesach, exempt? Yeah, we mean during the day of Pesach. They are exempt during the day. He’s talking about the days, not the night. The night is a different geder. The night is where arba kosot brings everything back into the story. No, but you said before—Of course, that’s part of it. That’s a miracle-related matter. The night is when we went out, miMitzrayim ga’al otanu (He redeemed us from Egypt). So this Rambam that Hacham Ovadia and Hacham Ben Tzion brought is like—if you want, that Rambam doesn’t bother me.
Is that Rambam in Chanukah, or is it in Hallel? Yes, that Rambam is in perek gimmel halachah heh, vav, zayin. So why would he do it here? Why not leave it to the festivals? So he says here, “Nu,” then look at this. “Veyesh lehochi’ach denashim chayavot beHallel deChanukah, dehinei gabei Megillah amru delo tiknu Hallel mishum dekri’atah hi haHallel” (There is proof that women are obligated in Chanukah Hallel: concerning the Megillah, they said that Hallel was not instituted because its reading is itself the Hallel).
That’s right, the Gemara asks: Why isn’t there Hallel on Purim? What does the Gemara answer? “Kri’atah zo halila” (Its reading is its Hallel). The reading of the Megillah—that is the Hallel. Oh! Ladies are chayavot in Megillah, which means ladies are chayavot in Hallel on Purim. It comes out that ladies are chayavot in Hallel on Purim. We’re just saying af hen hayu. “Kri’atah zo halila.” “Vechach hi baRambam, vaharei bikri’at haMegillah anashim venashim chayavim beshaveh” (And so it is in the Rambam, who says that men and women are equally obligated in reading the Megillah), “vechach hi baRambam.” “Umevo’ar de’af kri’at Megillah atya midin Hallel” (It is clear that even the reading of the Megillah derives from the law of Hallel). Look at that beautiful proof! “Vechol zeh nashim chayavot” (All this shows that women are obligated).
Okay. And we know that according to some of the Rishonim (early authorities), a lady could even motzi a man. And we hold that way lema’aseh (in practice). Shulchan Aruch brings two opinions, but we hold that in a kfar (village) where there are no men, the lady could read for the men if they’re in a pinch. No? So that’s a nice point.
“Achen lechora” (But apparently). Okay, so then we go back and forth. No, so right, he’s not going to argue with Hacham Ben Tzion. He’s just giving you the logic for saying they should be chayavot. Then the Magen Avraham writes, “katav denashim peturot mikol Hallel mipnei shehi mitzvat aseh shehazman gerama” (He writes that women are exempt from all Hallel because it is a time-bound positive commandment). “Ulefikach ein yecholot lehotzi” (And therefore they cannot fulfill the obligation for others). Then the Machatzit Hashekel says, “dekavanato lerov Hallel velo lechol Hallel, dehallel deleil Pesachim dechayavot” (His intention is most Hallel, not all Hallel, because they are obligated in the Hallel of Passover night).
After all this, what’s his conclusion? His conclusion is that they don’t do it. With all this, his conclusion is, “denashim chayavot beHallel baChanukah,” “umori haga’on Ben Tzion tzided shegam mevarechot,” “behava amina,” “ulefi zeh yesh lezarzam sheyomru kulo bedikduk velo yudalag” (women are obligated in Chanukah Hallel, and my teacher, the Gaon Ben Tzion, supported the view that they also recite a blessing; according to this initial reasoning, they should be urged to say the whole Hallel carefully, without skipping).
“Omnam lema’aseh hora”—in practice, the ruling is: don’t do it! Because of safek berachot (doubt about blessings), because all of this that we just said—you’re arguing. I’m giving you both sides. There’s another side that says, no, the Rambam is telling you—By the way, are you forced to learn the Rambam the way he just said? Of course not. The Rambam says Chanukah, festivals, and if a lady does it—so you’re saying a chiddush (novel insight), putting Chanukah in a separate—The Rambam gives you all eighteen days and says you’re not yotzei. But is that muchrach (necessary)? Besum ofen (in any way)? Is it really in the way he’s interpreting the Rambam? I can argue that he really is right. It’s a nice diyuk. He put Chanukah separately—pilpul (intricate analysis) and all that—but do you want to say you’re so sure that you should make a berachah? You’re right, it’s a nice diyuk. A nice diyuk, 1,000%. You’re right, but at the end he says, “And therefore, if a lady makes Hallel”—oh, so you’re saying you’re taking Chanukah out of it? Nice, yeah, maybe, maybe.
Then you have the Magen Avraham, who says ladies are always peturot. So after reading this, I would tell my wife, “Say the Hallel, but say it, because it could be that you’re chayav. I just don’t want you to get into a berachah.” So I’m learning differently from yesterday. Yesterday, exempt. They’re not really exempt, maybe. Maybe they’re chayavot. Leave out the blessings. Blessings are not me’akev (essential to validity) anyway. So you should really say the full Hallel of Chanukah, specifically Chanukah, because af hen hayu be’oto hanes, and you have kri’atah zo halila (its reading is its Hallel).
Mm-hm, you can come to beit kneset (synagogue). A berachah, if you want to be strict. Shabbat—they come to—But okay, fine. Berachot are not me’akev. That doesn’t bother me, the berachot. But they should say it. Okay, very nice. Any time of the day. Kol hayom (all day). It’s a Mishnah in Megillah.
“Achem! I’ve got to say it at home.” 100%. I told my wife as well. “With a berachah?” “With a berachah.” Okay, let me get to keriat haTorah (Torah reading), Rabbotai, so we can finish this today. Okay, baruch Hashem (blessed is God).
Chanukah shulchan. On Pesach is different geder. Pesach is af hen hayu be’oto hanes. The Hallel of the Haggadah goes with the arba kosot, and the Hallel of the night is midin nes (because of the miracle). It is not midin hachag (because of the festival). We never say Hallel at night. We never say Hallel at night. It’s clearly a miracle-related matter. The miracle; they are chayavot. You understand? All the other festivals are not about a miracle; it is the simchah of the holiday, a mitzvat aseh shehazman gerama, whatever. But Leil Pesach is a miracle-related matter.
“Chachameinu” (our sages). Rabbotai, even today we have a first minyan (prayer quorum). It’s erev—Okay. Who’s going to be our reader today? “No, Chaim, bechavod” (with honor), bechavod. Chaim, bechavod, knock it off. Taf-peh-dalet. Read it, all five sections, if you will. “Vekorim baTorah baChanukah bechol yom” (On Chanukah, they read from the Torah each day). No, you have to read from the Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) on Chanukah. “Vena’asot korbanot hanesi’im de’ita be—” (And the offerings of the tribal leaders are performed, as it says in—). Wait, that’s a good question: why in the world are we reading Parashat Nesi’im (portion of the tribal leaders) on Chanukah? It doesn’t talk about the menorah. Although on the last day, maybe you get to Beha’alotecha (When you kindle). I don’t know what you do. On the last day you get some menorah, maybe. But on the first days we read about the Kohanim (priests) and Nachshon ben Aminadav.
Why? “De’ita beFesikta hata’am” (The reason is given in the Fesikta). “Mishum demlechet haMishkan (Tabernacle) nigmar be-chaf-heh beChislev” (Because the work of the Tabernacle was completed on the twenty-fifth of Chislev). The Mishkan was finished on 25 Chislev. “Umeta’am zeh, Vayehi beyom kalot Moshe shehu rosh ha’inyan” (For this reason, the passage begins, “And it was on the day Moses finished,” which is the beginning of the matter). So we still talk about that day, “Vayehi beyom kalot Moshe,” the day he finished the Mishkan. “Yesh mekomot shematchilin bevirkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing), kede’ita baShach, shehanes na’asah al yedei Kohanim” (There are places that begin with the Priestly Blessing, as brought in the Shach, because the miracle was performed through the priests).
Okay, so now we explained it! The reason we start with Birkat Kohanim is that the miracle happened through the Kohanim. So the first day of Chanukah has something to do with Chanukah: Kohanim, Chashmona’im (Hasmoneans). Beautiful. “Vehu minhag yafeh hu” (And it is a beautiful custom). “Aval ein nohagin ken lefi she’einam me’inyana dekorbanot” (But we do not follow that practice, since it is not about the offerings). But we do it. “Vecheitzad?” (And how is it done?) “Keitzad hi hakri’ah? Bayom harishon matchilin be-Vayehi beyom kalot Moshe, uvo yud-bet pesukim, cholkin otah leKohen veLevi, vehashlishi koreh beNasi deYehudah” (How is the reading done? On the first day, they begin with “And it was on the day Moses finished”; it has twelve verses, divided between the Kohen and Levi, and the third reads the leader of Judah’s offering).
So we split it up, and the third person gets the offering of that day. “Veyesh omrim deKohen koreh kol parashat Vayehi beyom kalot Moshe, vehaLevi vehaYisrael korim baNasi” (Some say the Kohen reads the entire passage, while the Levi and Yisrael read the offering). So some divide it so that the first person reads the regular passage, and the next two read the offering. That’s what we do, right? “Vehata’am, lefi she’ikar keri’ah hi baNesi’im” (The reason is that the main reading is the tribal leaders’ offerings). So give two out of the three the Nesi’im. We’re talking about the first day. “Velachen tzrichim rov hakru’im likrot baNasi” (Therefore, most of the readers should read the offering of the leader). That’s a good rationale. Since the main reading is the Nasi, let two out of three read the Nasi’s offering. “Vechen nohagim” (And that is the practice).
Okay, on the second day? “Uveyom sheni koreh haKohen bayom hasheni ad par echad ben bakar, vehaLevi koreh mi-par echad, hayom bayom hashlishi, vehaYisrael chozer vekoreh bayom hasheni” (On the second day, the Kohen reads the second day’s offering through “one bull”; the Levi reads from “one bull” to “today, on the third day”; and the Yisrael repeats the second day’s offering). That’s good. “Veyesh omrim deYisrael koreh bayom hashlishi, demutav likro sham machar milikrot mah shekar’u hakodmim” (Some say the Yisrael reads the third day’s offering, since it is preferable to read tomorrow’s passage rather than repeat what the previous readers read). Wow. So some have the custom of reading day two, and then the last reader reads day three. That’s Ashkenazim. Yeah, they give you a preview for tomorrow. Better than repeating. Better to read tomorrow than to repeat. “Im i efshar bezeh, vechen haminhag shelanu” (If this is not possible, this is our custom). That’s it, Ashkenazim.
“Vechen bechol yom vayom” (And so each day). Wait, on the eighth day, what do they read, the ninth day? No, on the eighth day they read the whole thing. They start reading the whole passage. Chazak uvaruch (Be strong and blessed). The Kohen and Levi read the eighth day, since that is the obligation of the day, and the Yisrael reads from the ninth day through the end of the Nesi’im, and also “Vezot chanukat hamizbe’ach” (This was the dedication of the altar), and also Beha’alotecha, “Ad ken asah et hamenorah” (until he made the lampstand), since it is all one subject and it is necessary to complete it. Okay, beautiful. That’s basically the reading.
We have to hold that it’s not the same matter, right, Rabbi? Otherwise, we would go ahead, too. We hold that it’s not the same matter, because we would go ahead, too. Right. But that’s the day.
“UveShabat”—on Shabbat Chanukah, they take out two scrolls. “Be’echad korin befarashat hashavua.” Miketz (At the end)—the portion of Miketz. “Uvashniyah korin beChanukah ulemaftir (final Torah reader), kefi hayom she’omed bo, maftirin benerot biZcharyah,” Rani vesimchi (Rejoice and be glad). On the first day of Chanukah that falls on Shabbat, if there are two Shabbatot, on the second Shabbat they read the haftarah (prophetic reading) about Solomon’s lamps in Kings, “Vaya’as Chirom.” Vaya’as Chirom. If there’s one Shabbat, there’s one haftarah; if there are two Shabbatot, there are two special haftarot.
“Ve’im chal chatunah beShabat zo, korin beshel Chanukah, klomar shelo yavo shum Sos Asis” (If a wedding falls on this Shabbat, they read the Chanukah haftarah, meaning that they do not read “Sos Asis”). Sos Asis (I will greatly rejoice). Ashkenazim had a custom: if there was a chatan (groom) in the synagogue, they would read the special haftarah Sos Asis because it talks about grooms. But Chanukah overrides it. “Vezehu lefi minhagam, aval etzleinu ein korin parashat chatan” (That is according to their custom, but we do not read the groom’s passage). Yeah, we don’t read the groom’s passage; we just—whatever.
Okay, continue. “Ve’im chal Rosh Chodesh Tevet beShabat, motzi’in shloshah sefarim, barishon koreh shishah guvrei befarashat hashavua” (If the new month of Tevet falls on Shabbat, they take out three Torah scrolls, and six people read from the weekly portion in the first). Six read the weekly portion. “Ve’asur liheyot yoter mishishah guvrei” (It is forbidden to have more than six readers). “Ve’asur!” You can’t read more than six in the first Sefer Torah. “ShebeSefer Torah sheniyah tzarich likrot hashvi’i, shehu miminyan hakru’im, davka” (The seventh must be read from the second scroll, and must specifically be counted among the readers). Davka! Wow, which means the second scroll has to be part of the count. “Tzarich likrot hashvi’i shehu miminyan hakru’im davka. UveSefer Torah sheniyah koreh hashvi’i shechal beRosh Chodesh, shetadir kodem” (The seventh must be read from the second scroll, which is for Rosh Chodesh, since the more frequent comes first). So the second scroll is Rosh Chodesh. He wants six in the first scroll, one in the second, making seven, with Rosh Chodesh first because it is tadir (more frequent).
“Ve’af al gav deveChanukah ika pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle), halo yikra maftir beChanukah, vegam—” (Although Chanukah involves publicizing the miracle, the final reader will read the Chanukah passage, and also—). Don’t worry; we’re going to read Chanukah. We’re not not reading Chanukah, because we have the haftarah. And then we’ll have the Chanukah haftarah. “Vegam al yedei zeh tiheyeh haftarah shel Chanukah” (And through this, the haftarah will also be for Chanukah). Very good. “Velo shel Shabbat, keivan sheShabbat hayom maftir koreh bashevi’i shel Chanukah, maftir shel Chanukah, Rani vesimchi.” Right.
But if tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh—right—“motzi’im shenei sefarim, kor’im barishon beshel Rosh Chodesh, veha’revi’i korei beshel Chanukah” (they take out two scrolls, read Rosh Chodesh first, and the fourth reader reads Chanukah). Right. If Rosh Chodesh is during the week, three read Rosh Chodesh and one reads Chanukah.
“Im ta’ah”—if the reader made a mistake. The last one is tadir. Which is more tadir? That’s why we read Rosh Chodesh first. The haftarah always connects to the maftir; that’s the rule. Whatever the maftir is, the haftarah connects to it. Why don’t they give that frequency to Rosh Chodesh? Because I guess there is greater frequency in the reading. Right now, when I stop, what should I do first? I’m reading first. Which mitzvah comes to me first? The reading. Rosh Chodesh is tadir, so do that reading. Then he’s saying, anyway, on purpose I want to put Chanukah second, even without tadir, because I want to read the Chanukah haftarah. Because that’s today. On the other days, we always read the Rosh Chodesh haftarot.
Continue. “Im ta’ah hakorei vekara arba beshel Rosh Chodesh” (If the reader made a mistake and read four for Rosh Chodesh)—okay, mistakes now. On a weekday, we’re supposed to do three and one, meaning it’s weekday Rosh Chodesh and Chanukah: three for Rosh Chodesh, one for Chanukah. He read all four for Rosh Chodesh, as he normally does. “Im lo hotzi Sefer Torah sheniyah, ein tzarich lehotzi et zeh, ein—mashgichin?” “Mashgichin.” “Mashgichin beChanukah.” Wow! Unbelievable. So you forgot Chanukah? No problem. You didn’t take out a second Sefer Torah anyway? Forget about it; “ein mashgichin beChanukah.” Poof!
“Kegon she’ein bah korban musaf” (For example, when there is no additional offering). Yeah, there’s no korban musaf, so you’re not reading something that was brought, as it were. “Aval im hotzi sefer sheni”—but if they took out the second scroll—so they only brought out one; they don’t bring out the second one? Yeah, don’t bring out the second one, he says. But if they brought it out and then you didn’t read from it, that’s a pegam (disgrace), because of its pegam. “Behechrech likro od chamishi” (It is necessary to call another fifth reader). That’s a trivia question: give me a case where you set up five olim (Torah readers) on Chanukah. It’s two scrolls, right? “Beshel Chanukah, veyomar Kaddish (sanctification prayer) acharav” (for Chanukah, and then say Kaddish afterward). Kaddish. “Ve’im amar achar revi’i kaddish, kaddish lo yomar achshav” (If he said Kaddish after the fourth reader, he should not say Kaddish now). All right, because the fourth person said Kaddish; why should the other person say Kaddish? If he didn’t, then he does.
“Ve’afilu nizkar betoch keri’at harevi’i, lo yafsik, veyigmor beshel Rosh Chodesh, uveshel Chanukah, avad” (Even if he remembered during the fourth reading, he should not interrupt; he should finish the Rosh Chodesh reading, and the Chanukah reading is lost). If you remembered even in the middle of the reading, just finish the fourth reading and have a good day. Don’t worry.
“Veyesh katvu bema’amar”—and some wrote in a discussion—“Veyesh omrim de’im ta’ah matchilah likro beshel Chanukah, tzarich lehafsik velikro beshel Rosh Chodesh, ad kan” (Some say that if he mistakenly began reading Chanukah, he must stop and read Rosh Chodesh). Aha! Let’s say he took out the two scrolls, but read from the wrong one first. He started Chanukah and then remembered that he had to do Rosh Chodesh. He has to stop and go back to Rosh Chodesh. “Vezehu”—wait, so he would go to the other scroll? Mm-hm. “Vezehu kemo shehikdim tefillin shel rosh leshel yad” (This is like putting on the head tefillin before the arm tefillin). Then they say what? You have to take off the head tefillin, put on the arm tefillin, and then put on the—There’s an idea of putting on the arm tefillin before the head tefillin. “Veyesh cholkim” (Some disagree). Okay, some disagree.
Isn’t it a pegam to stop in the middle of reading a Sefer Torah? “Veyesh sheratzah ligmor de-Kohen beshel Chanukah, ve’achar kach korei beshel Rosh Chodesh” (Some want the Kohen to finish the Chanukah reading, and afterward the reader reads Rosh Chodesh). The person is up there; let him finish the aliyah (Torah-reading section), and then go back to Rosh Chodesh. “Im kvar kara sheloshah pesukim beshel Chanukah, afilu lerabbeinu haRema beshitah she’oleh leminyan, kor’im vekorei achar kach sheloshah beshel Rosh Chodesh” (If he already read three verses of Chanukah, even according to the Rema’s view that it counts toward the required number of readers, they read, and afterward the reader reads three verses of Rosh Chodesh). Wow! They read three verses from Chanukah. Even the Rema will say, okay, you read it; it counts. Then read three from Rosh Chodesh.
So you did the whole thing backward! Why can’t we just read the whole—go back and have your fourth aliyah be Rosh Chodesh, from Vayedabber all the way to—What do you want to do? The person read three verses from Chanukah. He read Chanukah; now make the maftir Rosh Chodesh and do the whole Rosh Chodesh reading for the one oleh. Why do we have to start adding more people? We’re not adding more people. We’re going to do three from Rosh Chodesh. That’s adding more olim, no? There are four olim on that day. Rosh Chodesh has four olim? I thought the rabbi said we just read three from Chanukah. Not three olim—three verses. Oh, three; I thought three olim. No, three verses. So even the Rema will say three verses count. Therefore, read this, and then we read them. Rabbi, if that was the case, if he’s saying that they read the three olim of Chanukah—Okay, then, who knows, hachi nami (so too, indeed).
“Uma’aseh yesh la’asot kehaYesh Cholkim mipenei pegam haSefer Torah, ki hadin beShabbat Chanukah veshel Rosh Chodesh” (In practice, one should follow those who disagree because of the disgrace to the Torah scroll, as is the law when Shabbat Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh coincide). Okay, so you should follow the yesh cholkim. Don’t stop in the middle of the reading, as you said, Haimi. Don’t stop in the middle of the reading and go to the other scroll. That’s a pegam. Finish it, then do what you said. Okay, try another one. Don’t stop in the middle of the aliyah. That’s what he says: don’t stop in the middle; finish. Not like the Rema. Then correct yourself the next—Yeah.
Okay, Rabbotai, let’s see the next section. “Korin b’korbanot hanesi’im b’Parashat Naso (portion of Naso) shloshah b’chol yom, matchilin b’virkat kohanim” (They read the tribal leaders’ offerings in the portion of Naso, three each day, beginning with the Priestly Blessing). Ah, so we begin with the Priestly Blessing. “Zeh biferush Maran” (This is explicit in Maran). “V’yesh omrim shematchilin miyom kalot Moshe, v’chein anu nohagim” (Some say they begin from the day Moses finished, and that is our custom). Wow, so if you go to an Ashkenaz synagogue on the first day of Chanukah, they have a different reading from us. Every day, then? I’m just saying this is a different reading. On the first day, they skip a whole section.
“V’koreh oto imo kohen v’Levi, v’Yisrael koreh bayom harishon” (The Kohen and Levi read it with him, and the Yisrael reads the first day’s offering). Ah, the Yisrael reads it. Another answer. Now you don’t do two; only one person gets the offering of that day. Aruch Hashulchan went back and forth; maybe two people get the offerings. Right. No, one person gets the offerings. Okay. “V’yesh omrim shehakohen koreh kol oto parashah bayom harishon, v’haLevi v’haYisrael korin bayom hasheini” (Some say the Kohen reads that entire passage on the first day, and the Levi and Yisrael read the second day’s offering). Another difference: Ashkenazim. Chanukah—there’s a big difference there. They give two readers the offerings today; we give one. One.
“Yom sheini, koreh kohen bayom hasheini ad par echad ben bakar, v’Levi ad bayom hashlishi, v’Yisrael chozer v’koreh bayom hashlishi, v’al derech zeh b’chol yom” (On the second day, the Kohen reads the second day’s offering through “one bull”; the Levi reads until the third day; and the Yisrael repeats the third day’s offering, and so on each day). Ashkenazim argue on this, too. “Hagah, v’yesh omrim sheYisrael koreh bayom”—they couldn’t get together on Chanukah, huh? Sefaradim and Ashkenazim couldn’t get together at all on anything. “Dehainu bayom hashlishi, v’chein b’chol yom, v’chein nohagin” (That is, on the third day, and so each day; and that is the custom). Even on the light. Okay.
“U’vayom hashmini matchilin bayom hashmini v’gomrin kol haseder, v’koreh parashah rishonah shel Beha’alotcha. V’nohagim lesayeim ken asah et hamenorah” (On the eighth day they begin with the eighth day and complete the whole order, then read the first passage of Beha’alotecha. The custom is to end with “So he made the lampstand”). Ah, baruch Hashem, we agree on something.
Bet. “B’Shabbat d’Chanukah motzi’im shnei sefarim, b’echad koreh b’parashat hashavua uvasheni koreh b’shel Chanukah. Umaftir Rani V’simchi. V’im chalu vo shtei Shabbatot, maftir basheini gam bim’lachim b’neirot d'Shlomo. Hagah, v’im chal Chanukah b’Shabbat zo, maftirin b’shel Chanukah.” Right. We don’t have that custom anyway; we always do Chanukah.
Gimel. “Im chal Rosh Chodesh Tevet b’Shabbat, motzi’in shloshah sefarim. V’korin shishah b’parashat hashavua”—six. “Uvasheini koreh echad”—the second scroll, one reads—Noda B’Yehudah, Noda B’Yehudah? Yeah, yeah. If you don’t need it, if you don’t—Ah, Noda B’Yehudah. Because then you have the six and the—“b’shel Rosh Chodesh, umatchil uv’yom haShabbat. Uvashlishi koreh umaftir b’shel Chanukah, umaftir Roni V’simchi.”
“V’im chal Rosh Chodesh b’chol, motzi’in shnei sefarim. V’korin b’echad shloshah b’shel Rosh Chodesh, uvasheini koreh echad b’shel Chanukah” (If Rosh Chodesh falls on a weekday, they take out two scrolls; they read three for Rosh Chodesh from one, and one for Chanukah from the other). Okay, that’s in the perfect place. “V’im ta’ah hachazan v’kara revi’i b’shel Rosh Chodesh”—meaning, he read all of Rosh Chodesh? “Im lo hotzi’u sefer sheini, ein tzarich likrot yoter” (If they did not take out a second scroll, he need not read more). Why? Because ein mashgichin beChanukah. “Aval im hotzi’u sefer sheini, mishum pegamo tzarich likrot chamishi b’shel Chanukah” (But if they took out the second scroll, because of its disgrace, a fifth reader must read Chanukah). Beautiful! A fifth reader for Chanukah, because you took out the scroll; it’s not nice. The text doesn’t mention Kaddish, though. No, don’t say Kaddish, yeah.
“Hagah, v’im ta’ah v’hitchil likrot b’shel Chanukah,” (If he erred and began reading Chanukah), so you started Chanukah. “Tzarich lehafsik” (He must stop). Stop in the middle. “Lehafsik, v’likrot b’shel Rosh Chodesh” (Stop and read Rosh Chodesh). Wow! Aruch Hashulchan argued with this Rema. Aruch said, “No, no, pegam—you can’t stop in the middle of a reading.” “V’im tzarich levarech al k’riyat Rosh Chodesh, yitba’er lekaman” (Whether he needs to recite a blessing over the Rosh Chodesh reading will be explained later).
Okay, go slowly, Haimi. One step at a time. Look at number one in Gary’s book. “V’im ta’u v’kar’u shloshah olim bimei Chanukah b’parashat hashavua” (If they mistakenly had three readers read the weekly portion on Chanukah)—they were clueless, right? Miketz. They read Vayigash! “Yatz’u yedei chovah” (They fulfilled their obligation). “Ein mashgichin b’Chanukah.” Unbelievable! Okay, what’s number two? “V’im ta’u v’kar’u l’Levi par echad shel yom echad.” It’s the same. Ah, “shel yom echad.” Because you’re basically reading the same words, so it can happen, by the way. It sounds the same; you just read the wrong one. You read the right words, just for the wrong day. It’s not the “one bull” of Nachshon; it’s the “one bull” of whatever, Shelumiel ben Tzurishaddai. But it’s the same words.
“Yesh shekatvu shelo yatza yedei chovah, sheharei hitchil im korban nesi Yissachar v’sayeim b’korban nesi Zevulun” (Some wrote that he did not fulfill his obligation, since he began with the offering of the leader of Issachar and ended with the offering of the leader of Zebulun). Ah, he changed in the middle. He started with this person’s offering and went to the other person’s. Did he skip lines in the Sefer Torah itself? No, between them. He saw the Sefer Torah: on the second day, Issachar; he read it. Then when he saw the Levi, they look around: “Oh, one bull—where?” You do what you want; it’s all the same thing ten times. “Ulam beShut Har Tzvi katav she’ein tzarich lachazor, kevan she’ein mashgichin beChanukah” (But in the responsa Har Tzvi, he wrote that there is no need to repeat, since we do not concern ourselves with Chanukah). Wow. “Ve’od shehashlishi kara kahogen” (Furthermore, the third reader read properly). Oh, and the third person went back to the second day’s offering. This is according to the Sefaradim. “Vechen katvu od acharonim” (Other later authorities wrote similarly).
So what? He said, if you ask me, read properly, because we go back to the second day. Right. Unless he—unless he took it all, so yeah. But why would Har Tzvi be talking like that? I don’t know. Har Tzvi is Rabbi Frank. Do you have a Chazon Ovadia? Reish lamed vav. Very interesting. So if a person did that on Sukkot, he would have to go back, according to this. He’s got to go back. He’d go further. You’re saying—but no, he’s saying go further. No, because ein mashgichin beChanukah. On Chanukah. Bedi’eved (after the fact), in other cases, yeah? Yeah, I know. So if the person reads—Reish lamed vav. Unbelievable.
“Ken pasak Tzvi Pesach Frank, benidon shekara kohen be’inyano shel yom, beta’ut kar’u laLevi par echad biparashat hanasi shel machar” (Tzvi Pesach Frank ruled similarly in a case where the Kohen read the offering of the day, but by mistake the Levi read the “one bull” in the portion of the leader for the next day). “Vechatav, ein tzarich lachazor velikrot laLevi benasi shel oto yom” (He wrote that there is no need to repeat and have the Levi read the leader’s offering for that day). “Kach katav beShut Rivam vechen pasak haga’on Rabbi Mordechai Rottenberg, de’Av Beit Din Antwerpen” (The Rivam wrote similarly, and so ruled the Gaon Rabbi Mordechai Rottenberg, head of the court of Antwerp).
Do you know Antwerp? I saw him in Antwerp. “Vechen he’elah.” Who is Rabbi—Hacham Ovadia? Reb Mordechai Rottenberg, you mean? In Antwerp? Wow. Is that the Maharam miRottenberg? Oh, no. No, this is a different person now, Mordechai Rottenberg. Hacham Ovadia found it; Hacham Ovadia—nobody found it. “Vechen he’elah beShut Chazon Nachum” (And he raised the question in the responsa Chazon Nachum). Different rabbis.
He says something interesting: “Vechen pasak be’Adnei Paz” (And so it was ruled in Adnei Paz). In the responsa Adnei Paz, Rabbi Zvichi writes, “she’im haLevi kara bayom hasheni par echad shel hanasi harishon,” (if the Levi read on the second day the “one bull” of the first day’s leader), “vesiyem bo,” peshita she’eino yotze (and finished it, it is obvious that he did not fulfill the obligation). “Vetzarich lachazor velikrot par echad shel yom hasheni” (He must repeat and read the “one bull” of the second day). “Ve’im lo nizkar ad shehechzir haLevi, shelishi tzarich latzet likro par echad shel yom hasheni” (If he did not remember until the Levi had returned the scroll, the third reader must come out and read the “one bull” of the second day), “veyikra gam kol yom shelishi lefi minhagenu” (and also read the entire third day according to our custom). Wow. He has to go back and read the whole thing.
“BeShut Shraga Hame’ir he’elah shebemikol makom im kevar huchzerah Sefer Torah, o shekevar galeilu et haSefer Torah, ein tzarich lachazor velikrot” (In the responsa Shraga Hame’ir, he raised the possibility that in any case, if the Sefer Torah was already returned, or they had already rolled it up, there is no need to repeat). “She’ein mashgichin.” So I don’t know how he holds, by the way. Why is he so sure he holds that way?
Ah, here it is. “Ve’im ta’u vekar’u shel yom shelishi bayom sheni o lehefech, vesiyemu hakri’ah, yatz’u yedei chovatam ve’ein tzarich lachazor velikrot afilu adayin haSefer Torah munach lifnehem” (If they mistakenly read the third day’s portion on the second day, or the reverse, and completed the reading, they fulfilled their obligation and need not repeat it, even if the Sefer Torah is still in front of them). “Vechen hadin bish’ar yemei Chanukah” (The same law applies on the other days of Chanukah). “Vechen im ta’u vekar’u haLevi par echad shel hayom she’avar” (The same applies if they mistakenly had the Levi read the “one bull” of the previous day). All right, so he’s saying we’re not going to be so—He has to take this Tzvi Pesach Frank; he’s taking the Har Tzvi. “Vechen pasak Har Tzvi.”
Okay, next case. We’re going slowly. Look at section four. “Uminhag benei Sefarad kedivrei haShulchan Aruch shepotchim beBirkat Kohanim, vekohen korei ad lifnei hamishkan, veLevi korei ad lachanukat hamizbe’ach, veYisrael korei ad zeh korban Nachshon ben Amminadav” (The custom of the Sefaradim, following the Shulchan Aruch, is to begin with the Priestly Blessing; the Kohen reads through “before the Mishkan,” the Levi through “the dedication of the altar,” and the Yisrael through the offering of Nachshon ben Aminadav). “Vechen holech vechen hal’ah vehal’ah” (And so it continues). “Mikol makom ein zeh me’akev” (In any case, this is not essential to validity). “Ve’im ta’ah sheli’ach tzibbur vehithil hakohen mi’Vayehi beyom kalot Moshe, yatz’u yedei chovah” (If the prayer leader made a mistake and the Kohen began with “And it was on the day Moses finished,” they fulfilled their obligation). “Vechen im lo hitchil hakohen ela mi’Vayehi hamakriv bayom harishon, yatza” (Likewise, if the Kohen began only from “And it was the one who brought the offering on the first day,” he fulfilled it).
Wow. So even if he skipped the whole thing and started from Nachshon ben Aminadav on the first day, bedi’eved, he fulfilled it. The main reading—the main part—is the offering. All the other stuff is extra. “Ad henah banu,” “Va’ani avarchem”—“And I will bless them.” Now, what is “Va’ani avarchem”? Look at the Mishnah Berurah. What does the Mishnah Berurah say? Look at the Mishnah Berurah.
“Kohen yikra ad lifnei hamishkan, o ad lachanukat hamizbe’ach, vehashe’ar yikre’u Levi veYisrael” (The Kohen reads through “before the Mishkan,” or through “the dedication of the altar,” and the rest is read by the Levi and Yisrael). “Aval otam shenahagu likro leKohen ad Va’ani avarechem.” Aha, they read the Kohen through Va’ani avarechem and stopped there. “Ta’ut” (A mistake). “Hu mechamot ta’ut, vetzarich levatlo” (It is a mistake, and it should be stopped). Wow! Why? “Sheshloshah asar inyanei keri’ot beseder hayom, veseder hayom hu parashat nesi’im” (There are thirteen matters of reading in the order of the day, and the order of the day is the portion of the tribal leaders). Aha, everybody has to read something from the Nesi’im. Wow. And if you stop at Va’ani avarechem—we do—the next line is “Vayehi beyom kalot Moshe ledaber,” or whatever; it’s about the Nesi’im. It’s not the offering itself, but it talks about the Nesi’im. So every oleh has to read something about the Nesi’im. If you stop at Va’ani avarechem, the first person hasn’t read anything about the Nesi’im; he only read about the Kohanim. So he says it’s wrong, and we have to stop it.
Look at what our rabbi said in section five. “Vekatav Peri Chadash.” Whoa, worse; it makes it worse. “Sheha’oseh chen, karov lihyot birchotav levalatah” (One who does so is close to making his blessings in vain). Wow! Because what are you doing? You’re reading something that has nothing to do with anything. “VehaMaharash Algazi katav shehu to’eh bidvar mishnah” (The Maharash Algazi wrote that he is mistaken about the wording of the Mishnah). Who is mistaken about the Mishnah? Peri Chadash.
“Omnam, haShyarei Keneset HaGedolah, vehaBirkei Yosef katav, sheme’achar vekayma lan ein mashgichin baChanukah, she’ein lechol parashat nesi’im le’amito shel davar ein inyanah baChanukah” (However, the Shyarei Knesset HaGedolah and Birkei Yosef wrote that since we have established that we do not concern ourselves with Chanukah, the portion of the tribal leaders does not truly have a connection to Chanukah). You have to remember that. The portion of the Nesi’im has nothing to do with Chanukah. There were no Nesi’im on Chanukah. Right, it’s a hint because of the twenty-fifth of Chislev, the Mishkan, and so on.
“Ve’od shekatav Rashbatz, sheseder hamishnah lav davka hu, venahara nahara upashteih, im ken ein ha’oseh chen to’eh bidvar mishnah, ve’ein lachush shebirchotav levalatah” (Furthermore, Rashbatz wrote that the order in the Mishnah is not exact, and each place follows its own practice; therefore, one who does this is not mistaken about the Mishnah, and there is no concern that his blessings are in vain). Aha. This is speaking about the person who made a mistake. If the person made a mistake, he is not considered to have made his blessings in vain and all that.
“Ulam vadai shufra demilta linhog kemo shekatav kavod”—but certainly it is better to follow what he wrote: “Kohen ad lifnei hamishkan,” and right away do it the right way. He testified in Be’er Mayim Chayim that in a place where they had the custom, the Kohen would read through the end of the Priestly Blessing. Therefore, if they made a mistake and had the Kohen read through the end of the Priestly Blessing, Kaf HaChayim brought that the Kohen does not have to repeat the reading. Bedi’avad, Kaf HaChayim—Hacham Ovadia said, “You did it, you did it”; we’re not going to panic over it. “Vetzarich levatlo?” Wow! “UveKaf HaChayim katav she’ein lehachri’a levalbel makom shenahagu ken” (Kaf HaChayim wrote that one should not rule in a way that disrupts a place where that is the custom). It shows you don’t have to change the people’s custom. If that’s the custom, leave it.
In Chazon Ovadia, he wrote that even though they have the custom of reading the end of the Priestly Blessing, they have something to rely on. Better to tell them nicely that they should be good people, and not do that. Okay, we’re not going to make a war over this.
Continue, number seven. “Vekorim parashah rishonah shel Beha’alotecha” (They read the first passage of Beha’alotecha) on the eighth day. Why do you read Beha’alotecha on the eighth day? Chaim, please. “Vehata’am likri’ah zo, ke-ta’amei Sefer HaEshkol, al pi divrei haMidrash: lamah nismechah parashat nerot lefarashat chanukat hamizbe’ach? Lefi shekol hashvatim hikrivu lechanukat hamizbe’ach shel hamishkan, veshevet Levi lo hikriv” (The reason for this reading, according to Sefer HaEshkol and the Midrash, is as follows: Why is the passage about the lamps next to the passage about the dedication of the altar? All the tribes brought offerings for the dedication of the Mishkan’s altar, but the tribe of Levi did not bring an offering). “Vehayah Aharon nesi shevet Levi, metzer al”—he was distressed—“yatzer al kach” (he was distressed about this), “shelo zachu benei shivto lehakriv bechanukat hamizbe’ach” (that the members of his tribe had not merited to bring offerings at the altar’s dedication).
“Amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu leMoshe: Lech emor leAharon, shelcha gadol mishelahem, shechanukat hamizbe’ach einah noheget ela bizman sheBeit HaMikdash kayam, va’ani oseh lecha chanukah acheret, shekayemet le’olam, venikra al shimcha, shene’emar: Daber el Aharon ve’amarta elav: Beha’alotcha et hanerot, vezo hi chanukat benei Chashmonai” (The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Go and tell Aaron, “Yours is greater than theirs. The dedication of the altar applies only while the Temple stands, but I will make another dedication for you that will last forever and be named after you,” as it says, “Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you kindle the lamps”—this is the dedication of the Hasmoneans).
Aha, that’s a big chiddush here. That means the reason you read Beha’alotecha on the eighth day—if you ask an ordinary person, “What do you mean, Beha’alotecha on the eighth day?” “Oh, the menorah.” What menorah? There’s the menorah of the Beit HaMikdash. This is the menorah of Chanukah. What’s the connection? Oh, menorah, menorah—gezerah shaveh (verbal analogy). “Toutou, meChag HaMatzot.” What does the menorah have to do with anything? No, because this is the appeasement God gave Aharon after the offerings, when Levi didn’t bring any offerings. So God told Aharon, “Don’t worry; you’re going to have a mitzvah that lasts forever.”
So all the rabbis ask, “What is it that lasts forever? Chanukah is not forever. The menorah is not forever. It’s only in the Beit HaMikdash.” No! The menorah is going to last forever, meaning that in the time of Chanukah, everybody lights the menorah, zecher le (as a remembrance of) the Chashmona’im, and all that. So that’s why we read it.
Okay. What is number eight about? Number eight is about “Ein kpeida bayamim” (There is no concern about the days). Now look at the Mishnah Berurah. Go back to the Mishnah Berurah. “Im ta’u vekar’u beyom sheni shel Chanukah parashat nasi shelishi”—you actually read the whole wrong one. That’s okay. “Ein kpeida.” Well, look at what he says here. “Vechen katav”—and so he wrote. The Chida, in Birkei Yosef, and Kaf HaChayim, note eight, brought a dispute among the halachic authorities about whether, if they did not return the Sefer Torah to its place, they need to repeat the reading without a berachah for that day, or not. In Chazon Ovadia, he raised the question—he ruled that there is no need to repeat the reading. Okay, beautiful. You made a mistake, you made a mistake. You actually read the wrong day. Hacham Ovadia says that after the fact, leave it. Because you read the Nesi’im. You read something. Ein mashgichin. Hey, guys, remember the rule: ein mashgichin beChanukah. That’s a rule, a great rule in Judaism.
Nonetheless—oh, here. “Ulemacharat einam korim ella et hakri’ah shel oto hayom velo et hakri’ah shel”—the next day, you continue with that day’s reading. No makeup, no tashlumin (makeup reading).
Okay, this is number nine. Everybody wants to know how you divide up the eighth day. He didn’t tell you how to divide up the eighth day. There’s a lot to read on the eighth day. There’s Vayechulu? No, from the eighth day through Beha’alotecha. How do you divide it up? I want to know how to divide up the seventh day. Okay, David wants to stop this now. David wants to interrupt the whole class. Are we going to get to that? No, we’re doing this now. What are you doing? We’re following an order here. What I say is the order. I didn’t see the division of the days, no? Seven days like the sixth day. I saw a question. We’re reading the eighth day now. What question did you see? Every book has whatever the book says. Why are you getting so excited? Can’t find it in the book this year? “Beyom hashemini,” here we go. Okay, we’ll get to it. Calm down, calm down.
“Veseder hakri’ah shel yom hashemini”—the Shulchan Aruch did not explain how the aliyot are divided. We find different views among the early authorities. “Besefer Ha’eshkol katav kachalukah shehevi haMishnah Berurah.” The Mishnah Berurah—how did the Mishnah Berurah present it? The eighth day, what did he bring? “Kohen veLevi koreh bekorbanot shel Gamli’el, Yisra’el”—where is it, number nine? Here. Listen, I can’t see over there. The Kohen and Levi read the offerings of Gamli’el. Wow, so the Yisrael gets everything! That’s a beautiful way. The Yisrael reads the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and then “chanukat hamizbe’ach,” and “bum”—that’s a beautiful way.
“Ve’ilu Yosef Ometz katav sheKohen koreh bayom hashemini uvayom hateshi’i, veLevi koreh bayom ha’asiri ha’echad asar vehashenem asar, veYisra’el gomer ad ken asah et hamenorah” (Yosef Ometz wrote that the Kohen reads the eighth and ninth days, the Levi reads the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth days, and the Yisrael finishes through “So he made the lampstand”). Okay, a different system.
“BiSh’ut Chayim Sha’al katav keivan she’ein anu nohagim kemo shepasak Maran shekol hasheloshah olim korim beparashat korban shel oto hayom, lefichach haKohen yikra miBeyom hashemini ad meli’at ketoret, vehaLevi ad Beyom hateshi’i, vehaYisrael chozer vekoreh miBeyom—” Ah! He goes back! He’s talking about the seventh—he’s talking about this now. So you read three verses, then finish it, and the third reader goes back to the eighth day, like you do every day! Well, that’s because you need to have the minimum. “Umesayyem kol haseder ad ken asah et hamenorah” (And he finishes the whole order through “So he made the lampstand”). “Vechen pasak haGarach Palagi beMo’ed Lechol Chai, Kaf Hachayim, vechatav beChazon Ovadiah ken asah et hamenorah” (The Garach Palagi ruled similarly in Mo’ed Lechol Chai and Kaf HaChayim, and Chazon Ovadia wrote the same).
Wow. Okay, so that’s what we do. We go back? Yeah. That’s what we do. We read the eighth day like a regular day, because the third person gets everything. Nothing changes. “Ve’im ta’ah sheli’ach tzibbur vekara lishloshtam bayom hashemini bilvad kishe’ar hayamim, eino chozer” (If the prayer leader mistakenly read all three readers’ portions from the eighth day alone, as on the other days, he does not repeat the reading). Wow, the person read all three in the shortened way, all three from the eighth day as he did every day. So you don’t bring a fourth? You don’t. There’s no fourth. Why? There’s no fourth.
“Mikkol makom im adayin lo hechziru et sefer haTorah lemakomo”—in any case, if they haven’t yet returned the Sefer Torah to its place—“adayin lo lechatchilah.” In any case, if the Sefer Torah is still out, of course it’s better to finish it, without a berachah, from the ninth day through “So he made the lampstand.” Okay, beautiful. Very nice in itself.
Now let’s look at yud-bet in the Mishnah Berurah. “Im chal Rosh Chodesh bechol.” Yud-bet. “Bechol, seder kri’at haTorah beRosh Chodesh bechol: matchil parashat tamid, Kohen ad revi’it hahin, Levi ad veniskah, Yisra’el ad venisko, veharevi’i koreh beChanukah” (On a weekday Rosh Chodesh, the Torah reading begins with the daily offering: the Kohen reads through “a quarter of a hin,” the Levi through “and its libation,” the Yisrael through “and its libation,” and the fourth reader reads Chanukah). Right.
There’s no answer, so now we have to look at some other laws here. “Achar haHallel omerim chatzi Kaddish” (After Hallel, they say half Kaddish). Okay, we say half Kaddish. “Motzi’im Sefer Torah, kor’im Korbanot” (They take out a Sefer Torah and read the offerings). It goes through the twenty-fifth of Chislev and all that. “Minhagenu shelo lomar Berich Shemeh behotza’at Sefer Torah beChanukah” (Our custom is not to say “Berich Shemeh” when taking out the Sefer Torah on Chanukah). Okay? “Veyeshe omerim she’im omero, ein bezeh chisaron” (Some say that if he said it, there is no deficiency in doing so). Kaf HaChayim brought in the name of Alei Semach that there is no prohibition against saying it on the other days, either. Okay, our custom is not to say it.
“Minhagenu lehatchil bayom harishon bivirkato kohanim,” Maharam. He says the reason is “lefi shena’asah hanes al yedei hakohanim” (because the miracle was performed through the priests). Beautiful. “Velikrot lekohen ad vayakrivu otam lifnei haMishkan, velo yikra birkat kohanim lechud” (The Kohen reads through “they brought them before the Mishkan,” and should not read only the Priestly Blessing). Why shouldn’t he read only the Priestly Blessing? Because then you’re not giving him any material from the Nesi’im. So that’s what we do. No, we do that? Yeah, we finish at Va’ani avarechem. No, we don’t. We don’t? I thought we did, but here it doesn’t say that. In Beit Yaakov, like Kol Yaakov—what does it say? The Levi goes through “before the Mishkan.” That’s it, “before the Mishkan,” so we get to the Nesi’im. That’s it. What does it say? “Lifnei haMishkan.” “Otam lifnei haMishkan.” We do that in Parashat Naso; we know, wait until Va’ani avarechem. Okay, that’s okay. It goes through “before the Mishkan,” too. That’s it.
“Bayom hasheni koreh Kohen ad mele’ah ketoret, Levi sof hapesukim, veYisrael chozer” (On the second day, the Kohen reads through “the full measure of incense”; the Levi reads the end of the verses, and the Yisrael repeats). Beautiful. “Ta’u vekar’u lekohen ad sof parashat hakorban shel oto hayom” (If they mistakenly had the Kohen read through the end of that day’s offering), don’t have the Levi and Yisrael read the next day’s offering; repeat it again. Okay.
“Im ta’u vekar’u beyom sheni shel Chanukah nasi shel yom shelishi”—if they read the third day’s leader on the second day, that’s allowed. Why? The Mishnah Berurah: ein mashgichim beChanukah. Tomorrow, go back. “Bayom hashmini matchilim beYom Hashmini, veyikra Kohen ad mele’ah ketoret, veLevi ad Bayom Hatshi’i, veYisrael chozer vekoreh matchilat yom hashmini” (On the eighth day, they begin with the eighth day; the Kohen reads through “the full measure of incense,” the Levi through the ninth day, and the Yisrael repeats from the beginning of the eighth day). Exactly as we said, like the Chida, on the eighth day. You read it the same way. Okay, beautiful.
And then what else? He says, “Achar Beit Yaakov omerim Shir Shel Yom (Song of the Day),” (After Beit Yaakov, they say the Song of the Day), “umetallegim teivot hashir shehayu haLevi’im omerim al haduchan” (and they omit the words saying that this was the song the Levites used to say on the platform). But that’s a big question, because that wasn’t the song. Yeah, but we do say Shir Shel Yom. On Chanukah, do we say Shir Shel Yom? We say Beit Yaakov. On Rosh Chodesh, we don’t say it; on Rosh Chodesh we say Barchi Nafshi. Right. But on Chanukah—in some siddurim, after Uva LeTziyon, they have—Correct. So our custom is the same, as long as we’re bringing it back to the Sefer Torah. We know that already.
But now, after the Amidah, after whatever, after we say Beit Yaakov, we say, “Hayom yom shelishi, hashir shehayu haLevi’im omerim al haduchan” (Today is the third day, the song that the Levites used to say on the platform). He says, how can you say “hashir shehayu haLevi’im omerim,” since that’s not true? They said “Mizmor shir chanukat habayit” (A psalm, a song for the dedication of the house) on that day. So he says, skip that line. Yeah, why are you saying it at all? No, just say the—That’s a good question: why say it at all? It’s still that day. Why don’t they say that? Why don’t they say—That’s a good question, no? Which they also say, so I have a better idea. We read all the days; every day, we know what day it is, and they don’t say it. Do you want to remember Shabbat? We know Tehillim (Psalms); everyone remembers. Because that’s also remembering Shabbat. Why don’t you say “hayom yom” before “Aromimcha” and then skip the Shir Shel Yom? Then you can have—“Umedallegim teivot hashir shehayu Levi’im al haduchan ve’acharav yomeru Mizmor shir chanukat habayit leDavid” (They omit the words about the Levites’ song, and afterward say, “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the house, by David”).
In Chabad they skip it; they don’t say this. Yeah, that’s what I—when I was the prayer leader in those days. What did you do? I skipped it. I saw other people do it. “Hineh haminhag lomar Shir Shel Yom umizmorim lefi ha’inyan mekorom me’Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (Men of the Great Assembly), Soferim” (The custom of saying the Song of the Day and psalms according to the occasion has its source in the Men of the Great Assembly and the Scribes). And on Chanukah it says they said “Aromimcha Hashem.” He says, “Omnam beKnesset HaGedolah hevi shebeChanukah nahagu lomar rak Mizmor shir chanukat habayit, velo amru Shir Shel Yom” (But the Knesset HaGedolah brought that on Chanukah the custom was to say only “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the house,” and not to say the Song of the Day). “Vechen muva be’Od Kol Chai” (And this is also brought in Od Kol Chai).
And the question is: why change the song the Levites used to say? The reason is that he thinks the Levites did not say “Mizmor shir chanukat habayit” in the Beit HaMikdash, but the regular Song of the Day. Ah, it’s a dispute about what they did in the Beit HaMikdash, by the way. Some say they said only “Mizmor shir chanukat habayit”; some say they said the regular one. He wrote that he forgot to institute saying both. Look into this in the responsa of the Rema miFano. He says, no more “hashir shehalevi’im omrim” on those days; instead, begin at the start of the psalm. If they said it, they said it. If they didn’t, then you read Tehillim. They somehow covered both possibilities.
There is uncertainty about what they said in the Beit HaMikdash on Chanukah: the Chanukah psalm or the Song of the Day, as on the other weekdays. “Hineh, od ra’iti beBen Ish Chai, se’if chaf-zayin.” No, I never noticed, since we don’t read it. In Rosh Chodesh, say, where they add Shir Shel Yom—yeah, well, we don’t even say it. We don’t say it. I’m just saying that’s why I never noticed it. I never probably checked it, but when you said that, I wanted to see if they say it.
Chaf-vav, excuse me. “BeRosh Chodesh shechal lihyot beChanukah yomru Beit Ya’akov mizmor hayom, acharav mizmor shir chanukat habayit. Uvechol mizmor hayom yomar hayom yom peloni beshabat, velo yesayem lomar shir shehayu halevi’im omrim al haduchan” (When Rosh Chodesh falls during Chanukah, they say Beit Yaakov and the psalm of the day, followed by “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the house.” In every daily psalm, they say what day it is and whether it is Shabbat, but they do not conclude with the words saying that this was the song the Levites said on the platform). Ben Ish Chai says that this is the way to do it on all other days.
“Ufeh irenu Bagdad, hayinu hayah minhagam shelo lomar beChanukah Beit Ya’akov velo mizmor shel hayom, ela omrim mizmor Chanukah davka” (In our city, Bagdad, the custom had been not to say Beit Yaakov or the psalm of the day on Chanukah, but to say only the Chanukah psalm). “Umizeh kamah shanim tehilot la’El asiti haminhag lomar Beit Ya’akov umizmor hayom gam ken, venichnas balev, venityashev zeh haminhag be’ezrat Hashem yitbarach” (For several years, with praise to God, I have followed the custom of also saying Beit Yaakov and the psalm of the day, and this custom has taken root and become established, with God’s help).
Ooh. He says the same thing about Rosh Chodesh. Yeah, like Rosh Chodesh. He says the custom was not to say it, and he changed it. Oh, he says the same thing about Rosh Chodesh? Yeah, yeah. They also used not to say it, like we do here. They don’t say anything. Tadir.
Okay, but there’s a whole subject here. So we don’t say—we say “Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit” there, and whatever. But lich’orah, we should skip the words “hashir shehalevi’im.” That’s what I did: “Hayom yom rishon shebeshabat,” straight to the psalm. Okay. We should follow David Mayer. It’s Ben Ish Chai and David Mayer. I did it because of that. That’s good. I’m saying, but you want to point out that we heard eight times that you do it here, so obviously you want us to announce it at the thing. We’re announcing it. Rabbotai, one of the prayer leaders—I’m announcing it, Rabbotai. Everybody else did not do it, including Rabbi Mansour when he was the prayer leader on Chanukah, because he didn’t know the halachah. But David Mayer, baruch Hashem, tehilot la’El (praise to God), he did it, and it’s very important that he did it, and we appreciate that he did it. He knew something nobody else knew, which is standard, which is standard. Chazak uvaruch, David Mayer.