Two people may not read
[the Torah simultaneously]. Either the honoree reads
[his own aliyyah] and the cantor remains silent, or the cantor reads and the honoree does not read out loud. Nevertheless he must read
[the text] together with the cantor so that his blessing shall not be unfulfilled; but
[under such circumstances] he must read quietly, eyes only.
(It should not concern us even if he [the honoree] does let his ears hear what he is reading [together with the cantor] since this is not more important than prayer.)
Some have the custom of having someone dictate to the honoree word for word: after this person says a word the honoree repeats it.
1:
Paragraph 2 of section 141 is concerned with the relationship that must exist between the honoree and the cantor. (For the sake of completeness let us recall that the term 'honoree' indicates the person being honoured with an '
aliyyah – ostensibly to 'read from the Torah – and that the term 'cantor' is being used in this context to indicate the person who is actually reading from the Torah.
2:
In earliest times, as we have had occasion to mention many times, it was the honoree who actually read from the Torah. Since, in those days, the lexicon was neither fixed not annual it was possible for each individual honoree to decide the length of the portion that they would read – usually about three to five verses only. This was possible because, on the one hand, it could be expected that all the people who were thus honoured were hebraically literate, and on the other hand the reading – whether by declamation or singing – did not involve the use of what we call today te'amim. These are the minuscule signs in printed Ĥumashim that are appended above and below the words to indicate how they are to be vocalized. These te'amim (a term often rather inaccurately rendered as 'phonemes' in English) only came into existence as the Hebrew language ceased to be freely spoken and understood by the masses of the Jewish people. In order to preserve a correct declamation of the biblical text systems of signs were developed to indicate the conjunctive or disjunctive relationship of each word in the sentence to the following word. Two such systems gained wide usage and the system that finally 'won out' was one that had been developed by scholars based on the town of Tiberias on the shores of the sea of Galilee. Their work was not fully completed until about the beginning of the 10th century CE.
3:
It was only even later that these te'amim was adopted to indicate also the way the biblical text was to be ritually intoned in public reading – a kind of system of 'musical notes', though in each locality and area the Jews had differing interpretations of what musical rendition should be associated with each ta'am. When Hebrew literacy could no longer be assumed (because of the lengthening of the period of dispersion in the diaspora) and when the vocal rendition of the text of the Torah became associated with these te'amim it became more and more difficult to find individuals who could be honoured with an aliyyah to the Torah, either because they could not read Hebrew fluently or because they were not well-versed in the use of the te'amim – or both! There was also a third difficulty: just as the system of 'phonemes' that had been perfected in Eretz-Israel eventually won out over the Babylonian system, so at around the same time the Babylonian system of completing the reading of the Torah in one year won out over the much more free system used in Eretz-Israel. This meant that each individual aliyyah was now much longer than heretofore.
4:
The answer to all these difficulties was to appoint a person to act as the agent and representative of the honoree. The honoree recites the blessings over his or her reading of the Torah and then the appointed official – here we can call him or her the 'cantor' – reads the appropriate portion of the Torah in their name. However, if the honoree himself (or herself) does not actually read from the Torah is there not an halakhic danger they the blessings they recited are unfulfilled? They recited a blessing that links them to their duty to read from the Torah and then they do not do so! Can this not raise the spectre of 'taking God's name in vain'? It was this consideration that later required the honoree to read the text of the Torah together with the cantor.
5:
However, it would obviously be impractical to have two people reading from the Torah out loud – one expertly and effortlessly and the other less expertly and less effortlessly. The Gemara [Rosh ha-Shanah 27a] teaches that 'two voices cannot be heard simultaneously'. In other words, it is difficult for the listening public to understand what is being said when a text (be it Torah or siddur) is intoned by two people acting in concert. Therefore this kind of 'duet' is forbidden. This brings us to the first clause of paragraph 2: "Two people may not read [simultaneously]. Either the honoree reads and the cantor remains silent, or the cantor reads and the honoree does not read out loud." However both of these stipulations raise further halakhic problems. Let us first address the problem associated with the cantor doing the reading (which is the more common). This solution leaves unresolved the problem of 'berakhah le-vatalah', an 'unfulfilled blessing' which practically means that God's name was taken 'in vain'. Thus it became the custom to require the honoree to follow the reading of the cantor: as the cantor points to each word that he reads the honoree reads that word to himself. Because 'two voices cannot be heard simultaneously' he should read to himself, just following the words with his eyes. However, even here, differing customs arose. Reading 'eyes only' is quite a sophisticated achievement, and less learned people found it difficult to read if they did not actually enunciate the words. Thus, Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulĥan Arukh, stipulates that the honoree must read together with the cantor 'eyes only', while Rabbi Moshe Isserles, representing the Ashkenazi part of the Jewish world, condones the custom of the honoree actually formulating the words with his lips, but very quietly so that only his ears will hear what his mouth has enunciated. Since this is permitted – nay required – for the recitation of the Amidah it could hardly be objected to in connection with the Torah reading. I have noticed that many honorees follow the reading far too loudly. This is probably to demonstrate their superior knowledge, but in fact it only reveals their ignorance: those proficient in reading Hebrew would do better to choose the 'eyes only' option.
6:
If the cantor remains silent because the honoree is able to read the passage for himself a different problem arises. Halakhic tradition has always been very sensitive to respecting the dignity of individuals. If one permits the more capable members of the congregation to read their own passage this creates a situation where some members of the congregation 'are more equal than others'. For this reason later authorities (Aĥaronim) have adopted the recommendation of the Tosafists that no person be permitted to read his or her own portion, however expert they may be, so as to avoid the possibility of anyone feeling that they have been shamed. Nowadays the honoree should be permitted to read his or her own portion only under two circumstances: either the honoree is reading from the Torah for others anyway – i.e. the honoree is the 'cantor', or the honoree is Bar-Mitzvah or Bat-Mitzvah.
7:
Paragraph 3 of section 141 introduces a custom which nowadays is certainly 'more honoured in the breach than the observance' – and rightly so. Rashi, in his commentary on Tractate Shabbat, mentions the custom whereby the cantor reads each word out loud and then the honoree repeats this word, 'parrot fashion'. Since it is hard to imagine a custom more shaming than this Jewish tradition, rightly in my view, seems to have consigned this custom to oblivion.
Due to the incidence of the festival of Sukkot BMV is going on its traditional 'vacation' for Ĥol ha-Mo'ed, so the next shiur in the Halakhah Study Group will be on 21st October 2003. I take this opportunity to wish all subscribers to the Halakhah Study Group Ĥag Samé'aĥ.
