1:
The public reading of the Torah must be as accurate as possible. But we must bear in mind that the standard of accuracy to be expected will vary from place to place and from person to person. In many congregations people pounce on the slightest deviation from the printed text and make the Torah reader repeat the word or phrase. While this is praiseworthy when the Torah reader is an accomplished expert, it can cause the less accomplished reader to stumble and to commit even greater errors. Therefore, in our congregations, those whose task it is to watch for these errors must be well-versed in the provisions of Section 142 and be able to make an on-the-spot analysis of the error: whether it needs to be corrected or it can be let to pass.
2:
The prime author of the Shulĥan Arukh, Rabbi Yosef Karo, in paragraph 1 of this section speaks of the honoree reading his portion. We have seen again and again in our study of these rules that this was originally the accepted mode of reading the Torah. Only later did it become the custom to have a regular Torah reader. In modern congregations there has been a further development in which men and women, ordinary congregants, take upon themselves the task of preparing some of the Torah reading, sharing it out between them. In his note appended to paragraph 1 Rabbi Moshe Isserles makes it clear that the rules which we shall expound below apply regardless of whether the Torah reader is the honoree himself, or another congregant, or an accomplished Torah reader. In all cases the same rules and standards apply.
3:
We must distinguish between several kinds of error. The error may be in the pronunciation of the letters of a word; or it may be in the pronunciation of the diacritical signs (what we usually call the vowel-signs); or it may be in the intonation of the musical trope. All of these might be serious errors which require correction or they may be errors which may be let pass so as not to interrupt the flow of the reading. For we should always bear in mind what we stated in the very first shiurim of this series: that the purpose of the public reading of the Torah is to teach Israel so that we all are familiar with the content of the Torah and the order in which it tells its story. If the reading is interrupted to often in order to correct mistakes which need not be corrected the congregation following the reading may well lose the thread. On the other hand, we cannot permit gross errors to creep into our public reading of the Torah, otherwise what the congregation will hear will not be the Torah – neither that of God, nor that of Moses, nor that of Israel – but some private Torah, as it were. This is why the task of those whose task it is to watch for these errors is a very difficult one and should be carried out by those who are very familiar with the rules and the options in any given case.
4:
The one test that can be applied to all possible errors is simple: does this error substantially change the meaning of what the Torah is saying? If it does it must be corrected, if it does not it may be permitted to pass uncorrected. Obviously, a gross mispronunciation must be corrected. For instance, if the reader reads a kof or a khaf instead of a gimmel he or she must read the word again, because this will inevitable change the meaning of the word – either into some other meaning or into nonsense with no meaning in Hebrew. Then again, the error might be in the correct reading of the vowel signs: if the Hebrew text reads yé-aseh ['shall be done'] and what the congregation hears is ya-aseh ['he shall do'] then they have not heard what the Torah intended them to hear, and this error must be corrected. But, if the Torah says áved ['slave' in pausal form] and what the reader reads is éved ['slave' in its non-pausal form] there is no need to correct this error, because the meaning of the word has not been changed. Similarly, there is usually no substantial difference of meaning between vayyómer and vayyomár: they both mean 'he said'.
5:
We said in the last shiur that the Massoretes also invented diacritical signs to be added above and below the words of the Torash to indicate the relationshiop between one word or phrase in the sentance and the next. In English we usually call these 'trope' and they have no been appropriated to indicate the way in which the words are to be sung in public reading. Regarding the correct intonation of the trope we must bear in mind their original purpose. Normally an error in applying the trope can be overlooked. However, if the error distorts the meaning of the phrase it must be corrected. For instance, if the reader ignores the major disjunctive signs in a verse – sof-pasuk or etnaĥta or one of the zekefim the meaning will almost inevitably be distorted. An error in singing the conjunctive signs is much less liable to distort the meaning of the Torah.
6:
What I have written above is only by way of general illustration. In every individual case the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. Perhaps I should add that as regards the chanting of the Haftarah utmost leniency may be applied.
7:
The fact that the congregation should not be over-taxed by too zealous a correction of errors that need not be corrected is shown by the general rule of paragrapg 2. Where the congregation cannot find anyone who can read the Torah properly this is no reason for it not be read at all: it should be read erroneously rather not read at all.
The issue of how many people should be present on the
bimah when the Torah is read still will not leave us! Here is what
Ellen Schwartz has written to me:
Since my husband and I usually serve on Shabbat at our shul as those two people (where you would like to have only one) while our Rabbi acts as Torah reader, I would like to share the explanation I have heard of why two people are used. It goes something along the lines of "Moses had two people who helped him hold his arms up during the times when he needed to keep his arms raised for the benefit of the people" so the two "watchers" who keep an eye in the Chumash while the Torah reader is reading from the scroll are acting like those people who helped Moses in his work. In reality, besides keeping an eye on the correct reading of the text, we often feel like "stage directors" helping the honorees to act correctly during their aliyah. In fact, since the previous honoree stays by the Torah through an additional aliyah, it makes for quite a crowd at the bimah. If another person is reading then the Rabbi or one of us will step aside so there are still only two "watchers" present.
Daniel Werlin writes:
Regarding the discussion in HSG 028 of OC 141:6, the text says that a son should not follow a father in taking an aliyah. Does the reverse apply, a
father taking an aliyah after a son? Other sources I've examined use vaguer language. Do they agree with the Shulchan Aruch, or is there a geunine
split?
I respond:
Since the reason for avoiding such consecutive aliyyot is "in order to avoid the evil eye", which member of the family preceeds the other surely is immaterial. Since Dan has not shared with me the other sources which he has examined I can't really comment further. I repeat my general view that modern Conservative congregations who wish to do so may ignore this restriction.
More of your queries and comments next time.
