Question: I have several questions regarding the Mi Sheberach, the blessing of the congregant called up to the reading of the Torah. Is it right to mention a specific sum of money when reciting the Mi Sheberach? I am also intrigued by the text of the Mi Sheerach, in which we ask Hashem to do our bidding. Is there a halachic source for this blessing other than its presence in the siddur? Lastly, is there mention anywhere of the role of the shamash or gabbai as reciters of the Mi Sheberach?
M. Schwartz
Via E-mail
Synopsis: In Orach Chayyim (306), the Mechaber discusses mentioning exact sums of money on the Sabbath, while Rema (306:6) adds that for the Mi Sheberach, Ohr Zarua is lenient as long as it is for charity. Yeshuot Shimshon allows auctioning despite its similarity to trading, and allows specifying sums of money when reciting the Mi Sheberach.
Magen Avraham suggests when selling the Torah-reading honors that any sum mentioned is to be considered a pledge to charity. Aruch HaShulchan (O.C. 306:15,16) allows pledging money for Torah honors on the Sabbath as “Minhag Yisrael Torah,” but excludes the sale of seats in the synagogue.
Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, zt”l, (Eidut LeYisrael, siman 67) connects the custom of pledging money at the Mi Sheberach to Tractate Pesachim (8a), where one who promises a coin to charity so that his son will live is declared a righteous person. Rabbi Henkin questions today’s practice to bless the oleh for coming to the Torah as well as the gabbai and Kohen. He commends those synagogues who bless only those who have made pledges, especially when done after reading of the Torah, before Yekum Purkan and the general Mi Sheberach, thus avoiding a hefsek – forbidden interruption – during the reading of the Torah.
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Answer: Likutei Maharich (in the section dealing with Keriat HaTorah on the Sabbath) analyzes the Ohr Zarua’s ruling in regard to “the custom that the sheliach tzibbur [the representative of the congregation who prays out loud] makes a Mi Sheberach for those who are called up to read in the Torah [what we call an aliyah] and who make pledges.” The Ohr Zarua asks: How is that possible if we vow not to consecrate items to the Sanctuary or make valuations for that purpose on the Sabbath? The fact that we dedicate charity for the poor on the Sabbath applies to charity that is needed for the poor on that day. But, continues the Likutei Maharich, the Ohr Zarua explains that according to the Riva, one of the Tosafists, we do not consecrate or specify values on the Sabbath because such an act on our part is a matter of choice, not a requirement. It was deemed to belong to the realm of transactions and therefore we should not do it on the Sabbath. However, giving charity to the poor is a requirement; thus no strictures were instituted in this regard.
At the end, the Ohr Zarua opts for leniency because it is the representative of the congregation (now that would be the gabbai) who recites the Mi Sheberach and quotes the amount, whereas the oleh l’Torah – the congregant who “goes up” to the Torah – is silent. And even should he ask that a Mi Sheberach be made for him, he never utters the words “I pledge.” Thus he is not comparable to one who consecrates or valuates. For that very reason, it is important that when the shaliach tzibbur (or gabbai) comes up for the reading of the Torah and makes pledges, he should not say, “I pledge,” but substitute that with, “Ba’avur she’ani eten bli neder” – lit. “On condition that I give, without a vow.” (We might suggest that in such a case it is preferable that another person recites the Mi Sheberach.)
In both the Machzor Vitry, one of the earliest siddurim (11th century C.E.), and the well-known Kol Bo, a halachic work of the 13th-14th century, there is no mention of the Mi Sheberach or its text; but the full text is found in the Siddur Beit Yaakov of Rabbi Yaakov Emden (18th century) – after the prayer of Yekum Purkan. This would confirm Rabbi Henkin’s reference to such an earlier practice. And while the prayer of Mi Sheberach is referred to in numerous early sources, we do not have proof of an established text until much later.
Perhaps if we examine the origin of the role of the gabbai or shamash, this might shed some light on the other questions you raised regarding the source and text of that custom. It might clarify to some extent what most perturbs Rabbi Henkin as well.
The Mechaber (Orach Chayyim 141, Dinei Hakorei ve’Hamakrei) states that we must be in a standing position when reading from the Torah, and it is not permitted even to support oneself against the wall or the amud (or the table, the bimah, where we read the Torah). An exception is made when the reader is a person of large girth and that would create a hardship for him. The Rema adds, quoting the Mordechai, that the chazzan who does the actual reading (i.e., the ba’al keriah) has to stand alongside the “reader,” the one who is called up to the Torah.
The Mechaber continues that two should not read [aloud] at the same time: Either the one called up does the reading and the shaliach tzibbur is silent, or the shaliach tzibbur reads aloud and the oleh l’Torah reads with him, but not aloud; the oleh l’Torah has to read along with the Shaliach Tzibbur so that the blessing he makes should not be in vain. He has to read in a very soft voice that is inaudible. The Rema points out that even if he hears his reading, this should not be a problem, because we are not stricter here than in the matter of prayer. The Magen Avraham explains that the Sages instituted that tefillah (i.e., the Shemoneh Esrei) is to be recited silently (see Berachot 31a). The Mechaber (O.C. 101:2) rules that in a situation where one cannot do so, a slightly louder voice is permissible.
The Mechaber notes (ibid. 141:4) that if the shaliach tzibbur himself wishes to bless (i.e., to be given one of the aliyot) and read from the Torah, another person has to stand alongside, for just as the Torah was given at Sinai through a sirsur (an intermediary – Moses), so do we have to deal with the Torah-reading in a similar manner.
Petach HaGilayon (authored by Rabbi Akiva Eger, a collection of citations from many responsa and novella, which appears on the margin of some editions of the Shulchan Aruch) notes that now there is a person specifically charged with the responsibility to open and close the Sefer Torah, as well as returning it to the Ark at the end of the reading. Thus there are usually three people on the bimah. But when the shaliach tzibbur is given an aliyah, and his function as representative of the congregation and reader is momentarily suspended, the question is whether there is a need to have an additional person there (for a count of three), or whether the presence of two people in front of the Torah, as the Mechaber’s wording seems to imply, is sufficient.
The Gilayon quotes the Levush (ad loc sk 4) that today we need three people because the one who is called up to the reading of the Torah represents Knesset Yisrael by receiving the Torah on their behalf; the shaliach tzibbur stands in for Moses as the intermediary; and as is customary in Ashkenaz, the segan (assistant), whose function it is to call up the people for the aliyah L’Torah, is, as it were, the representative of the Shechina – the Divine Presence. We therefore need a third person in this case because three people have to stand there.
The view expressed by the Levush is also found in the commentary Ateret Zekenim (on the opposite margin of the Shulchan Aruch), with a slightly greater emphasis on the function of the segan: He stands in, so to speak, for the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is in his power to call up to the Torah whomever he desires.
The Gilayon also quotes Tractate Soferim (chapter 14, halacha 14) which offers a different reason for the need for three people at the Torah reading – the chazzan (or the one who reads the Torah) and the two people who flank him – since three corresponds to the number of the Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (A novel explanation of reference to the patriarchs at the Torah-reading is their connection to mitzvot that they were commanded, in their time, before Matan Torah, which are amongst the first mitzvot of the Torah. Brit milah, brit milah specifically on the eighth day, and gid hanasheh.) The oleh l’Torah stands on the right hand of the Reader, and the other stands on his left.
He concludes: Although there is no hint in earlier writings of the practice to require three people at the reading of the Torah, it is proper to follow the ruling of Tractate Soferim because it dates from a later period and is knowledgeable about the customs of Israel (minhagei Yisrael). This is a clear indication that we are to follow the decisions of the Acharonim (the later halachic decisors).
To be continued
