Keriat Ha-Torah II: The Aliya

Now that we’ve discussed the nature of keri’at ha-Torah, we can explore the workings of the aliya la-Torah: the nature and function of the berachot, and the roles of the Torah reader and the person called to the Torah.

This analysis will lay the groundwork for our discussion of women reading in all-women’s Torah readings (below) or as part of keri’at ha-Torah in a minyan where both men and women are present (which we discuss further in the continuation of this series).

We learned previously of the importance of the community hearing keri’at ha-Torah. At its best, hearing keri’at ha-Torah is active listening, and a form of learning Torah. But hearing can sometimes become a passive exercise. One way for community members to establish that they actively engage with the reading is by answering the berachot recited over it.

Recall that Ezra recited a beracha before reading the Torah. The Biblical account emphasizes the communal response to that beracha:

The Talmud Yerushalmi teaches that Ezra’s beracha glorified God, and the Babylonian Talmud applies this concept to Torah reading in general:¹

In a mystical sense, the Torah is the name of God writ large.² When we recite a beracha before uttering it, we establish our awareness of the significance of what we are about to say. This beracha, “Asher bachar banu mi-kol ha-amim” (“Who chose us from all the nations”), speaks to our communal identity. By answering “Amen,” the community join with the reader as full participants in a ritual that glorifies God.

Barechu

The significance of the community responding to the beracha prior to keri’at ha-Torah is so great that we add another opportunity for response, the reader’s recitation of barechu:

Although it makes no direct mention of God’s sanctity (kedusha), barechu is considered a davar she-bikdusha, recited only in the presence of a minyan. Here, as usual, its call and response serve as a convocation, bringing together those present as a halachic community.³

Women Reciting Barechu

We saw in our first installment that halacha theoretically permits a woman to read from the Torah.⁴ (In practice, this is generally prohibited.) Could a woman reader recite barechu? That may depend on a larger debate regarding whether women can recite a davar she-bikdusha when a minyan is present. Me’iri maintains that a woman can never recite a davar she-bikdusha:

Others leave open the possibility that women can. In the context of a discussion of mourner’s kaddish (though without specific reference to barechu), Chavot Ya’ir succinctly makes this point:

It is possible that barechu was instituted for each reader only at a post-mishnaic stage in the development of the enactment. In that case (assuming the reading itself is not technically a davar she-bikdusha), the baraita’s theoretical allowance for women reading could still be consistent with the view that a woman may not recite a davar she-bikdusha.

A couple of later halachic authorities, however, including Chatam Sofer, suggest that each reader recited barechu at the time of the mishna or even earlier:⁵

In that case, woman readers presumably would have recited barechu prior to reading.

A final beracha, “asher natan lanu Torat emet” (“Who gave us the Torah of truth”), is recited after the reading is concluded, based on the comparison of Torah to sustenance:

With “asher bachar banu” before the reading and “asher natan lanu” afterwards, berachot surround keri’at ha-Torah. In Mishnaic times, this effect was even more pronounced. The first reader recited the beracha before the Torah reading, the last reader recited the beracha afterwards, and readers in the middle recited no beracha.⁶

On this model, although three or more people would read, their readings were clearly integrated into one overarching halachic entity of keri’at ha-Torah. Since the berachot directly precede or follow the reading and connect to it, the first and last reader would be obligated to recite them for all.^{7 8}

Eventually, the Talmudic sages enacted that every reader recite a beracha before and after reading.

These berachot ensure that those not present for the entire Torah reading are aware that a beracha is recited beforehand and afterwards.⁹ They effectively treat each individual reading as a distinct fulfillment of keri’at ha-Torah.

Before the enactment of berachot for each reading, one could argue either that the obligation to recite them only applied to the first and last readers, or that the middle readers discharged their obligation through hearing the initial and final berachot.¹⁰

There are two primary ways to look at the significance of these bookend berachot.¹¹ Both are relevant to understanding what a woman reader would have recited and why:

I. Birchot Ha-mitzva Some view the berachot (at least the first one), primarily as berachot recited over mitzva performance (birchot ha-mitzva), even though birchot ha-mitzva typically include the phrase “asher kideshanu be-mitzvotav ve-tzivanu,” “Who has sanctified us through His commandments and commanded us,” and birchot ha-Torah do not. Rashi takes this view.¹²

II. Birchot Ha-shevach Given that the berachot do not employ the classic formula of birchot ha-mitzva, they may be blessings of praise, birchot ha-shevach, instead. The Talmud Yerushalmi implies as much, noting that the berachot serve to show honor to the Torah, ensuring that it not be left bare:

Tur seems to take this view as well, noting that even a Torah reader who has already personally recited birchot ha-Torah upon arising must repeat the beracha of “asher bachar banu” upon reading the Torah, because the beracha was enacted in order to show honor to the Torah.

Even if the berachot are birchot ha-shevach, Tur presents them as part of the enactment of keri’at ha-Torah. Thus, they would not be recited outside of the halachic context of keri’at ha-Torah.¹³

We’ve seen that women could, in theory, be included among those who read Torah for the community, but that this is overridden by considerations of kevod ha-tzibbur (which we discuss here). Theoretically, if a woman were to read the Torah as part of keri’at ha-Torah, would she also recite the berachot?

In a discussion of women reciting berachot over voluntary mitzva performance, Tosafot address this question and consider three possible approaches. (We’ve numbered them for convenience.)

I. Recited as Birchot Ha-mitzva If these are berachot over a mitzva, and women are exempt from the mitzva of keri’at ha-Torah, then whether a woman recites them might depend on whether she generally recites berachot over voluntary mitzva performance. This seems to be the view of Rav Yitzchak bar Rav Yehuda, who maintains that women readers would recite the berachot over performing the mitzva voluntarily.

II. Recited as Birchot Ha-shevach If the berachot are not birchot ha-mitzva, but berachot of praise, in honor of the Torah, then perhaps a woman could recite them when she reads as part of keri’at ha-Torah, much as she recites any beracha of praise. This seems to be the view of Rabbeinu Tam, who maintains that women readers recited the berachot, but not as birchot ha-mitzva.

This seems to be in line with Rabbeinu Mano’ach’s position that it is appropriate for a woman reader to recite berachot over the Torah, because of her general obligation in mitzvot:

III. Not Recited? If the berachot are meant to discharge an obligation to recite berachot over a mitzva, or even to recite berachot of praise enacted to be said over a mitzva, then perhaps a woman could not recite them, because she is not obligated in the mitzva.

This view might motivate Tosafot’s suggestion that a woman could only read middle readings from the Torah, at the stage before the middle readers recited berachot. Me’iri suggests something like this:

Ran also understands the reader’s berachot as discharging obligations. However, he offers a different understanding of the halachic implications of the shift to multiple berachot.

On Ran’s view, once all the readers recite berachot, no specific reader is needed to discharge another’s obligation. In that case, a woman could read any of the readings in keri’at ha-Torah and recite the berachot over her own reading. This view would square with the Tosafot’s final observation that the language of the Talmud seems to imply that a woman would have recited the final beracha as the final reader.

Thus, though there is a view that would prohibit it, a number of halachic paths could justify a woman reader reciting the berachot as part of keri’at ha-Torah, were it permissible for her to read.

Reading the Torah properly is no simple proposition. Yet the enactment calls for multiple readers.¹⁴ Two primary strategies for ensuring a proper keri’at ha-Torah, despite the difficulty of reading, emerge from rabbinic literature.

I. A Single Reader The Tosefta describes a situation in which a synagogue has only a single viable reader. In that case, that one reader would read in seven installments.

The implication is that the need for a proper reading supersedes the requirement for distinct readers. Someone incapable of reading properly would simply not be called to the Torah.¹⁵

II. A Reader’s Helper A second strategy was to have a helper, initially the shali’ach tzibbur (prayer leader), assist the reader, sometimes reading each and every word in a whisper for the reader to repeat at full volume.¹⁶

Tosafot explain that this assistance was put into place so that the inexpert reader would not be embarrassed. This follows the model of mikra bikkurim (the formula recited upon bringing first fruits to beit ha-mikdash), which was repeated word for word by the person obligated to recite it:

According to most views, the obligation to recite the berachot falls specifically on the reader. Therefore, the repetition of the shali’ach tzibbur‘s words by the “reader” would be critical.

Over time, the two strategies converged to prevent a reader from overestimating his abilities and insisting on reading unassisted. The shali’ach tzibbur would read the entire portion aloud. More recently, the shali’ach tzibbur has been replaced in many communities by a dedicated Torah reader, known as a ba’al korei, and the person once referred to as the “reader” is more properly called an “oleh,” one who “comes up” to the Torah for an “aliyah.”

What remains unclear, though, is how an oleh can recite the berachot, given that, according to most opinions, the obligation to recite them falls specifically upon the person who is reading from the Torah scroll. We find two central suggestions for how this can work, neither of which is clear-cut.

I. Reading Along Rabbeinu Asher (Rosh) suggests that the oleh maintain his status as a Torah reader by reading quietly along with the ba’al korei.

Shulchan Aruch supports this suggestion as a preferred halachic course of action.¹⁷ This arrangement could theoretically work for a female ola as well.

It’s not clear, though, that reading along suffices on its own. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach articulates what might be lacking:

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach views the berachot of keri’at ha-Torah as berachot over reading aloud for the community, not just over reading from a Torah scroll during keri’at ha-Torah. If that is the case, then an oleh who cannot be heard by the community may need to avail himself of another path in order to connect to the public reading. As we’ll see, such paths might also create complications for a theoretical female ola or ba’alat korei, even were kevod hatzibbur not at issue.

II. Shomei’a Ke-oneh Perhaps the oleh need not read along at all, but rather is himself still considered the reader, through the halachic mechanism of shomei’a ke-oneh, that one who hears is tantamount to one who responds—or, in this case, shomei’a ke-korei, tanatmount to one who reads . Beit Yosef raises this possibility:

The problem is that it’s not clear why shomei’a ke-korei should apply to the oleh any more than to anyone else listening, such that specifically the oleh should be considered the reader and recite the beracha. In his Bei’ur Halacha, Mishna Berura raises this problem and suggests a potential solution.

Mishna Berura himself calls this solution, that the ba’al korei could have in mind for only the oleh to be shomei’a ke-korei, “forced.” Alternatively, when possible, an oleh might distinguish himself from the other congregants by both relying on shomei’a ke-oneh and reading along quietly from the scroll.¹⁸

Now, if keri’at ha-Torah conforms to standard halachic models, then shomei’a ke-korei might be able to connect the oleh to the ba’al korei only when the ba’al korei is—or both parties are—subject to the communal obligation of keri’at ha-Torah. Kevod ha-tzibbur aside, that might rule out women from acting as ba’alat korei (who would have to initiate the relevant halachic mechanism)—or even as ola—when the ba’al korei and oleh are distinct people. This could be problematic unless it suffices for an oleh, or ola, to read along quietly without recourse to shomei’a ke-oneh.

The multiplicity and complexity of attempts to define the mitzva of keri’at ha-Torah, the nature of its berachot, and how the modern oleh-ba’al korei relationship works complicate analysis of whether a woman could theoretically serve as ola or ba’alat korei when those roles are separate.¹⁹

So far, we’ve investigated the workings of an aliya la-Torah in the context of a minyan, during keri’at ha-Torah. Is there a possibility for an aliya la-Torah in any other context? Starting in the 1970’s, the women’s tefilla movement has raised this question by popularizing all-women’s Torah-readings, typically taking place monthly and on special occasions.

This mission statement of Women’s Tefilla at Sha’arei Tefilla in Newton, MA is typical of current women’s tefilla groups:²⁰

Per this description, women participating in women’s readings seek a combination of spiritual support and ritual leadership. Though Halacha recognizes active listening to keri’at Ha-Torah as fulfilling a mitzva, some women also wish to take a leading role, to be close to a Torah scroll, and to learn how to read from the Torah, opportunities in short supply outside of the women’s tefilla context.

Women’s tefilla groups, and especially women’s readings, have drawn substantial rabbinic opposition, perhaps most famously in a 1985 responsum co-signed by a number of prominent Yeshiva University Rashei Yeshiva and in a full-fledged ban on them issued by the Va’ad Rabbanim of Queens in 1997. Contemporaneous reporting noted that the Queens ban centered on the Torah reading and it is also an important component of the Rashei Yeshivas’ ruling.²¹

While denominational concerns surely played some role in this decision, there was also an independent halachic basis to the ban. Elements of what we have learned about keri’at ha-Torah can help us understand the halachic discussion of women’s readings.

We have seen that keri’at ha-Torah requires a minyan, that women are generally not considered obligated in keri’at ha-Torah, but theoretically could have counted as readers on at least a limited basis (though this is ruled out in practice), and that a woman reading in the presence of a minyan would likely have recited the berachot.

Since women’s tefilla groups take place without a minyan, they cannot halachically include keri’at ha-Torah. Rather, Torah reading in these groups has the halachic status of group study from a Torah scroll. Since women’s readings have the status of Torah study and not of keri’at ha-Torah, our discussion of women’s theoretical ability to read and recite the berachot as part of keri’at ha-Torah in a minyan does not transfer to women’s readings.

These readings, or study sessions, raise a few central questions, some of which relate to our analysis of keri’at ha-Torah and the aliya:

I. Using a Scroll for Study May women use a Torah scroll for study? As we discuss here, the Tosefta, permits study from a Torah scroll to both men and women, even those who are ritually impure:

Rambam²² and Shulchan Aruch²³ rule accordingly.

At the same time, we are typically careful not to take a Torah out of the aron kodesh or to move it from place to place when not necessary. As the Yerushalmi teaches, we follow the Torah, and not vice versa:

Moving a sefer Torah is often permitted so that women can fulfill the mitzva of hearing parshat zachor, but in that situation fulfilling a Torah-level obligation is potentially at stake. One point of debate about women’s readings is whether women’s paucity of opportunities to be close to a Torah scroll creates another state of necessity warranting its use for women’s readings. This might roughly correspond to educational institutions taking out asefer Torah to show it to students outside the context of keri’at ha-Torah.

Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank rules that a Torah written for the purpose of individual study may be moved freely.

Using a privately owned scroll, rather than one kept by a synagogue, might help address halachic concerns about taking out or moving the Torah when not halachically necessary.

II. Not Attending May a woman choose to attend a women’s reading over attending keri’at ha-Torah?

As we’ve discussed, active listening to keri’at ha-Torah and learning from it fulfills a mitzva. Women are widely understood as not obligated to attend keri’at ha-Torah, but should still make an effort to be attentive to keri’at ha-Torah when present for it. This means that not attending keri’at ha-Torah is not a transgression. Indeed, when a woman would not otherwise attend keri’at ha-Torah, studying Torah with other women could be preferable to other activities.

At the same time, if a woman would otherwise attend a keri’at ha-Torah and deliberately chooses not to in order to attend a women’s reading, she actively forgoes the opportunity to fulfill a mitzva in favor of a spiritual experience. In his responsum on women’s tefilla groups, Rav Hershel Schachter summarizes his concern about this type of choice:

This argument is at its most compelling in communities that make concerted efforts to encourage women to attend keri’at ha-Torah in general.

III. Creating a Ritual When, if ever, is it appropriate to create a new ritual, in place of a halachic one? The Sifra, followed by the Talmud, teaches us that our sages would enable women to perform a simulated act of semicha, leaning on sacrifices, in beit ha-mikdash, in order to provide spiritual gratification for women:

Women’s readings might seem to follow in this tradition, by giving women the feeling of conducting a keri’at ha-Torah, and thus semicha may provide a halachic precedent for them. However, a number of halachic authorities, have strenuously objected to this analogy.

Rav Hershel Schachter, for instance, has argued that the quasi-semicha performed by women was only permitted because women could not perform true semicha. In our case, women have the option to fulfill the mitzva of keri’at ha-Torah by attending synagogue and hearing keri’at ha-Torah.

Rav J. David Bleich, too, articulates special concerns about creating alternative rituals for experiential and spiritual purposes.²⁴

Though Rav Bleich stops short of calling women’s readings a clear violation of the halacha against falsifying the Torah, he argues that creating an experiential ritual meant to emulate keri’at ha-Torah while lacking its halachic force is “dangerously” misleading.

In more measured tones, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein writes that the spiritual gratification women’s readings can provide does not outweigh their potential negative effects:

Rav Lichtenstein seems concerned that an experiential ritual can undermine halachic ritual. His voice is representative of many halachic authorities who do not prohibit the readings, but view their ritual overtones warily.

IV. Berachot May women’s readings include berachot, or alternative recitations?

Participants in women’s readings are often interested in the opportunity to read from the Torah or to receive an “aliya.” When there is no minyan for keri’at ha-Torah, however, halachic consensus is that the berachot enacted for keri’at ha-Torah cannot be recited and that care should be taken not to give the impression that the reading has the status of a keri’at ha-Torah. For example, in a community that cannot field a full minyan, the Torah may be read, but without berachot and generally by only one reader.²⁵

With respect to women’s groups, Rav Moshe Feinstein reportedly ruled that even a woman who has not recited her birchot ha-Torah upon arising, and thus should still recite them, should not do so aloud prior to participating in a women’s reading.

Rav Moshe reportedly later added that he thought it unlikely that women’s readings could meet the standards required to be permissible.²⁶

Women’s readings thus are often engaged in a delicate tug of war between participants’ desires to make the women’s reading resemble keri’at ha-Torah and at the same time to have the women’s reading conform to halacha and not misrepresent it.

Different communities have addressed this issue in a number of ways. Some have participants read the Torah without making any ritual recitations while some have participants recite verses in praise of Torah that echo the ideas and language of berachot. Particularly popular is the following verse from Tehillim, precisely because it closely resembles a beracha about learning Torah without technically being one.

Other women’s readings instruct participants to jump through a number of halachic hoops in order to skirt the prohibition of reciting a beracha in vain and to have the ability to recite “asher bachar banu” prior to a reading. Here is one example, from a women’s tefillah in Manhattan, taking up a suggestion popularized by Rav Avi Weiss:²⁷

The suggestion that a woman who ordinarily recites birchot ha-Torah or ahava rabba deliberately delay or omit them from her prayer for the sake of the women’s reading presents some difficulties. Ideally, women should recite the berachot every morning upon arising, and halachically this recitation should take precedence over experiential ritual. It is also unclear how a woman who has omitted these berachot would justify listening to the women’s reading, yet waiting until after other women have read to recite her own.

As above, Rav Moshe Feinstein was opposed to a woman who had not yet said birchot ha-Torah reciting any part of them aloud in public as part of a women’s reading, specifically lest that leave the impression that women were reciting berachot over keri’at ha-Torah.

A number of halachic authorities, including Rav Baruch Gigi, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, object directly to this delaying strategy:

Although he does not recommend them, Rav Gigi does not think that there is a clear halachic impediment to women’s readings without berachot, and does not rule out reciting verses preceding or following each reading. As a document circulated a few years ago by JOFA (Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance) attests, a fair number of women’s tefilla groups that JOFA surveyed comply with this type of ruling.

However, ten out of twenty-three groups surveyed do allow for berachot to be recited, without barechu. The reasoning for this likely resembles that of the group at Ramath Orah, though only one group reports itself as actively clarifying this for participants. ²⁸

Even this description blurs the halachic meaning of “aliya” and “blessing.” In practice, as this document makes clear, the distinction between Torah study and keri’at ha-Torah is not clearly maintained in many groups, and nearly all groups that responded to the JOFA survey include recitations before and after the readings so that they resemble aliyot as much as possible.

Given the weight of the halachic objections to women’s readings and the wide range of practices and perspectives on them, it is critical for women potentially interested in participating in a women’s reading to clarify in advance how it is conducted and under whose halachic guidance.