MISC section - contents: Q: On Shabbat morning, the ba'al koreh omitted two words near the beginning of Shishi. People initially assumed they had heard wrong, and the matter became clear near the end of Musaf. No decision was made until shul dispersed (the rav was away). At Mincha, we started reading back at Shishi, and the kohen's aliya ended at its regular place in the new parasha. Was that correct? A: Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 137:3), discussing the case of one who misses a pasuk, makes the following distinction. If the omission occurred on a weekday kriat hatorah (=kht) then as long as the minimum number of p'sukim was read, we do not need to return to read the omitted pasuk. However, on Shabbat morning we must go back and read the omitted pasuk and another two adjacent p'sukim at whatever point of the "services" people realize the mistake, even after the Torah was returned or during Musaf. (The requirement found by Megilat Esther for the text to be read in order does not apply to kht (Da'at Torah, ad loc.)). Most poskim rule that we do the same if a single word was omitted (Mishna Berura 137:8). We recite the regular Birkot HaTorah before and after the three p'sukim (Magen Avraham 137: 2; Taz 137:3; see Masechet Sofrim 21:7). However, if we became aware of the mistake after the aliya where it occurred, then we do not need to make a separate aliyah to make up for the omission. Rather, the next aliya starts from the place of the mistake and continues into the reading of the next aliya (Mishna Berura 142:2). (In Sha'ar Hatziyun 142:3, he explains that it is halachically sufficient to begin the new aliya with the problematic pasuk and perhaps another two, and then to skip to the next aliya. However, it is preferable to read straight.) If the pasuk in question was within three p'sukim of a break in the Torah text (p'tucha or s'tuma) we should start reading from the beginning of the section (Aruch HaShulchan, OC 137:4). Your case is more complicated in that during the course of the davening, the Shulchan Aruch's ruling was not employed. The question is whether Mincha was a possible time to make up for the omission, and, if so, how? There is little discussion among classical poskim on the matter, but the following approach emerges from our analysis. In general, there is a machloket between Sefardic and Ashkenazic poskim as to whether a community can read the Torah at Mincha when they were unable to do so at Shacharit. Sefardic poskim do not suggest this (see Yalkut Yosef, 135:5 & 137:4), whereas Ashkenazic poskim do (Mishna Berura 135:5). Rav Ovadya Yosef (ibid.) thus says that if a congregation missed a pasuk and didn't act on it until after the Shabbat morning services dispersed, the congregation should read the pasuk in question in the beginning of the next Shabbat's kht along with three p'sukim from the present parasha. It follows from that approach that Ash- kenazim could do the same thing at Mincha, reading the problematic pasuk and perhaps two others and skipping to the beginning of the next Shabbat's parasha during the same aliya. This is preferable to reading three p'sukim with berachot from the morning's parasha independently of the new kht. Since there was a full reading of seven aliyot (as opposed to the case in Mishna Berura, ibid.) and it is possible to attach the missing pasuk to the current reading, it is unnecessary to read it separately, which would be questionable from a perspective of beracha l'vatala. The fact that you began from Shishi and read straight until the beginning of the next parasha was, if anything, halachically preferable (see the aforementioned Sha'ar Hatziyun, which may or may not apply here). However, it was apparently unnecessary and not preferable because of tircha d'tzibura (inconveniencing the congregation). After the fact, what you did "got the job done" sufficiently for an Ashkenazic community and was reason- able once people had dispersed after morning davening. Ask the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim,
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for Israel Those of us living in Jerusalem read about that same Yehoshua in our Maftir, "Vayavo Amalek." Moshe instructs Yehoshua to choose men and fight Amalek, while Moshe ascends the mountain with Aharon and Chur. The Midrash teaches that Yehoshua was chosen to battle against Amalek because he was destined to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. The Netziv may help us understand the connection between Amalek and entering the Land. He explains that the battle against Amalek was meant to be waged in a natural fashion, with Moshe's prayers and God's intervention behind the scenes, as opposed to the war against Egypt with its overt miracles. During their 40-year sojourn in the
wilderness, the children of Israel lived a totally spiritual
existence, with the Manna falling from heaven and a pillar of cloud
going before them. Upon entering the Land, the Israelites had to
live a natural life, farming the land and battling their enemies.
God is always present in the Land of Israel, but His presence is
felt behind the scenes. Yehoshua's training in the war of Amalek,
therefore, prepared him to lead the Israelites into the Land. Rabbi Yitzchak Korn, Jerusalem In this way, he managed to remind the
townsfolk of the need to say the ma'ariv prayer, something which is
at times forgotten in the midst of the Purim feast. From the term "Tzav" (Command), the rabbis noted that the Kohanim were to be particularly punctilious about this offering, for in order to conduct it properly, the entire animal was to be burned on the altar, leaving nothing for the Kohen. Rashi notes that the word Tzav contains within it a sense of urgency; the command must be obeyed with due speed. Rebbe Heschel of Krakow explains why incisively: Clearly, having been instructed to conduct himself in a certain manner, a per- son's immediate impulse is to do the opposite. No wonder, the Rebbe muses, that the Talmud comments, "that one who performs a precept having been commanded to do so has a greater merit than one who performs the Mitzva of his own free will" (Kiddushin 31). It is probably no coincidence then that
the final sacrifice to complete the induction ceremony of the
Kohanim, the "Eil Hamilu'im," was described by Rashi to be a "Sh'lamim"
or peace offering. How appropriately the term reflects that spirit
of brotherhood and selflessness! [The Parshat Tzav Homepage]
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