Keriat HaTorah: The Number of Aliyot

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January 22 2010
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Keriat HaTorah: The Number of Aliyot


In the previous issue, we discussed the mitzvah of keriat haTorah.  We will continue that discussion by addressing the number of aliyot each occasion requires.  The term aliyah means ascension and refers to someone being called to ascend onto the bimah (platform) in order to read the Torah.


 


The Formula for Determining the Number of Aliyot


The Mishna, Megillah 21a and the Gemara, Megillah 22b, provide the formula for determining how many aliyot are called on each occasion.  If it is a day that there is no Mussaf offering (or Mussaf prayer), such as an ordinary Monday and Thursday, a fast day, Chanukah, or Purim, only three aliyot are called.  If it is a day that there is a Mussaf offering but no prohibited labor, such as Rosh Chodesh and Chol HaMoed, four aliyot are called.  If there is prohibited labor, the number of aliyot is determined by the unique features contained in each occasion.  Yom Tov's additional feature is that there is prohibited labor.  Therefore, there are five aliyot on Yom Tov.  Yom Kippur has prohibited labor as well as a punishment of karet (spiritual excommunication) for violating the prohibition against performing labor.  Therefore, six aliyot are called on Yom Kippur.  Shabbat has prohibited labor as well as karet and sekilah (death by stoning) for violating the prohibition against performing labor.  Therefore, there are seven aliyot on Shabbat.


The Tosefta, Megillah 3:5, records the opinion of R. Akiva that one calls six aliyot on Shabbat and seven aliyot on Yom Kippur.  R. Aryeh L. Ginsberg (c. 1695-1785), Turei Even, Megillah 23a, questions the logic of R. Akiva's position.  Yom Kippur cannot be considered holier than Shabbat because of the other prohibited activities on Yom Kippur for if that were the case, Pesach would be considered holier than the other Yamim Tovim due to the prohibition against eating chametz.  Rather, he suggests that it is the additional prayer of Ne'ilah that gives Yom Kippur the elevated status according to R. Akiva.  However, he rejects this reason as well and does not provide a resolution.  R. Shmuel Strashun (1794-1872), Chiddushei Rashash to Megillah 23a, accepts R. Ginsberg's suggestion and questions his rationale for rejecting it.  R. Yosef Teomim (1727-1793), Rosh Yosef, Megillah 23a, suggests that Yom Kippur has an advantage over Shabbat in that it is a day of forgiveness and atonement.  R. Moshe Zilberberg (d. 1865), Tiferet Yerushalayim to Hagahot R. Akiva Eger, Megillah no. 20, suggests that R. Akiva does not subscribe to the principle that the that the number of aliyot is determined by unique features.  According to R. Akiva, there is a different set of principles to determine the number of aliyot on each occasion.


 


When is it Permissible to Call Additional Aliyot?


R. Akiva's position is not the normative opinion.  Nevertheless, understanding the logic of his opinion has halachic ramifications.  There is a dispute among the Rishonim whether it is permissible to call additional aliyot (hosafot) on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur.  Rashi, Megillah 21a, s.v. V'Ain Mosifin, writes that one does not add aliyot on days where there is no prohibited labor.  This implies that on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur, one may add aliyot.  Rabbeinu Nissim (1320-1380), Commentary to Rif, Megillah 12b, s.v. Matnitan, notes that there are others who are of the opinion that one may not add aliyot on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur because adding aliyot will give the impression that these days have the same status as Shabbat.


R. Eliyahu Shapira (1660-1712), Eliya Rabbah 282:5, questions the opinions quoted by Rabbeinu Nissim.  According to R. Akiva, Yom Kippur has the highest number of aliyot. Yet, the Tosefta is clear that R. Akiva allows additional aliyot on Shabbat.  If in fact there is a concern that allowing hosafot gives the false impression that a day of lower status has the same status as a day of higher status, why does R. Akiva allow hosafot on Shabbat?  Doesn't it give the false impression that Shabbat has the same status as Yom Kippur?  [This question is also asked by R. Akiva Eger (1761-1837), Tosafot R. Akiva Eger to Megillah no. 29.]  Based on this question, R. Shapira rules that there is no need to be concerned for the opinions quoted by Rabbeinu Nissim and one may call additional aliyot on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur.


Nevertheless, there are a number of answers provided by Acharonim to this question.  First, R. Teomim, op. cit., suggests that R. Akiva agrees that Shabbat is holier than Yom Kippur.  However, because Shabbat is a day of oneg (enjoyment) and Yom Kippur is a day of atonement, the rabbis instituted one less aliyah for Shabbat and one more for Yom Kippur.  Since Shabbat is in fact a holier day, there is no concern that allowing additional aliyot on Shabbat will give a false impression that it is a holier day.  Second, R. Zilberberg, op. cit., answers that R. Akiva operates with a different set of principles to determine the number of aliyot on Shabbat and therefore, the concern about creating a false impression is irrelevant to his opinion.


 


The Status of Maftir


As a matter of practical Halacha, Rama (1520-1572), Orach Chaim 282:1 shows deference to the opinions quoted by Rabbeinu Nissim and rules that one should not call additional aliyot on Yom Tov or Yom Kippur.  Nevertheless, there are two indications that this is just a matter of stringency and not the letter of the law.  First, Rama rules that on Simchat Torah common practice is to call many additional aliyot.  Second, the Gemara, Megillah 23a, quotes a dispute whether the Maftir may be counted as one of the aliyot.  Rabbeinu Asher, Megillah 3:6, writes that we follow the opinion that the Maftir may be counted as one of the aliyot.  This is the practice on the Mincha reading of fast days.  However, on Yom Tov, Yom Kippur and Shabbat, it is permissible to add aliyot and therefore, we show deference to the opinion that the Maftir may not be counted as one of the aliyot by assigning the Maftir to one of the hosafot.


Rabbeinu Asher is clearly of the opinion that one may call additional aliyot on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur.  Yet, Rama, Orach Chaim 282:4, codifies his opinion.  This seems to indicate that Rama's concern for the opinion that one may not add aliyot on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur is only a matter of stringency.  Nevertheless, R. Teomim, P'ri Megadim, Eshel Avraham 282:10, suggests that perhaps the practice of calling the Maftir as an additional aliyah on Yom Tov and Yom Kippur is based on the fact that Kaddish is recited between the primary aliyot and the Maftir.  The Kaddish is a clear indicator that the subsequent aliyah is not part of the count and therefore, there is no concern for creating a false impression that Yom Tov or Yom Kippur has a higher status.


The significance of Kaddish as a break between the primary aliyot and the Maftir has other halachic ramifications.  First, Mordechai (1250-1298), Halachot Ketanot no. 969, quotes Maharam MiRutenberg (c. 1215-1293) that if the ba'al korei (Torah reader) accidentally concluded the parsha after the sixth aliyah on Shabbat and recited Kaddish, one should call the seventh aliyah as Maftir.  Rama, Darkei Moshe, Orach Chaim 282:6, writes that if Kaddish was not recited, one should call a seventh aliyah, recite Kaddish and then call the Maftir.  This indicates that the Kaddish defines the break between the primary aliyot and the Maftir.  Therefore, if Kaddish was recited after six aliyot, it is preferable to rely on the opinion that the Maftir can be counted as one of the aliyot rather than reading a seventh aliyah followed by the Maftir, without a Kaddish to serve as a break.


Second, the reason why we don't normally call two Kohanim consecutively is that when one calls a second Kohen, people may think that the first Kohen was not a bona fide Kohen.  R. Mordechai Yaffe (c. 1530-1612), Levush, Orach Chaim 282:10, writes that this concern does not apply if one Kohen is called as Acharon (the last additional aliyah) and then another Kohen is called as the Maftir.  The reason he gives is that the Kaddish serves as a break between Acharon and the Maftir.  R. Yaffe's ruling is codified by Mishna Berurah 135:36.  

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