Keriat HaTorah: The Obligation to Read the Torah

There is an obligation to read the Torah every Monday, Thursday, Shabbat, Yom Tov and special occasions.  This is known as keriat haTorah.  The Talmud records three different institutions relating to keriat haTorah.  The Talmud Yerushalmi, Megillah 4:1, states that Moshe Rabbeinu instituted the reading of the Torah on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh and Chol HaMo'ed.  The Talmud Bavli, Baba Kama 82a, states that the prophets instituted the reading of the Torah on Monday, Thursday and Shabbat at Mincha.  The institution of the prophets only required the reading of three verses.  Ezra HaSofer added to this institution that on these days, one must read a total of ten verses and call three different people to read.  In this issue, we will address the differences between the various institutions.

 The Two Types of Institutions

Rambam (1138-1204), Hilchot Tefillah 12:1, writes that the original institution of the prophets to read the Torah on Monday, Thursday and Shabbat at Mincha was an institution of Moshe Rabbeinu.  R. Yosef Karo (1488-1575), Kesef Mishneh, ad loc., explains that it is clear from the Talmud that the original institution was instituted while the Jewish People were in the desert, during Moshe Rabbeinu's lifetime.  If there was an institution of prophets during that time, it must have been under Moshe Rabbeinu's direction.

R. Yosef D. Soloveitchik (1903-1993), Shiurei Rabbeinu B'Hilchot Keriat HaTorah (pp. 134-137), notes that although Rambam is of the opinion that all institutions of keriat haTorah emanate from Moshe Rabbeinu, the institution to read on Monday, Thursday and Shabbat at Mincha is fundamentally different from the institution to read on all other days.  The Gemara states that the motivation of the institution to read on Monday and Thursday was so that the people would not go three days without learning Torah (publicly).  The institution to read on Shabbat at Mincha was to provide another opportunity to learn Torah.  As such, the institution to read on Monday, Thursday and Shabbat at Mincha is primarily an institution to learn the Torah publicly.  However, the institution to read on Shabbat, Yom Tov, and other special occasions is not merely a form of public learning.  Each day has a unique motivating factor to read the Torah.  For example, the reading on Shabbat is a fulfillment of the mitzvah of oneg Shabbat (enjoying Shabbat), which not only requires physical enjoyment of Shabbat, but also spiritual enjoyment.

 The Unique Quality of the Shabbat Reading

The reading on Shabbat morning differs from all other readings in that the reading on Shabbat morning is the only reading that is used to complete the cycle of reading the entire Torah.  The Gemara, Megillah 31b, records a dispute between R. Meir and R. Yehuda on this matter.  According to R. Meir, the readings on Monday, Thursday and Shabbat at Mincha are part of the cycle and what was read previously is not repeated.  According to R. Yehuda, only the reading of Shabbat morning can be part of the cycle.  The Gemara states that the Halacha follows the opinion of R. Yehuda.

R. Soloveitchik, op. cit., notes that logically, one could have argued in favor of R. Meir's opinion that there is no reason to repeat the weekday readings on Shabbat.  However, R. Soloveitchik contends that there are a number of reasons why the cycle of Torah reading must be performed specifically on Shabbat.  First, by reading the portions of the cycle specifically on Shabbat one fulfills the mitzvah of honoring Shabbat by providing the Shabbat reading a unique status.  Second, in Talmudic times, the reading of the Torah on Shabbat was accompanied by a commentary from the meturgeman (translator).  The meturgeman represents the oral portion of the Torah.  It is possible that the cycle must be completed with both the written Torah and the oral Torah.  Third, because the reading of Shabbat entails more than just a fulfillment of learning Torah publicly, the rabbis wanted the completion of the cycle to relate to the additional fulfillments specific to Shabbat.

There is one portion of the cycle that does not have to be read on Shabbat.  V'zot haBeracha, the last portion in the cycle, is read on Simchat Torah and does not ever occur on Shabbat in the Diaspora (and does not always occur on Shabbat in Israel).  How then can one complete the cycle on a day other than Shabbat?  Based on R. Soloveitchik's third answer, one can suggest that the unique elements of the Shabbat reading also exist on Yom Tov.  [Rambam, Hilchot Yom Tov 6:16, writes that the mitzvah of oneg applies on Yom Tov.]  The only reason why the Yom Tov readings are not included in the cycle is that the Yom Tov readings must relate to the Yom Tov.  Since the readings of Yom Tov don't ordinarily correspond to the proper place in the cycle, they cannot be included as part of the cycle.  However, the Gemara, Megillah 31a, cites a Beraita that states that the proper reading for the second day of Shemini Atzeret (what we call Simchat Torah) is V'zot HaBeracha.  R. Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (1843-1926), Meshech Chochmah, Devarim 34:12, notes that the reading of V'zot HaBeracha is not a function of the cycle.  Rather, the content of V'zot HaBeracha is relevant to Shemini Atzeret.  As such, V'zot HaBeracha - which is relevant to the holiday and is read at its proper place in the cycle - may be counted towards the cycle.

 Other Distinctions between Shabbat and non-Shabbat Readings

There are other distinctions between the Shabbat morning reading and the non-Shabbat readings.  First, Hagahot Maimoniot, Hilchot Tefillah 13:40, writes that if one accidentally skips one of the verses in the reading on Monday, Thursday or Shabbat at Mincha, there is no reason to return to that verse provided that enough verses were read.  However, on Shabbat, if one skips a verse, he must return to that verse and read from there, even if the mistake was caught after the Torah was returned to the ark.  R. Yisrael Isserlin (1390-1460), Terumat HaDeshen, 1:24, writes that the Yom Tov readings and all other non-Shabbat readings have the same status as the weekday readings and if one skips a verse, there is no obligation to return to that verse.  The rulings of Hagahot Maimoniot and Terumat HaDeshen are codified in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 137:3.  R. Yisrael M. Kagan (1838-1933), Mishna Berurah, Bei'ur Halacha 137:3, s.v. Parshiyot, adds that Terumat HaDeshen's leniency regarding Yom Tov readings is limited to the verses that are not the main verses of that Torah reading.  If one skips the main verses of that Torah reading, one must return.

The leniencies of Hagahot Maimoniot and Terumat HaDeshen are more relevant in the area of correcting the ba'al korei (Torah reader) who reads a word improperly.  Ostensibly, if one does not have to return when skipping an entire verse, one certainly should not have to return if one mispronounced one word.  This argument is presented by Mishna Berurah, Bei'ur Halacha 142:1, s.v. Machzirin.  However, he notes that perhaps reading a word improperly is worse than not reading it altogether.  He does not provide a resolution to this issue.

Second, in a previous issue, we noted that the mitzvah to review the parsha (shnayim mikra v'echad targum) only applies to the portions that are part of the annual cycle.  We presented two approaches why there is no requirement to review the Yom Tov readings or other special readings.  One approach is that the mitzvah to review the parsha complements the annual cycle in that it represents the private learning of the Torah on an annual basis.  The other approach is that, the mitzvah of reviewing the parsha is a preparation for the reading of the Torah.  As long as one reviewed the parsha within the year, one is considered adequately prepared.  Therefore, on Yom Tov and other occasions, one may rely on the preparation that one performed the previous year when that portion was read on Shabbat.