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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"> In Avodah Digest, Vol 32, Issue 35,
Liron Kopinsky asks why Aliyyot can't be given to women when aliyyot are
given to the Blind.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"> Dov and I discuss the
case of "Suma" in great length in our Tradition article on Women's Aliyyot
(See: “Women, <I>Kri’at haTorah </I>and <I>Aliyyot</I>” Aryeh A. Frimer and Dov
I. Frimer, <I>Tradition</I>, 46:4 (Winter, 2013), 67-238 - a<SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Miriam; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: HE; mso-bidi-language: HE">vailable
at <A href="http://www.rcarabbis.org/pdf/frimer_article.pdf"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.rcarabbis.org/pdf/frimer_article.pdf</FONT></A>).
See especially Sections VIA and B and note 172. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Miriam; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: HE; mso-bidi-language: HE">
<U>A Blind male is obligated in Keri'at haTorah</U> like all males, but can't
receive an aliya (according to Rosh and R. Yosef Caro) for technical reasons;
namely, he can't <U>read</U> from the Torah scroll. </SPAN></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Miriam; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: HE; mso-bidi-language: HE">R. Caro
(Shulhan Arukh, O.H., sec 139, nos. 2 and 3, and sec. 141, no 2) rules according
to Rosh and others that even in the presence of a ba’al korei, the oleh is
obligated to read along quietly with the reader, lest the oleh’s berakhot be
considered in vain (le-vatala). As a result, Rabbi Caro furthermore rules, that
a blind or illiterate person is precluded from receiving an aliyya.
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Miriam; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: HE; mso-bidi-language: HE">
R. Moses Isserlish (Rema; Darkei Moshe, Tur, O.H., sec. 135, no.4 and sec. 141,
no 1) concurs that normative halakha requires the oleh to read along with the
reader - and hence a <EM>suma,</EM> who can't read from the
Torah<EM>,</EM> should not be able to get an Aliyya. However, Rema (in
his gloss to Shulhan Arukh, O.H., sec. 139, no 3) cites the leniency of R. Jacob
Molin (Maharil) and others who permit a blind or illiterate individual to
receive an aliyya, even though neither can read along with the ba’al korei from
the Torah parchment. According to Maharil, the Ba'al Korei can read for the
blind oleh via the mechanism of <U>Shome'a ke-oneh</U> because both the ba'al
korei and the oleh <U>are inherently obligated</U>. Hence there can be a
transfer of the act of reading from the Ba'al korei to the <EM>oleh </EM>who
makes the<EM> berakha.</EM> (We discuss this mechanism of <EM>Shomei'a
ke-oneh</EM> at great length in Section II of the article.</DIV>
<DIV>
<P
style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"
class=MsoNormal align=left> [We note that all this is in
theory, however. As R. Soloveitchik himself notes (R. Joseph B.
Soloveitchik, miBet Midrasho Shel haRav, Hilkhot Keri’at ha-Torah, sec. 141, no.
2, p. 50; R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Shiurei haRav haGaon Rabbi Yosef Dov haLevi
Soloveitchik zatsa”l al Inyanei Tsitsit, Tefillen u-Keri’at haTorah, R. Zvi
Schachter, ed. (Jerusalem, 5763), Hilkhot Keri’at ha-Torah, sec. 141, no. 2, p.
186), while we advise olim le-khatkhila to read along quietly following the
Rosh, in practice, we rule like Maharil that the oleh need not read. Thus, it is
a widespread custom, both amongst ashkenazim and sefaradim (contrary to the
ruling of R. Ovadiah Yosef) to call to the Torah the blind, untrained and
illiterate, who clearly cannot or will not read along from the scroll, In
addition, the Rov, notes that if one is called to the Torah while he is in the
midst of birkhot keri’at shema, the halakhic consensus is to accept the aliyya
and recite the blessings, but not to read along with the ba’al korei – again
relying on Maharil. Finally, R. Moshe Soloveitchik ruled that for Parashat
Zakhor, the oleh should not read along with the ba’al korei as required by Rosh.
Rather, he should fulfill his obligations according to Maharil with the reading
of the reader via shomei’a ke-oneh – along with the rest of the community; see:
R. Michel Zalman Shurkin, Harerei Kedem – beInyanei haMoadim, I, sec. 185, no. 2
(5760 ed.) and sec. 208, no. 2 (expanded 5769 ed.).]</P>
<P
style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"
class=MsoNormal align=left> In contrast to Suma, <U>Women are
not obligated in Keri'at haTorah</U> (this is the view of all known Rishonim and
the overwhelming opinion of Aharonim - thoroughly documented in the article,
Section III and note 85). Hence shome'ah ke-oneh cannot work and the Berakha
would be le-vatala. As a result, there is no such dispute or
ruling regarding women receiving aliyyot in the posekim.</P>
<P
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class=MsoNormal align=left> </P>
<P
style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan"
class=MsoNormal align=left>Much of the above appears as a comment to Rabbi
Yuter's article cited by Liron Kopinsky </P></SPAN></DIV>
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