Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim · Siman 141

Shulchan Arukh Orach Chayim 141 — English translation

Translation: Sefaria Community Translation. Section numbers match the Hebrew text above.

1. 1The Laws of The Reader and The One Who Reads [For Another], Containing 8 S'ifim One must read [from the Torah] while standing; and even to lean oneself on a wall or pillar is forbidden unless it is a heavy-set person. Gloss: And so too, the chazzan who calls up [the readers] must stand with the reader. (Mordekhai, Halakhot Ketanot)
2. 2Two [people] may not read [together], rather the one got called up should read and the prayer leader is quiet, or the prayer leader should read and the one who got called up does not read in a loud voice. In any case, one [who is called up] must read [aloud] with the prayer leader so that his blessing should not have been in vain, but rather should read along quietly such that it cannot be heard by one's own ears. Gloss: And even if one's own ears can hear, this is not a concern, for it is no different than [hearing himself while] praying [the Amidah] as was seen above in siman 101. [His own opinion].
3. 3There are those who practice to have someone who reads word-for-word stand in [as an agent] for the person called up, [reading] word-by-word, and after the reader finishes each word, the person called up says it.
4. 4If the prayer leader wants to bless for themself and read, another must stand next to them; because just like the Torah was given through a intermediary, so too we need to practice [reading] from it by means of an intermediary.
5. 5The congregation is not permitted to answer "amen" until the blessing is concluded aloud by the reader. And the reader is not permitted to read from the Torah until "amen" is concluded aloud by the congregation.
6. 6Two siblings may be called up [for aliyot], one after the other, and [so too] a child after a parent. But we do not allow it because of the "evil eye"). And even if one was [called up for] the seventh [aliyah] and one was [called up for] maftir [the concluding reader], the second one should not be called up with [that person's] name because of the "evil eye". [Mahari"l]
7. 7The one who ascends to the raised platform [i.e. the bimah] should go up from the opening that is the shortest way from one's place [i.e. the place where one is praying] and descend from the platform on a different path which is the longest path back to one's place. And if two paths are equal [in distance from his place], one ascends by the opening that is on the right-hand path and descends by the opening on the opposite side. (And one should not descend until the person who is designated to read after one has already come up. (Mordekhai Hagadol))
8. 8And word which is read [one way] and written [another way], it is a "Halakha l'Moshe Mi-Sinai" ["A law transmitted to Moses on Sinai"] that is should be written like it is in the Torah, but read in a different manner [i.e. read differently than it is written]. It happened once that someone read it the way it was written (and he was standing) before the great leaders of the generation, the Rabbis: R. Yitzchak Abuhav, R. Avraham Valenci, and R. Shmuel Valenci, his son, (may their memories be a blessing) - and they warned him to read it according to the tradition [i.e. not the way it was written], and he did not want to, and so they banned him and made him go down from the Ark.

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