DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Halacha is For Refuah Shelemah for
 Meir ben Jamilleh

Dedicated By
His Friends and Family

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
      
(File size: 418 KB)
If a Congregation Neglected to Read the Hanukah Torah Reading

On each of the eight days of Hanukah, we read a special reading from the Torah, from the section of the "Nesi’im" in Parashat Naso (Bamidbar, chapter 7). If a congregation mistakenly read from the Torah that week’s Parasha, instead of the special Hanukah reading, and they realized their mistake only after completing the reading, they do not need to then read the Hanukah reading. This is the ruling of Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Hazon Ovadia (Hanukah, p. 239), where he writes, "En Mashgihin Ba’Hanukah" – we are not as insistent with regard to the Hanukah Torah reading as we are regarding other readings.

On Rosh Hodesh Tebet (which always occurs during Hanukah), we remove two Torah scrolls from the ark (unless this occurs on Shabbat, in which case we remove three scrolls). From the first Torah, we read the section of Rosh Hodesh, and three Aliyot are called for this reading. For the fourth Aliya, we read from the second Torah the section for Hanukah. If a congregation mistakenly read four Aliyot in the section of Rosh Hodesh from the first Torah, then they must call a fifth person for the Hanukah reading from the second Torah. It is considered offensive to a Torah scroll when it is removed from the ark but not used for reading. Therefore, if all four Aliyot were mistakenly read from the first Torah, an additional Aliya must be made to facilitate a reading from the second Torah.

Summary: If on Hanukah a congregation mistakenly read that week’s Torah portion instead of the special Hanukah reading, they have nevertheless fulfilled their obligation and do not need to read the Hanukah reading. If on Rosh Hodesh Tebet a congregation mistakenly read all four Aliyot from the first Torah scroll, they must make a fifth Aliya for the Hanukah reading from the second scroll.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Sisit: The Number of Wrappings; Wearing a String of Techelet
The Two Aspects of Bikur Holim
Offering Spiritual Advice to an Ailing Patient
Anger and Drunkenness Lead To Sin
May a Professional Have His Secretary Type Confidential Information?
Giving Preference When Choosing From Whom to Buy
Must One Wash His Hands After a Handshake?
Haircutting and Shaving Before Praying Minha; Misvot That One Can Fulfill When Taking a Haircut
Inducing Labor Unnecessarily
Pictures of Animals on the Parochet and Walls in a Synagogue
A Proper Torah Perspective on Medical Treatment
Praying or Reciting Berachot in the Presence of Immodestly Dressed Women
The Special Prayer Recited Upon Entering and Exiting the Bet Midrash
Bizui Misva: The Prohibition Against Disrespectful Treatment of Misvot
Selling Non-Kosher Wine
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found