DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 496 KB)
May a Bar Misva Boy Read Parashat Zachor in the Synagogue?

The public reading of Parashat Zachor in the synagogue on the Shabbat before Purim must be done by an adult, that is, a male who is at least thirteen years old and has reached physical maturity (defined by the presence of two adult hairs). Hacham Ovadia Yosef, in his Hazon Ovadia (p. 29; listen to audio recording for precise citation), writes that a Bar Misva boy, who has just reached his thirteenth birthday, should not read Parashat Zachor, unless it is established that he has achieved physical maturity. The congregation may call him for the Aliya of Zachor and have an adult read from the Torah, but the Bar Misva boy himself should not read Parashat Zachor, unless it has been ascertained that he has reached physical maturity. This is the ruling of Rav Haim Palachi (Izmir, Turkey, 1788-1869), in his work Sefer Ha’haim, citing the Keren Shelomo.

However, Hacham Ovadia adds that Be’di’abad (after the fact), if a Bar Misva boy did read Parashat Zachor, the congregation has fulfilled its obligation and does not have to have the section read again by an adult. There is a Halachic concept known as "Hazaka De’Rabba," referring to the Talmudic Sage Rabba, who taught that a boy who has reached the age of thirteen may be assumed to be physically mature. We may rely on this assumption even with respect to Torah obligations, such as the reading of Parashat Zachor, just as a pair of Tefillin is valid if the script was written by a Bar Misva boy. And thus although a Bar Misva boy optimally should not read Parashat Zachor, his reading is valid after the fact.

Summary: Parashat Zachor should be read only by an adult that has been confirmed to have reached physical maturity. Therefore, a Bar Misva boy should not read Parashat Zachor, though if he did read it, the congregation has fulfilled its obligation.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Chronology in the Torah's Narrative
Caring Properly for Tzitzit, The Importance of the Mitzvah of Tzitzit
The Berachot One Recites Before and After Eating Apples and Grapes
Women Wearing Tefilin and Tzitzit
Reciting Kriat Shema With Enthusiasm
Protecting A Sudden Large Profit From The Evil Eye
Rendering a Halachic Decision Without Consulting One's Rabbi
Should The Beracha of Ha'tov Ve'ha'meitiv Be Said When A Baby Boy Is Born
Is It Permissible For A Woman, Boy, or Goy To Make A Tzitzit
Reciting Pesukim As A Remedy
May A Person Put On A Talit Pesula On Shabbat In Shul If There Are No Kosher Tallitot Left
From Which Side On A Talit or Tzitzit Should the Strings Fall
Proper Positioning of The Holes At The Bottom of A Talit
Choosing to Learn from a Particular Rabbi
The Arrival of Eliyhau HaNavee and The Mashiach
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found