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...
Shabbat – Tightening or Attaching Hoods; Using Glue; Balloons and Inflatable Mattresses; Collecting Scattered Fruit
The Prohibition of Kotzer on Shabbat
Writing on Shabbat – Fingerprints, Photographs, Writing on Windows or in the Air, Pens With Temporary Ink
Shabbat – Cutting a Cake with Letters; Putting Letters Together in Scrabble
Dancing on Shabbat; Court Cases, Weddings and Pidyon Ha’ben on Shabbat
Making Sounds on Shabbat
Reading by Candlelight on Shabbat
Can a Person Have a Non-Jew Push Him in a Wheelchair on Shabbat?
Using on Shabbat a Brush or Broom With Fragile Wooden Bristles
Leaning on a Tree, or Sitting on a Tree Stump, on Shabbat
Is it Permissible to Relieve Oneself on Grass on Shabbat?
How Soon After Kiddush Must One Begin the Meal?
Berit Mila on Shabbat – Bringing the Baby to the Synagogue
Opening a Front Door with a Key on Shabbat
Using Baby Wipes or Moistened Toilet Paper on Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found