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Apr 21, 2015
Interesting Psak: fasting for passing the torah
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinotch, the rav of the Kotel, said yesterday that in light of what happened in the morning, with the Women of the Wall taking the Torah and treating it like a random object, anybody who was present at the Kotel at the time should fast as if it had fallen to the floor.
I am curious as to the source of this necessity to fast. If you know, please comment.
I am also not sure why what they did was considered treating it like a random object. People pass the Torah to others fairly regular in our regular services. The person removes the Torah from the aron kodesh and passes it to the chazzan. On simchas torah people holding the Torah during the dancing pass it to the next person assigned to holding it.
Why is one person passing the Torah to the women yesterday any different than the normal passing of the Torah from person to person?
These questions do not take any stand on whether or not the Women of the Wall should be reading from the Torah at the Kotel or not. I just don't understand Rav Rabinovitch's ruling.
I am curious as to the source of this necessity to fast. If you know, please comment.
I am also not sure why what they did was considered treating it like a random object. People pass the Torah to others fairly regular in our regular services. The person removes the Torah from the aron kodesh and passes it to the chazzan. On simchas torah people holding the Torah during the dancing pass it to the next person assigned to holding it.
Why is one person passing the Torah to the women yesterday any different than the normal passing of the Torah from person to person?
These questions do not take any stand on whether or not the Women of the Wall should be reading from the Torah at the Kotel or not. I just don't understand Rav Rabinovitch's ruling.
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In a regular service, the script of someone with kibud x passes to the next one with responsibility y, etc., is a longstanding script. On Simchas Torah, the purpose of passing around the Torahs is to dance with them. On an ordinary day, to "just pass around the Torah" has no longstanding, established purpose. One could pass around the chazzan's prayerbook to make a statement as well, or trade talleisim as an expression of equality once we're at it.
ReplyDeleteThere are halachot about removing the Torah from the aron, standing when someone is holding it, a minhag to stand when the aron is open, etc. So "just passing it around" is taking the Torah out of its holy and therefore generally well-legislated handling, and treating it as a regular object.
Of course it isn't like "any other" object the same way that a peasant would find it of value to take a selfie with the princess versus take a selfie with his sister. But the point is the princess didn't give permission.
Perhaps the Rav could be persuaded to explain his statement if only to derail the foolishness going around on social media by misguided WOW sympathizers that the lack of kovod is that a woman touched /held the Torah. Those who already had a juk in their head that they are being denied some kind of worth because they can't wear tallit, tefillin and read from the Torah in a public forum in imitation of what is going on on the other side of the mechitza probably won't care, whatever he explains, but they are influencing other people who think that these are ordinary objects without understanding the all the halachic considerations and limitations on their use by anyone or either sex.
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