Aug 20, 2015

Interesting Psak: chazzan with iphone cant be chazzan

get your baalei tefilla in order now... according to Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef, a chazzan that has an iPhone cannot serve in the capacity of chazzan (any time - not just on the holidays).

Rav Yosef explained his psak by saying that the community must search for a chazzan that is God fearing - if you know someone has a television in his home or in his pocket, such as an iPhone, how can you allow him to lead the services before God?

Rav Yosef also compared it to someone who sends his son to a school that is not religious and teaches them abomination.

Rav Yosef even said that if someone with an iPhone already began to lead the services, you should leave and arrange another minyan.
sources: Ladaat and Srugim

My question is, let's say you follow all these rules (we have had piskei halacha banishing iphone holders from leading services, witnessing weddings, blowing shofar, and more), and chase away all the people with smartphones... so I guess all the smartphone holders will eventually make their own shul or minyan. So, in a minyan where everyone has an iPhone can one of them be the chazzan or must they ask someone with no iphone to join their minyan and lead the services? same for blowing shofar and all the other issues...

Too bad I have a lousy voice and only lead the services once or twice a year (if that much)... I'd love to be asked by the gabbai to lead and tell him I cannot because I have a smartphone...


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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 20, 2015 4:47 PM

    The Rav of KSY has an iPhone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rafi G.August 20, 2015 4:56 PM

    but does he lead the services?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AviAugust 20, 2015 7:19 PM

      Occasionally. He certainly gets Aliyot on a regular basis. He also is the Chazan for Berchot Hachodesh.

      Delete
  3. ehwhyAugust 20, 2015 5:30 PM

    How is a 'kosher' chazzan going to pay for parking in Beit Shemesh?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Michael SedleyAugust 20, 2015 10:47 PM

    If the 2 chief Rabbis daven together, I hope that the minyan is careful about letting them daven from the Amud, at least one of them has a smart phone, and it would be a shame if the other one had to leave during the tfilla and arrange another minyan (although it would give the newspapers somethiing to write about)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MiMedinat HaYamAugust 23, 2015 7:29 AM

      They can't daven together anyway. Someone might catch them davening the same nusach.

      Delete
  5. anonAugust 23, 2015 2:43 PM

    And we are supposed to trust this man for kashrus, eruvin, mikvaos, gittin, kiddushin etc?
    scary. very scary.
    Will have to make sure that our chazzan is an android user.(sarc)

    ReplyDelete