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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman קל״ז · How many verses for each aliyah

כמה פסוקים צריך לקרוא לכל אחד — how many verses for each oleh: at least ten verses when three read (« וידבר » counts, עולה מן המנין), three per aliyah (ג׳ ג׳ ד׳), a skipped verse, one who read only two verses, the interruption in Parashat Para, and the second who re-reads
סימן קל״ז · ו׳ סעיפים
כמה פסוקים צריך לקרוא לכל אחד
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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This siman teaches how many verses are read in the Torah: on a day when three are called up, one does not read fewer than ten verses (and « וידבר » counts in the total) ; at least three verses per oleh (ג׳ ג׳ ד׳, and the one reading four is praiseworthy) ; one who skipped a verse and when he returns ; one who read only two (or nine) verses ; the interruption in Parashat Para ; and the second who re-reads what the first read. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ו׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: How many verses for each aliyah — י׳ פסוקים, ג׳ לכל עולה, דילג פסוק, פרשת פרה, עולה מן המנין
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן קל״ז · ו׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

Our Sages taught (מגילה כ״א:): הקורא בתורה לא יפחות משלשה פסוקים — one who reads in the Torah does not read fewer than three verses [for each aliyah]. The siman sets the count of verses of the public Torah reading: ten in all when three read, three for each, and what to do in the case of a skipped verse, an interruption, or a re-reading. We study here at the level of principle; for practical conduct, one refers to the custom and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The ו׳ seifim — ten verses (séif 1), three per oleh (séif 2), a skipped verse (séif 3), two or nine verses (séif 4), Parashat Para (séif 5), the second who re-reads (séif 6)
1. Practical case — counting the ten verses and three per aliyah (ג׳ ג׳ ד׳)
2. Practical case — a skipped verse: when does one return (Minha and Mon/Thu vs Shabbat)
3. Practical case — the second who re-reads: the rule of עולה מן המנין
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. How many verses for each aliyah — the ו׳ seifim

כַּמָּה פְּסוּקִים צָרִיךְ לִקְרוֹא לְכָל אֶחָד — how many verses for each oleh — the public Torah reading has a minimum measure: ten verses in all on a day when three are called up (Monday, Thursday, Minha of Shabbat), and no fewer than three verses per oleh. From this framework flow the dinim of the return when a verse is skipped (חזרה), of one who has not read the measure, of an interruption in a special reading (פרשת פרה), and of the second who re-reads what the first already read (עולה מן המנין).

Séif 1 — עשרה פסוקים: no fewer than ten verses

ביום שקורין ג׳ אין קורין פחות מי׳ פסוקים, ו«וידבר» עולה מן המנין; ואי סליק עניינא בבציר מי׳ פסוקים, כגון פרשת עמלק שאין בה אלא ט׳ פסוקים — שפיר דמי.
Séif 1: on a day when three are called up, one does not read fewer than ten verses (אין קורין פחות מי׳ פסוקים), and « וידבר » (the opening verse of a passage) counts in the total (עולה מן המנין). And if the topic concludes in fewer than ten verses — like Parashat Amalek which has only nine verses — it is valid (שפיר דמי).
The basic measure: ten verses when there are three olim. A verse that is merely an opening, such as « וידבר ה׳ אל משה », still counts toward the ten. And if the passage forms a complete topic yet has fewer than ten verses — the classic example being Parashat Amalek, which has only nine verses and is not split — it is valid so.

Séif 2 — שלשה לכל עולה: three verses per aliyah

אין קורין עם כל אחד פחות מג׳ פסוקים; שנים קורין ג׳ ג׳ ואחד קורא ד׳, ואיזה מהם שקרא ד׳ הרי זה משובח.
Séif 2: one does not read with each oleh fewer than three verses; two read three verses and one reads four (to reach ten), and whichever of them read the four verses, that is praiseworthy (הרי זה משובח).
Each oleh must read at least three verses. To reach ten with three olim, the split is ג׳ + ג׳ + ד׳ (3 + 3 + 4). The siman notes that it makes no difference which of the three reads the four verses — and that the one who reads them does something praiseworthy.

Séif 3 — דילג פסוק: a skipped verse and the return

אם דילג פסוק אחד ולא קראו — אם הוא במנחה בשבת או בשני וחמישי וקרא י׳ פסוקים בלא פסוק המדולג, אינו חוזר; ואם לאו, חוזר. אבל בשבת אפילו דילג פסוק אחד חוזר וקורא, ואפילו אחר שהחזיר את התורה ואמר קדיש חוזר וקורא הוא ושנים עמו, ואפילו הפטיר והתפלל מוסף חוזר וקורא. פרשיות המועדים דינם כמו מנחה בשבת ושני וחמישי, לפי שכבר קראו הפרשיות בשבתות שלהן.
Séif 3: if he skipped one verse and did not read it — if it is at Minha of Shabbat, or Monday and Thursday, and he read ten verses without the skipped verse, he does not return; but if not, he returns. But on Shabbat (Shacharit), even if he skipped only one verse he returns and reads — and even after having returned the Sefer Torah and said Kaddish he returns and reads, he and two with him; and even if he read the Haftara and prayed Musaf he returns and reads. The parachiot of the festivals have the din of Minha of Shabbat and Monday-Thursday, because these passages have already been read on their Shabbatot.
Everything depends on the importance of the reading. At the "ordinary" readings (Minha of Shabbat, Monday and Thursday), if ten valid verses remain without the skipped one — one does not return. But on Shabbat (Shacharit), the reading is so important that a single missing verse obliges one to go back and re-read — even very late, after the Kaddish, the Haftara and Musaf. The festival readings follow the lighter rule (like Minha of Shabbat), since those passages have already been read on their Shabbat.

Séif 4 — קרא ב׳ או ט׳ פסוקים: the measure not reached

אם קרא אחד ב׳ פסוקים צריך לחזור ולקרות; ואם לא קראו בין שלשתן אלא ט׳ פסוקים, ג׳ לכל אחד — אינם צריכים לחזור ולקרות, וראיה לדבר פרשת עמלק; אבל אם קראו פחות מט׳ צריכין לחזור ולקרות.
Séif 4: if one [of the olim] read only two verses, he must go back and read [again]; and if the three of them read only nine verses in all, three for each — they need not go back and read, and the proof is Parashat Amalek [which has only nine]; but if they read fewer than nine, they must go back and read.
The individual threshold — three verses — is firm: one who read only two must re-read. On the other hand, if each of the three read his three verses properly and the total comes to only nine (instead of ten), one does not re-read — the proof is Parashat Amalek, which has only nine verses and remains valid. But below nine, one must go back and read.

Séif 5 — פרשת פרה: the interruption in the middle of the passage

אם קרא פרשת פרה ופסק ב«הגר הגר בתוכם» וגלל ספר תורה — חוזר ופותח ומתחיל מראש הפרשה עד «תטמא עד הערב», ומברך לפניה ולאחריה.
Séif 5: if one read Parashat Para and stopped at « הגר הגר בתוכם » and then rolled up the Sefer Torah — he returns, reopens and begins again from the start of the passage until « תטמא עד הערב », and blesses before it and after it.
Some readings form a unit not to be cut at the wrong place. Here, if one stopped too early (at « הגר הגר בתוכם ») and has already closed the Sefer Torah, one does not merely complete it: one begins again from the start of the passage up to the true stopping point (« תטמא עד הערב »), with the blessing before and after. This is an example of how to repair a special reading that was wrongly divided.

Séif 6 — עולה מן המנין: the second who re-reads what the first read

הקורא בתורה ראשון, וקורא השני מה שקרא הראשון — אם הוסיף על מה שקרא הראשון שלשה פסוקים, או אפילו שנים במקום דלא אפשר, אותו שני עולה מן המנין; ואם לאו, אינו עולה מן המנין, חוץ מפרי החג משום דלא אפשר.
Séif 6: the first reads in the Torah, and the second reads what the first read — if he added to what the first read three verses, or even two in a case where it is not possible otherwise (דלא אפשר), that second one counts in the total (עולה מן המנין); but if not, he does not count in the total, except for « פרי החג » (the offerings of the festival) where it is not possible otherwise.
When a second oleh re-reads a passage already read by the first, he only "counts" as a distinct aliyah if he brings something new: at least three verses more — or two only where it is unavoidable (דלא אפשר). Otherwise he does not count in the total of aliyot. The exception is פרי החג (the korbanot of Sukkot), whose structure forces these close repetitions.
The siman in one sentence: for three olim one reads at least ten verses (« וידבר » counts), three for each (ג׳ ג׳ ד׳, and the one reading four is praiseworthy); one who skips a verse returns on Shabbat even for a single one, but not at Minha/Mon-Thu if ten verses remain; one who read only two re-reads, but nine in all remains valid (proof: עמלק); the interruption in Parashat Para is repaired from the start of the passage; and the second who re-reads only counts if he adds three verses (or two בדלא אפשר, like פרי החג).

Practical cases

Case 1 — Counting the ten verses and three per aliyah

Situation: one prepares a Monday/Thursday reading (three olim). How many verses, and how to divide them?
Conduct: at least ten verses in all, never fewer than three per oleh — hence ג׳ ג׳ ד׳ (3 + 3 + 4). An opening verse like « וידבר » counts toward the ten. If the complete topic is exactly nine verses (like עמלק), it is valid. For the concrete division of a parasha, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — A skipped verse

Situation: the reader realizes a verse was skipped. Must everything be redone?
Conduct: it depends on the reading. At Minha of Shabbat, Monday and Thursday — if ten valid verses remain without the skipped verse, one does not return. On Shabbat (Shacharit) one returns and re-reads even for a single missing verse, even after the Kaddish, the Haftara and Musaf. The festival readings follow the lighter rule. For the practical application, one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — The second who re-reads (עולה מן המנין)

Situation: a passage already read is called again for a second oleh. Does this aliyah "count" in the total?
Conduct: the second only counts in the total if he adds at least three verses to what the first read — or two only where it is unavoidable (דלא אפשר), like פרי החג. Otherwise, he does not count. For the concrete cases, one follows one's Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. How many verses at minimum does one read when there are three olim, and does « וידבר » count (séif 1)?
  2. How does one divide the ten verses among the three olim, and who is משובח (séif 2)?
  3. Why does one return on Shabbat for a single skipped verse, but not at Minha/Mon-Thu (séif 3)?
  4. Does one who read only two verses re-read? And nine in all (séif 4)?
  5. When does the second who re-reads count « מן המנין », and what is the exception (séif 6)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 138 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן קל״ז · ו׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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