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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman ק״מ · Interruptions in the blessing of the Torah

דיני הפסק בברכת התורה — the reader who became mute (נשתתק) and his replacement who blesses ; stopping and speaking between the berakha and the reading (לא הוי הפסק) ; erring in the parasha after having blessed (a dispute whether he must re-bless)
סימן ק״מ · ג׳ סעיפים
דיני הפסק בברכת התורה
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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This siman teaches the interruptions in the blessing of the Torah: the reader who became mute (נשתתק) — the replacement resumes ממקום שהתחיל הראשון and blesses בתחילה ובסוף (ולהרמב״ם לא יברך בתחילה) ; stopping and speaking between the berakha and the reading — לא הוי הפסק ; and erring in the parasha after having blessed (a dispute). Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ג׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: Interruptions in the blessing of the Torah — נשתתק, פסק ודיבר, טעה בפרשה
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן ק״מ · ג׳ סעיפים

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

The blessing of the Torah frames the public reading: a berakha before, a berakha after. This siman deals with what can happen between and during — the reader who loses his voice (נשתתק), the interruption by speech, and the error of parasha after the berakha has already been said. The underlying question is always the same: must one, or not, go back and bless again — knowing that a needless berakha is to be avoided. We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct, one refers to the custom and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The ג׳ seifim — הקורא ונשתתק (séif 1), פסק ודיבר between the berakha and the reading (séif 2), טעה בפרשה after the berakha (séif 3)
1. Practical case — the reader who is blocked: the replacement resumes and blesses
2. Practical case — speaking between the berakha and the reading: לא הוי הפסק
3. Practical case — the error of parasha after the berakha: a dispute (ספק ברכות להקל)
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. Interruptions in the blessing of the Torah — the ג׳ seifim

הֶפְסֵק בְּבִרְכַּת הַתּוֹרָה — the interruption in the blessing of the Torah — the public reading is framed by two berakhot (before and after). The siman examines three situations: the reader who became mute (נשתתק) in the middle and the transfer to a replacement; stopping and speaking after the blessing before — is it a הפסק that would require re-blessing?; and the error of parasha discovered after having already blessed. The guiding thread: as long as the berakha remains valid, one does not go back and bless in vain.

Séif 1 — הקורא ונשתתק: the reader who became mute

הקורא בתורה ונשתתק, העומד יתחיל ממקום שהתחיל הראשון, ויברך בתחילה ובסוף; ולהרמב״ם לא יברך בתחילה. הגה: ואפילו בזמן הזה שש״ץ קורא, דינא הכי.
Séif 1: one who was reading the Torah and became mute (נשתתק) — the one who stands up in his place (העומד) begins from the place where the first one began, and blesses at the beginning and at the end; and according to the Rambam he does not bless at the beginning. Glose (Rama): and even nowadays, when the chazan reads, the law is the same.
The reader loses his voice in the middle of his portion. The replacement does not start from scratch: he resumes where the first one began (ממקום שהתחיל הראשון), so that his reading forms a whole, and he blesses at the beginning and at the end. The Rambam holds that he does not repeat the blessing before (the first already said it). The Rama notes that the law applies even in our time, when ש״ץ קורא — the chazan (baal koré) reads aloud on behalf of the one called up.

Séif 2 — פסק ודיבר: stopping and speaking after the berakha

העומד לקרות בתורה וברך ברכה שלפניה וקרא מקצת פסוקים ופסק ודיבר דברי תורה או דברי חול, לא הוי הפסק, ואינו צריך לחזור ולברך.
Séif 2: one who was called to the Torah, recited the blessing before (ברכה שלפניה), read a few verses (מקצת פסוקים), stopped and spoke — words of Torah or secular words — it is not an interruption (לא הוי הפסק), and he need not go back and bless again.
After saying the berakha and reading a few verses, he stops and speaks — whether דברי תורה or דברי חול. Although speaking is not the ideal conduct, it does not count as a הפסק that would nullify the berakha: the blessing remains valid and he need not re-bless. He simply resumes the reading where he left off.

Séif 3 — טעה בפרשה: the error of parasha after the berakha

העולה לקרות בתורה והראו לו מקום שצריך לקרות וברך על התורה, והתחיל לקרות או לא התחיל, והזכירוהו שפרשה אחרת צריך לקרות, וגלל הספר תורה למקום הצריך לקרות בו — יש אומרים שאינו צריך לחזור ולברך, ויש אומרים שצריך.
Séif 3: one who goes up to the Torah, to whom the place to read was shown, and who blessed on the Torah — whether he began to read or not — and was then reminded that another parasha must be read, and the Sefer Torah was rolled to the required place — some say he need not go back and bless again, and some say he must.
He was shown a place; he blessed; then it turns out it was not the right parasha, and the scroll is rolled to the correct passage. Did his berakha bear upon "the Torah" in general (it stays valid) or upon this precise spot (it is nullified)? The Mechaber reports a מחלוקת: יש אומרים that he does not re-bless, ויש אומרים that he must. Keep the practical principle: in a doubt about a berakha, one refrains (ספק ברכות להקל) — but for the concrete application, one follows one's Rav.
The siman in one sentence: the reader who became mute is relayed by a replacement who resumes where the first one began and blesses (ולהרמב״ם לא יברך בתחילה, and the Rama: even when ש״ץ קורא) ; stopping and speaking after the berakha is not a הפסק and does not require re-blessing ; and erring in the parasha after having blessed is the subject of a מחלוקת — יש אומרים that he does not re-bless, ויש אומרים that he must.

Practical cases

Case 1 — The reader who loses his voice

Situation: in the middle of the reading, the one called up (or the baal koré) becomes mute and cannot continue. What does the replacement do?
Conduct: the replacement resumes where the first one began (ממקום שהתחיל הראשון), and not at the exact point where the other stopped, so that his reading forms a whole; he blesses at the beginning and at the end. According to the Rambam, he does not repeat the blessing before. Today, when ש״ץ קורא, the law is the same. For the practical application, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — Speaking between the berakha and the reading

Situation: he blessed, read a few verses, then stopped to say a word (of Torah or secular). Must he re-bless?
Conduct: no. Whether דברי תורה or דברי חול, it is not a הפסק: the berakha remains valid and he need not go back and bless. He resumes the reading where he left off. Speaking was not ideal, but after the fact the berakha stands. For the details, one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — Erring in the parasha after having blessed

Situation: he was shown a place, he blessed, then he is told he must read elsewhere and the Sefer Torah is rolled. Must he re-bless?
Conduct: there is a מחלוקת — יש אומרים that he need not re-bless (his berakha bore upon "the Torah"), ויש אומרים that he must. In a doubt about a berakha, the principle is to refrain (ספק ברכות להקל) ; but this is precisely the kind of case where one asks one's Rav before acting.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. The reader who became mute: from where does the replacement resume, and why not from the exact point of stopping (séif 1)?
  2. According to the Rambam, what does the replacement not repeat, and why (séif 1)?
  3. What does the Rama note for our time, when ש״ץ קורא (séif 1)?
  4. Is speaking between the berakha and the reading a הפסק, and must one re-bless (séif 2)?
  5. What is the מחלוקת of séif 3, and which principle guides in a doubt about a berakha?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 141 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן ק״מ · ג׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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