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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION
Siman קמ״ה · The laws of translation
דיני המתרגמין — in the days of the Sages one translated so the people would understand: the reader (קורא) and the translator (מתרגם) — one verse at a time, without raising the voice, without helping; a minor may translate for an adult; and nowadays (האידנא) one no longer translates, since one does not understand it
סימן קמ״ה · ג׳ סעיפים
דיני המתרגמין
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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This siman teaches the laws of translation (targum) of the reading: in the days of the Sages, one translated so that the people would understand; the קורא (reader) and the מתרגם (translator) proceed one verse at a time, neither raising his voice above the other, and the reader does not help the translator (שלא יאמרו תרגום כתוב בתורה); a קטן may translate for a גדול; and nowadays (האידנא) one no longer translates. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ג׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.
Topic: The laws of translation — the קורא and the מתרגם, קטן מתרגם על ידי גדול, האידנא לא נהגו לתרגם
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן קמ״ה · ג׳ סעיפים
Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com
This siman continues the laws of the public reading of the Torah: after the reader there once came the translator (מתורגמן), who rendered each verse into Aramaic — כדי שיבינו העם — so that the people would understand. The siman fixes the rhythm between the two (a verse, then its translation), the equality of their voices, the prohibition of helping the translator, the case of the קטן who translates, and the practice nowadays. 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 — the order of the קורא and the מתרגם (séif 1), קטן מתרגם על ידי גדול (séif 2), האידנא לא נהגו לתרגם (séif 3)
1. Practical case — the one-verse / one-translation rhythm, without raising the voice or helping
2. Practical case — the meturgueman: who may translate, and for whom
3. Practical case — the practice today: האידנא לא נהגו לתרגם
+ Comprehension questions and going further
A. The laws of translation — the ג׳ seifim
הַמְּתַרְגְּמִין — the translators: in the era of the Mishna and the Guemara, Aramaic was the spoken tongue and the people no longer always understood the Hebrew of the Torah. It was therefore instituted that after each verse read, a מתורגמן (translator) render it into Aramaic — כדי שיבינו העם. Two requirements follow: a precise order between the reader and the translator (verse by verse); and a clear distinction between the written text (the Torah) and its oral translation — שלא יאמרו תרגום כתוב בתורה.
Séif 1 — the order between the קורא and the מתרגם
בימי חכמי הגמרא היו נוהגים לתרגם כדי שיבינו העם. אין הקורא רשאי לקרות לתורגמן יותר מפסוק אחד, ואין המתרגם רשאי לתרגם עד שיכלה הפסוק מפי הקורא, ואין הקורא רשאי לקרות פסוק אחר עד שיכלה התרגום מפי המתרגם. ואין הקורא רשאי להגביה קולו יותר מהמתרגם, ולא המתרגם יותר מהקורא. ואין הקורא רשאי לסייע למתרגם, שלא יאמרו תרגום כתוב בתורה.
Séif 1: in the days of the Sages of the Guemara one had the custom to translate so that the people would understand. The reader does not read to the translator more than one verse; the translator does not translate until the verse has ended from the mouth of the reader; and the reader does not read another verse until the translation has ended from the mouth of the translator. The reader does not raise his voice above the translator, nor the translator above the reader. And the reader does not help the translator, so that they will not say the translation is written in the Torah.
A two-beat rhythm. The reader gives one verse — no more — then waits; the translator begins only after the end of the verse; and the reader resumes only after the end of the translation. Neither raises his voice above the other — for the honour of both the text and its translation. Finally the reader does not help (does not prompt) the translator: otherwise one might think that the translation is written in the Torah, whereas it is an oral transmission.
Séif 2 — קטן מתרגם על ידי גדול
קטן מתרגם על ידי גדול, אבל אינו כבוד לגדול שיתרגם על ידי קטן.
Séif 2: a minor (קטן) translates under an adult's reading (על ידי גדול); but it is not honourable for an adult to translate under a minor's reading.
The translation is not the reading itself: it may therefore be performed by a קטן (a minor) when it is a גדול who reads the verse. Conversely, the reverse — a גדול translating while a קטן reads — is not honourable: it would demean the adult to place him, as translator, under a child's reading.
Séif 3 — האידנא לא נהגו לתרגם
האידנא לא נהגו לתרגם, משום דמה תועלת בתרגום כיון שאין מבינים אותו.
Séif 3: nowadays (האידנא) one no longer has the custom to translate, for what benefit is there in the translation, since one does not understand it.
The whole custom of the targum rested on its purpose: to make the people understand. But Aramaic ceased to be the spoken tongue. Since the targum no longer brings that understanding, one no longer translates during the reading — מה תועלת בתרגום כיון שאין מבינים אותו. (The individual obligation of שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום, each week, remains in force separately.)
The siman in one sentence: in the past one translated so the people would understand — the קורא and the מתרגם proceeding one verse at a time, at equal voice, the reader not helping the translator (שלא יאמרו תרגום כתוב בתורה); a קטן may translate for a גדול but not the reverse; and nowadays one no longer translates, Aramaic no longer being understood.
Practical cases
Case 1 — The reader / translator rhythm
Situation: one reconstructs a reading with targum (as in the days of the Sages). How do the reader and the translator interlock?
Conduct: the reader says one single verse, then falls silent; the translator begins only once the verse has ended, and the reader resumes only once the translation has ended. Neither of them raises his voice above the other, and the reader does not prompt the translation to the translator. For the practical application, one follows one's Rav.
Case 2 — Who may be the מתורגמן
Situation: who may hold the role of translator, and for whom?
Conduct: a קטן (minor) may translate when it is a גדול who reads the verse (קטן מתרגם על ידי גדול). But one does not place a גדול as translator under the reading of a קטן: this is not honourable for him. For the details, one follows one's Rav.
Case 3 — Does one translate today?
Situation: should one still translate the reading verse by verse nowadays?
Conduct: no — האידנא לא נהגו לתרגם: one no longer has the custom to translate during the reading, for the Aramaic translation no longer brings the sought-after understanding (כיון שאין מבינים אותו). One therefore reads the Torah without an interposed targum. For local customs (e.g. the targum of certain passages), one follows one's Rav.
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
- Why was translating the reading instituted in the days of the Sages (séif 1)?
- How many verses does the reader give at a time, and who waits for whom (séif 1)?
- Why must the reader not help the translator (séif 1)?
- May a קטן translate, and for whom — and why not the reverse (séif 2)?
- Why does one no longer translate nowadays (séif 3)?
Going further
If you wish to deepen this siman:
📖Join the khavroutha
- 📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for the pilpoul — תקנת התרגום (מגילה כ״א:) — אחד קורא ואחד מתרגם ; גדר פסוק אחד ואיסור הסיוע — שלא יאמרו תרגום כתוב בתורה ; האידנא לא נהגו לתרגם — בטלה התקנה משום דמה תועלת
- ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and quick memorization
- 👑 Level 4 — Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe): bridge page — the Admour HaZaken did not write this siman; a referral to the Mechaber (Levels 1-3) and to his Siddour