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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION
Siman מ״ט · Saying the ק״ש and familiar texts by heart
דין אמירת דברים שבכתב בעל פה — although the rule is דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה (one may not say from memory what belongs to the Written Torah), anything רגיל ושגור בפי הכל (customary and known to all) — such as the ק״ש, the ברכת כהנים and the פרשת התמיד — may be said by heart
סימן מ״ט · סעיף אחד
דין אמירת דברים שבכתב בעל פה
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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This short siman (a single séif) settles an everyday rule: may one say the ק״ש — and the prayers one knows — by heart, without reading from the siddur? The general rule teaches that דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה (one does not recite from memory what belongs to the Written Torah). But anything רגיל ושגור בפי הכל — customary and known to all — such as the ק״ש, the ברכת כהנים and the פרשת התמיד, may be said by heart. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the single séif, with a section of practical cases.
Topic: דברים שבכתב בעל פה — and the criterion רגיל ושגור בפי הכל
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן מ״ט · סעיף אחד
Compiled by: Rav Yossef Haim Samama
DAAT · daattorah.com
The Oral Torah (תורה שבעל פה) is handed down mouth to ear, and the Written Torah (תורה שבכתב) is read from the book: each has its own way. Hence a rule — דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה: one does not recite by heart what belongs to the Written Torah. And yet every day the worshipper says the ק״ש and many verses without a siddur. This siman resolves the apparent contradiction: whatever is רגיל ושגור בפי הכל, so well known to all that error is no longer feared, escapes the prohibition. 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. דברים שבכתב בעל פה · רגיל ושגור בפי הכל — the rule and its exception (single séif)
1. Practical case — saying the ק״ש by heart, without a siddur
2. Practical case — reciting known verses (ברכת כהנים, הלל)
3. Practical case — why the rule forbids saying the Written Torah by heart
+ Comprehension questions and going further
A. דברים שבכתב בעל פה · רגיל ושגור בפי הכל (single séif)
Original text (single séif)
אף על פי שקיימא לן דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה, כל דבר שרגיל ושגור בפי הכל, כגון קריאת שמע וברכת כהנים ופרשת התמיד וכיוצא בהן, מותר.
Although we hold it established that “what belongs to the Written Torah, you may not say from memory” (דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה), anything that is customary and known to all (רגיל ושגור בפי הכל) — such as the ק״ש, the ברכת כהנים, the פרשת התמיד and the like — it is permitted [to say it by heart].
דְּבָרִים שֶׁבִּכְתָב אִי אַתָּה רַשַּׁאי לְאָמְרָם עַל פֶּה — “the Written may not be said from memory” — a rule of our Sages (Guittin 60b, Temoura 14b): the texts of the תורה שבכתב are read from the book, not by heart. Two reasons are given: on the one hand “לא כרתי אתך ברית אלא בשביל דברים שבעל פה” (each part of the Torah has its own mode of transmission), and on the other the fear of error — one may err in a text not read from the book.
רָגִיל וְשָׁגוּר בְּפִי הַכֹּל — “customary and known to all” — this is the exception that permits. A text that everyone knows by heart to the point that error is no longer feared (the ק״ש said twice a day, the ברכת כהנים, the פרשת התמיד) may be said by heart. The criterion is not that one individual knows it well, but that it is known to all (בפי הכל).
What this séif says:
- The rule: דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה — one does not say the Written by heart.
- The exception: whatever is רגיל ושגור בפי הכל is permitted by heart.
- The examples: ק״ש, ברכת כהנים, פרשת התמיד — and all that resembles them.
The séif in one sentence: even though one does not say by heart what belongs to the Written Torah, anything that is customary and known to all — such as the ק״ש, the ברכת כהנים and the פרשת התמיד — may be recited by heart.
Practical cases
Case 1 — Saying the ק״ש by heart, without a siddur
Situation: I have no siddur at hand (traveling, in the dark…) — may I say the ק״ש by heart?
Conduct: yes. The ק״ש is the very example of what is רגיל ושגור בפי הכל: it is said twice a day, everyone knows it by heart, and there is no fear of error. Although the general rule is דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה, this very text is expressly permitted by heart by our séif. The same holds for the prayers one knows. For a text one masters less well, one follows one s custom and asks the Rav.
Case 2 — Reciting known verses (ברכת כהנים, הלל)
Situation: may one say by heart the ברכת כהנים, verses of the הלל or other passages one knows well?
Conduct: the principle is the same: whatever is שגור בפי הכל is permitted by heart, and the ברכת כהנים and the פרשת התמיד are cited by the séif as examples. But there is a limit: the permission applies only to what is known to all. A passage one knows personally but which the public does not know by heart remains under the rule of the Written. In the public reading of the Torah, one always reads from the scroll, never by heart.
Case 3 — Why the rule forbids saying the Written by heart
Situation: where does this prohibition come from, and what does it protect?
Conduct: our Sages (Guittin 60b, Temoura 14b) laid down that the תורה שבכתב is read from the book, not by heart. This is explained in two ways: by respect for the proper mode of each part of the Torah (“לא כרתי אתך ברית אלא בשביל דברים שבעל פה”), and by the fear of error — one who recites by heart a little-known text risks distorting it. It is precisely this fear that falls away when the text is רגיל ושגור בפי הכל: there, the exception applies. For the detail of the shitot, see the Lamdan level.
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
- What does the rule דברים שבכתב אי אתה רשאי לאומרם על פה mean?
- What is the criterion that permits saying a text by heart?
- Why may the ק״ש be said by heart?
- What are the two reasons given for the prohibition against saying the Written by heart?
- Does the permission apply to a text that I know but which the public does not?
Going further
If you wish to deepen this siman:
📖Join the khavroutha
- 📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for the pilpoul — דְּבָרִים שֶׁבִּכְתָב אִי אַתָּה רַשַּׁאי לְאָמְרָם עַל פֶּה — גיטין ס׳ ותמורה י״ד; רָגִיל וְשָׁגוּר בְּפִי הַכֹּל — הַגֶּדֶר וְהַנָּפְקָא מִינָה; דְּאוֹרָיְיתָא אוֹ דְּרַבָּנָן — תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה וְשֶׁבִּכְתָב
- ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and quick memorization
- 👑 Level 4 — Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe): the shitah of the Shulchan Aroukh HaRav — the criterion שגור ורגיל, the סומא and the reason for the מנהג