May 2, 2018
Joint Aliyot – Handout
Part I – How Did Torah Reading Start?
Deuteronomy 31:10-12
10 And Moses commanded them, saying: 'At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of Shmittah, in Sukkot, 11 when all Israel is come to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your stranger that is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law.
Nehemiah 8:1-8
1 All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. 2 And Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read therein before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose… 5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people--for he was above all the people--and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," with the uplifting of their hands, and they bent their heads and prostrated themselves to the Lord on their faces to the ground. 7… and the Levites explained the Law to the people, and the people stood in their place.8And they read in the scroll, in the Law of God, distinctly, and gave sense, and they explained the reading to them.
Mishneh Torah, Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 12:1
Moses, our teacher, ordained that the Jews should read the Torah publicly on the Sabbath and on Monday and Thursday mornings, so they would never have three days pass without hearing the Torah.
Ezra ordained that [the Torah] should be read during the Mincha service on the Sabbath, because of the shopkeepers. He also ordained that on Mondays and Thursdays, three people should read, and that they should read no fewer than ten verses.
Part II – The Evolution of Torah Reading
Mishnah – Megillah 4:1
On Mondays and Thursdays and on Sabbath at Mincha, three read from the Torah, neither less nor more, nor is a haftarah read from a prophet. The one who reads first in the Torah and the one who reads last make a blessing before reading and after.
On New Moons and on the intermediate days of Festivals four read, neither more nor less, and there is no haftarah from a prophet. The one who reads first and the one who reads last in the Torah make a blessing before and after.
This is the general rule: on any day which has a Musaf and is not a festival four read; on a Festival five read; on the Day of Atonement six read; on Sabbath seven read; this number may not be diminished but it may be added to, and a haftarah is read from a prophet. The one who reads first and the one who reads last in the Torah make a blessing before and after.
Bavli – Megillah 21b
NEITHER LESS NOR MORE. A Tanna stated: The one who reads first makes a blessing before the reading, and the one who reads last makes a blessing after it. Nowadays that all make a blessing both before and after the reading, the reason is that the Rabbis ordained this to avoid error on the part of people entering and leaving synagogue.
Yerushalmi – Megillah 4:75
In such cases it was not customary to have individual aliyot. Rather, one person would be assigned to read the entire portion.
ShulchanAruch - OrachHayyim 141:2
Two do not read together. If the oleh reads then the Reader keeps quiet, but if the Reader reads then the oleh does not read aloud. But he is required to read with the official reader so that his blessing will not be an unnecessary blessing. But he must read quietly, so it will not be heard.
Part III – The Issues of Joint Aliyot
Bavli - Berachot 33a
Rava, or as some say ReshLakish, or again as some say, both ReshLakish and R.Yohanan, have said: Whoever says a blessing which is not necessary transgresses the command of‘You shalt not take [God's name in vain]’
Bavli – Yoma 70a
[The Torah portion beginning with the verse]: “And on the tenth,” from the book of Numbers (29:7), he reads by heart. Why? Let him furl and read it. Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said that Rav Sheshet said: It is because one may not furl a Torah scroll in public, out of respect for the community.
Let another be brought and read from it? Rav Huna bar Yehuda said: due to a flaw in the first one. And ReshLakish said due to an unnecessary blessing
Bavli – Rosh Hashanah 27a
THERE WERE TWO TRUMPETS, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF IT. But can two distinct sounds be caught at once? Has it not been taught: ‘"Remember" and "Keep" were spoken in a single utterance, a thing which transcends the capacity of the mouth to utter and of the ear to hear’?
Come and hear: If one blew into a pit or a cistern or a barrel, if the sound of the shofar came out, he has performed his duty, but if an echo came out, he has not performed his duty. Why should this be? Cannot he have performed his duty by hearing the beginning of the blast, before the sound is confused? — The truth is that two utterances proceeding from one man cannot be distinguished, but proceeding from two men they can be distinguished.
But if they proceed from two men can they be distinguished? Have we not learned: ‘In the recital of the Torah one may read and another translate; what is not allowed is that one should read and two translate’.— The fact is that our case resembles that mentioned in the next clause: ‘In the recital of Hallel and the Megillah even ten may read’. This shows that since an interest is taken in these, the hearer pays close attention. So here, since an interest is taken, he pays close attention and hears [the two sounds].
Yerushalmi – Berachot 5:3
Is it not taught – Two should not translate and one read? Can you say that is on account of the blessing? Rather, because two voices do not enter a single ear.
Part IIII – Other Issues of Joint Aliyot
Mishneh Torah, Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 12:6
The person reading the Torah is not allowed to begin reading until the congregation ceases responding "Amen." If one erred while reading, even regarding the careful pronunciation of one letter, the reader is forced to repeat until he reads it correctly.
Two people should not read at the same time. Rather, one should read alone. If one was reading and lost the ability to speak, another should replace him. He should begin from the place where the one who lost the ability to speak began, and recite the blessing after concluding.
ShulchanAruch - OrachHayyim 669
This is all because of the joy and there is a custom of many who are called to the Torah and read one passage many times and there is no prohibition against it…
Conclusion – Reisner 1992
The aliyah was always held to be an individual honor, and joint recitations of the blessings have been seen as an unnecessary blessing and running afoul of trey kaley (the principle that two voices at once are not clearly heard). Therefore, it is preferable to grant single aliyot and resolve multiple demands through the use of a hierarchy of claims and the judicious use of additional aliyot. Where a couple has a joint simcha they may come up together but only one should be formally called and recite the blessings. Where congregation" already call couples together, it is preferable if only one recites the blessing. Alternatively, splitting the blessings, fore and aft, is preferable to joint recitation.
Conclusion – Abelson 1993
…when the need arose, previous precedents were found to be flexible enough to permit radical innovations in the Torah service. The question is then, "Are the needs of our congregations such as to make family and group aliyot a desirable development?"
…In our congregations the Torah reading serves as a means of reinforcing the values of the congregation, and of keeping the congregation informed and involved in what is happening in the lives of the families of the congregation.
A basic value of Judaism, which needs reinforcing in our generation, is the marriage tie…it is important to emphasize and celebrate the relationship of husband and wife, and appropriate to do so in the context of the Torah reading.
The instituting of aliyot for couples by Conservative congregations to mark family events can be seen as a response to the compelling need to recognize the community importance of marriage ties and to jointly celebrate family events.
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