Tuesday, March 22, 2011

parshas zachor - mitzvah bo yoseir mibshlucho?

I was asked to lein P' Zachor this past Shabbos, but did not have to do the rest of the leining. By coincidence, it was taken care of by my son's chavrusa. Afterward, I asked him why he didn't ask to do zachor as well. B'pashtus, one fulfills the mitzvah of reading zachor through shome'a k'oneh. According to at least some Achronim, the din of shome'a k'oneh is based on the principle of shlichus. My son's yeshiva is learning kiddushin, so the boys know very well the whole sugya of mitzvah bo yoseir m'bshlucho. QED that there should be a hidur in reading the parsha oneself rather than rely on the shome'a k'oneh shlichus of someone else. Agree or disagree? (I left him and my son to debate the point.)

12 comments:

  1. Daas Yochid1:39 AM

    Is their a mitzvah to read, or to remember via reading? If the later, then lichora there would be no difference if one heard, since the ikkar was to hear someone read, not actually read.

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  2. Not to blow my own horn, but I wrote an exhaustive treatment of Mitzva bo in Parshas Pekudei, at http://havolim.blogspot.com/2011/02/pekudei-most-important-ingredient-in.html

    So: assuming that yoser mibishlucho applies here, you're asking when do you say MBYM and when do you say Be'rov am hadras melech.

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  3. I should have noted that the part that methodically goes through the sugya is at the end.

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  4. >>>Is their a mitzvah to read, or to remember via reading

    To read, otherwise why would the ba'al koreh have to have in mind to be motzi you -- you can remember all by yourself.

    >>>you're asking when do you say MBYM and when do you say Be'rov am hadras melech.

    Not sure what you mean - it's b'rov am either way, just a question of who should be the ba'al koreh.

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  5. I always thought the Mitzva by Shofar, Megila, Parshas Zachor, etc. was to hear it. The actual reading/shofar blowing is just the hechsher mitzva.

    Would you say the shofar blowing is the mitzva and that is why the baal tokeiah has to have you in mind when he recites his bracha?

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  6. Tal Benschar12:39 PM

    The first question is what the mitzvah is exactly. Not all Rishonim agree that the mitzvah deoraysa requires a kriah mitoch ha ksav. (There is a Raavad who says that you are yotzei by learning the mishnayos in Megillah!)

    Tosafos and the Rosh do hold that a kriah is required, which is the basis for why we are so careful to have everyone hear that kriah, and even extra krias for women, etc.

    The question then is whether the mitzvah also requires a kriah with a minyan. IIRC the Rosh says it does. (That is how he explains the famous gemara about R. Eliezer freeing his eved kenaani to make a minyan -- they needed a minyan for parshas Zachor.) If that is the case, then you should not apply mitzvah bo yoseir mi be shelukhoh. The mitzvah is on the tsibbur to lein, which they have.

    (Perhaps Tosafos holds that the requirement for minyan is only derabban, and min ha Torah you could read the kriah yourself. Then mitzvah bo yoseir mi be shelukhoh would apply)

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  7. The mitzva to destroy amalek is on the tzibbur so the tzibbur davka should also remember to destroy amalek

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  8. >>>Would you say the shofar blowing is the mitzva

    Many learn that is exactly the machlokes Rambam/Rosh as to whether the bracha is lishmoa or litko'a. Anyway, by zachor Achronim galore write that you need shomea k'oneh -- see Mikreai Kodesh of R' TP Frank.

    Tal, I have obviously made certain assumptions -- the point is all of them are defensible according to various deyos, so if you want to be machmir on a d'oraysa like all shitos, why no add this chumra to the mix?

    >>>so the tzibbur davka should also remember to destroy amalek

    So why did R' Eliezer free his slave? No tzibur present, so no chiyuv? Same issue with kri'as hatorah year round. B'pashtus it is a chovas hatzibur, so if you miss krh"t b'tzibur, nothing you can do. RYBS held it was a chovas ha'yachid, so when he would travel he would get together a minyan afterwards to hear leining. IIRC this is discussed as well in Shu"T Tshuvos v'Hanhagos by R' Shternbruch.

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  9. >>So why did R' Eliezer free his slave? No tzibur present, so no chiyuv?

    There is no beidno between freeing the slave (leolam bahem taavodu) and reading parshas zachor. So you have to say that le sechonem means that if you have a personal advantage in freeing the slave that is OK. It does not follow the guidelines of aseh docheh lo saaseh.

    Even if there is no chiyuv beyachid there would still be no issur in freeing the slave as Rebbi Eliezer stood to gain being mekayem the mitzva of zochor when he was freed.

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  10. chaim b.8:34 PM

    >>>So you have to say that le sechonem means that if you have a personal advantage in freeing the slave that is OK.

    Nope. Tos. does not hold of this sevara, it is only found in Ramban/Ran in Gitin who argue on Tosfos.

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  11. chaim b.9:38 PM

    >>>There is no beidno between freeing the slave (leolam bahem taavodu) and reading parshas zachor.

    Tthis is one of Tos proof's (Pesachim 59a d"h asi) that you don't need b'idna when dealing with an aseh "chamir."

    See also Tos. Brachos 47b which learns this is an aseh doche l"t case, otherwise none of Tos. questions get off the ground.

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  12. A chiyuv on the tzibbur does not mean there is a chiyuv on the ten people in the room, the mitzva is on the tzibbur that there should be a reading. Even if there was no minyan before the slave was freed there is still a chiyuv on the tzibbur.

    This is like the chiyuv for the tzibbur to give kimcha de'pischa or to set up a tamchuy, or the mitzvas benei noach to set up a law system.

    Lemoshsol, according to tosafos who say that the chiyuv of krias hatorah is a chiyuv of public torah learning, the berachah that the oleh makes is not becuase he has a personal chiyuv to make a berachah on learning in a public forum. It is a beracha for the chiyuv of the tzibbur to be yotze the takanah to have the torah read publicly.

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