24 Feb A BAR MITZVAH BOY LAINING PARSHAS ZACHOR

Introduction
The Shulchan Aruch
(OC 282:3) rules
according to the
opinion that a katan – a
child who is under the
age of bar mitzvah – is
permitted to receive an aliyah and to read
from the Torah. The Rema (4) adds that a
katan is permitted to read from the Daled
Parshiyos that are read during the month of
Adar as well. However, the minhag among
Ashkenazim is not to permit a katan to receive
an aliyah or to read from the Torah in public.
However, a bar mitzvah boy is certainly
permitted and encouraged to read from the
Torah and receive an aliyah, despite the fact
that, if he has not sufficiently experienced
physical maturity, he may not be fully
obligated in mitzvos. Does this apply to
Parshas Zachor, considering that the obligation
to read it is mid’oraysa? Would it make a
difference if the bar mitzvah boy is reading for
the regular tzibbur or at an additional reading
for women?
Chumros Associated with Parshas Zachor
The Shulchan Aruch (OC 685:7) writes that
there are those who hold that Parshas Zachor

(and Parshas Parah) is d’oraysa, and one
should therefore make sure to find a minyan
that is reading it from a kosher sefer Torah.
The Rema adds that if one is not capable of
attending a minyan, he should at least read it
with the appropriate trup (and from a sefer
Torah; Mishna Berura 17).
The Mishna Berura (10-18) adds that since the
obligation is min HaTorah, we are careful to
announce that everyone should have intention
to fulfill the mitzvah, and we are extremely
careful regarding the pronunciation of the
words, etc. We are careful to hear the words
pronounced in the havarah that our ancestors
used to pronounce Lashon HaKodesh –
Ashkenazim in Ashkenazis, Sephardim in
Sepharadit, etc.
Based on all of this, if we have reason to be
concerned that the bar mitzvah boy is not a
gadol on a Torah level, we would not want
him to be the one being motzi the tzibbur in
the reading of Parshas Zachor.
Why Isn’t He a Gadol?
In order for a boy to be considered fully
obligated in mitzvos, he needs to be more than
just thirteen years and one day old; he must
also show the elementary stages of maturity.
This is demonstrated by the beginnings of

puberty, referred to by the Gemara in Niddah
(46a) as “shtei se’aros.” Normally, one has the
right to assume that a boy who reached the
required age is also physically qualified. This
is known as chazakah DeRava, as Rava rules
that we have the right to follow the maturation
age of the majority of boys in the world.
However, the Gemara limits the chazakah
DeRava to dinim derabbanan. For Biblical
obligations, one would need to know for sure
that these requirements have been fulfilled.
This leads to a problem for bar mitzvah boys,
as we are not interested in advertising the
young man’s private affairs. We do not wish to
inquire about the individual concerning his
status, and even if the answer to the inquiry
was somehow known, one would not wish to
make this information public for fear of
embarrassing other bar mitzvah boys. For this
reason, the Mikraei Kodesh (Harerei Kodesh,
siman 1) recommends that a bar mitzvah boy
not read Parshas Zachor. He adds that the boy
can receive the aliyah, but he should not be the
one to read from the Torah to be motzi the
tzibbur.
Reasons to be Meikil
It is notable that although the idea that a katan
cannot read Parshas Zachor is found among
recent poskim, it is not mentioned by the

Mishna Berura, the
Aruch HaShulchan, or
any other poskim of
previous generations.
Furthermore, the Rema mentioned above rules
that a katan can read the Daled Parshiyos.
Although he mentions that some argue with
this view, the Taz (3) rules that a katan can
read Parshas Zachor.
Additionally, many bar mitzvah boys have
been thirteen for some time. It is unclear at
what point we assume that a boy is not relying
on the chazakah and is considered a definite
gadol.
For a Women’s Reading
Even if one wishes to be machmir and not
allow a bar mitzvah boy to read on behalf of
the tzibbur, it might still be permissible for
him to read for women. As mentioned in the
previous chapter, the Sefer HaChinuch (603)
rules that women are exempt from Parshas
Zachor. Although the Minchas Chinuch argues
that they are obligated, the accepted halacha is
generally that they are patur, but they have a
minhag to hear it. If women are only doing it
as a minhag, it would seem that we can rely on
the opinions that permit a bar mitzvah boy to
read it.