21 Feb BURDENING THE PUBLIC

In many shuls, the
question arises
regarding waiting
when a rabbi is taking
time for shemone esrei
and people are getting
edgy, since they have
to make the train to
work or drive the kids
to school. If there is a
minyan in shul does
the public have to wait for the Rabbi to
come to the minyan? Does the shatz have to
wait for the Rabbi? Is this considered a
burden to the public – tircha d’tzibur? How
many people need to be available to answer
a shatz before he begins chazaras hashatz?
If one takes the wrong sefer Torah, should
they put it back, or should they lain from
that one even though it will cause a delay in
the completion of the davening? There are
seven aliyos on Shabbos morning; are we
allowed to add to this number? These and
other issues which may be a burden on the
public will be dealt with in this article.
Burdening The Public
The Gemorah says that the parsha of Balak
is not in krias shema since it would be a
burden for the tzibur to say the lengthy
selection.
Waiting For The Rabbi
Our first discussion on this area of halacha
applies to a Rabbi who may be late to shul
for the minyan, or is davening a long
shemone esrei. The public needs to wait for
him to come or finish shemone esrei.
The Gemorah says that when Rabbi Akiva
would shorten his davening to avoid
burdening the public. The Pri Megadim
says that one who davens too long and is a
burden on the tzibur will be punished for it.
Davening too long means spending too
much time one each word, and being overly
lengthy with your supplications.
The Rama says that if there is a minyan in
shul and the Rav is not there yet, the minyan
need not wait for him before they start
davening. The Magen Avraham says that
today we wait for the Rav to come and to
finish shemone esrei. One reason is that
most congregants daven quickly, while
others savor every word. These individuals
would not be able to say kedusha with the
tzibur since they will be in middle of
shemone esrei. Therefore, we wait for the
Rav who will daven slowly as well, so
these individuals can recite kedusha
properly. Others explain that the

congregants are mochel the Rabbi for
taking a long time to daven, and it is not a
bother to the tzibur.
In any case, if a Rav is being too lengthy in
his shemone esrei one does not have to wait
for him. If the Rav wishes to take his time,
he should motion to the shatz not to wait for
him. Some maintain that after he finishes
the first yeh’hu l’ratzon before elokay
netzor he may take his steps back, and then
finish the rest of the elokay netzor. This
way the shatz can start his chazaras hashatz.
Rav Akiva Eiger zt”l is of the opinion that
waiting for the Rabbi is extremely
important. The Rav should not be mochel
on the rule that the tzibur should wait for
him, especially on Shabbos when there is a
lot of time in the day and people are not
rushing to leave shul.
The Sefer Chassidim says that if a Rav
senses that his congregation is waiting for
him and this makes him unable to
concentrate properly, he can actually take
three steps back indicating he is finished so
the shatz can start. Then he may return to
his place and continue shemone esrei. The
steps are not considered a hefsek since
there is a slight need for it so the shatz can
start chazaras hashatz. Others do not agree
with this concept.
If the Rav stepped out in middle of davening
or krias haTorah for some reason the tzibur
does not have to wait for him.
It is disrespectful for a shatz to daven
longer than the Rav, and the congregants
must wait for the shatz to finish. One who is
davening for the amud should make sure to
finish his shemone esrei before the Rav.
If a minyan is known to have a slow
davening, then it is not an issue of burdening
the public even if it takes longer than usual.
Shatz Davening Long
If the shatz davens an extended davening so
that people can hear his voice, it is
disgusting. If he is happy that Hashem gave
him a nice voice and davens to inspire the
tzibur then it is permitted. Nevertheless, he
should not daven too long since it is a
burden on the tzibur. This applies even on
Shabbos and Yom Tov without the consent
of the tzibur. Even if the tzibur agrees, it
should not be too long.
If it is known that shatz takes a long time, it
appears that there is no issue of burdening
the public.
Some have the custom if singing in many
different places in davening. This is done to
arouse the public to daven with kavanah.

Many frown upon the new
custom of having chazzonim
who daven long to show off
their voice.
Waiting to Start Minyan
Once ten men gather, one
does not have to wait for a
Rav to begin the minyan.
This is true even if there is
enough time for krias shema
or tefilla. The Mishnah
Berurah says the custom is to
wait for the Rav since many
times after davening the Rav
learns with the congregants, if they would
daven without him then this may make the
learning not take place. On Motzei Shabbos
if one does not wait for the Rav to begin
they may daven too early.
In any case the Rav should come to shul
early so the minyan does not have to wait
for him.
When to Begin Chazaras Hashatz
Every shul is faced with the same dilemma.
During the week, people need to go to work
right after davening. If some people are still
davening shemone esrei, is there an
obligation to wait until nine people are
available to listen to chazaras hashatz? If
nine have finished but the majority have
not, is it necessary to wait?
The Shulchan Aruch rules that if one of the
ten people who davened with them cannot
answer the beracha, he may still count
towards a minyan. Some extend this
leniency to even four people, as long as six
can answer. Others argue that it is
mandatory to have nine men plus the shatz.
The halacha is that there are not nine people
who are listening and answering to the
chazaras hashatz, it is “close” to being a
beracha l’vatala for the shatz.
There is an apparent contradiction between
these two halachos.. Three are a few ways
to answer this contradiction:
Some maintain that nine people are not
really required, and the halacha that said it
is close to a beracha l’vatala means it is
close but is not an actual beracha l’vatala.
In cases of need (perhaps when the tzibur is
in a rush), one can be lenient. Others say
this a weak answer.
Others say that the halacha does not follow
the rule which maintains you need nine to
answer in regards to chazaras hashatz .
The first halacha is talking about kaddish,

kedusha, and boruchu. These are permitted
even without nine people responding. As
long as ten men are present, the shechina is
present and kaddish etc can be recited even
if not all are listening. The latter halacha is
talking about chazaras hashatz.
Many say that for chazaras hashatz one
should make sure that there are nine who
have finished shemone esrei besides the
shatz, and are listening to chazaras hashatz.
If there is a minimal minyan, if one of the
nine is davening long he should try to
shorten his shemone esrei if he knows the
shatz is waiting.
However, if there is a situation where
waiting would result in no minyan at all,
since people have to go to work, then one
can rely on the lenient opinion above. The
same would apply when there is a long
davening such as Rosh Chodesh where
there is Shacharis and Mussaf, or a day
when we recite selichos.
Many say that one should wait until most of
the tzibur is finished before starting
chazaras hashatz. Accordingly, if the
minyan has thirty people one should wait
for most of the minyan to finish shemone
esrei (sixteen people) before the shatz
begins. One reason for this is that chazaras
hashatz was instituted so the tzibur can hear
and say kedusha, and if most of the shul is
davening then this is not being
accomplished. Others explain that the
purpose is that the tzibur can answer amen
to the berachos of chazaras hashatz.
In regard to maariv, some permit kaddish
with six, although it is better to wait until at
least nine are listening.
There is a discussion in the poskim
regarding how a kohen should conduct
himself if he is part of a minimum minyan
of ten, and he needs to wash his hands
(when they duchan). Should he go out,
even if this will result in less than nine
listening to chazaras hashatz, or should he
wash his hands earlier?

If People are Not
Listening
The Mishnah Berurah
says that if the chazzan
suspects that at least
nine people will not
listen to chazaras
hashatz, he should say
before beginning
chazaras hashatz that if
they don’t answer amen to my berachos it
should be a tefillas nedava. Harav Shlomo
Zalman Aurbach zt”l practiced this
condition in his youth. Others are not sure
this would work at all.
Rolling the Sefer Torah
The halacha is that the sefer Torah is not
rolled in public since it is a burden for the
public to wait. The shames or the ba’al
koreh should make sure the Sefer Torah is
ready to be used and rolled to the proper
place. Many are not careful about this, and
they should be told.
If the lanining will be on two different areas
of the Torah (such as Shabbos Rosh

Chodesh, or Yom Tov), and there is only
one sefer Torah in the shul, then it is rolled
even if it a burden to the tzibur. The reason
is that the tzibur is mochel on the time it
takes to roll.
If there are additional sifrei Torah, then two
(or more) are taken out. If the Sefer Torah
needs to be rolled, it should be done during
the reading from the first one. Others have
a custom to roll if necessary during pesukei
d’zimrah so the sefer Torah is ready to use
when needed.
Occasionally, the wrong sefer Torah is
taken, and the mistake is only discovered
after it is already opened on the bimah.
What should one do in this situation?
Returning the first sefer Torah when taking
the second out is embarrassing, and this
may outweigh the issue of burdening the
public. Also, people might say that the first
sefer Torah is posul and that is why it is
being returned. Others maintain that there
is no issue with doing so. Harav Moshe
Feinstein zt”l maintains that either option is
acceptable. If the tzibur does not care, then
the first sefer Torah should be rolled. He
says that most people today don’t mind.

Others say that one should not return the
first sefer because of a disgrace to the sefer
Torah.
Called Kohen But…
It is very common that a shul has only one
kohen. If he is called for an aliyah, and the
gabbai did not realize that the kohen is in
middle of davening and cannot accept the
aliyah (such as krias shema), we do not
wait for the kohen to finish since it is a
burden for the public. A yisroel takes his
place.
This applies even before the sefer Torah is
taken out. The public should not delay
taking out the Sefer Torah so the kohen can
be ready for the aliyah.
Choosing Better Sefer Torah
If an older sefer Torah is in front of the
Aron Kodesh, and a nicer one is behind it,
one should reach past the older one as long
as it is not pasul.
Adding Aliyahs
We generally call up seven people to the
Torah on Shabbos. It is permitted to add
to this number, but one should not
burden the public with many additional
aliyos.
Since the custom today is that each
person makes their own beracha when
getting any aliyah, it is not proper to add
berachos by adding aliyos. However, if
there is a need to do so like a bris or
chosson, it is permitted. In any case
there should not be more than ten aliyos.
Some maintain that the custom is to add
aliyos after seven usuall aliyos have
already been called up. Others have the
custom not to add to the aliyos on
Shabbos.
When reading two parshios on
Shabbos, revii should end the first
parsha and start at least three
pesukim from the second parsha.
Adding aliyos to the second parsha
is not an issue.
The custom is not to add aliyos on
Yom Tov (except for simchas
Torah). However, if Yom Tov falls
on Shabbos we treat it like Shabbos
and do add.
Kel Malei
When saying a kel malei, one should
be careful not to say too many, for

the many names is a burden to the public.
Rather one should say one kel malei for all
names.
Hallel and Singing
During the week people are often davening
at a specific minyan because they know that
if thye daven there they will make it to
work on time. On Rosh Chodesh, when
reciting hallel most shuls do not sing songs
during hallal since the minyan is on a tight
schedule. However, some do sing and if the
singing is the kind that will be on every
paragraph which some actually do, it causes
a burnden on the tzibur and may not be
done. In addition, since there is singing the
minyan takes longer and passes the usual
time one is accustomed to finishing and
unfortunaetly people leave early and miss
kaddish and amen etc. This is the fault of
the chazzon who decided to sing each
stanza and causes these people to miss out
of important aspects of davening. If one
wishes to sing and be part of such a minyan
he should daven where he knows there is
singing and appreciates it,most places do
not have such minyanim and assume that
davening will take a few minutes longer
because of Hallel, not a much longer period
of time.