5785/2025
You may have noticed various practices regarding whether the Sefer Torah should be opened or closed when reciting the Brachah. Let us explore how these divergent views emerged:
Megillah 32a
Megillah 32a records a dispute between Rabi Meir and Rabi Yehuda (translation from the William Davidson edition of the Talmud).
The Sages taught in a baraita: When a person reads from the Torah, he should open the scroll and see the place from where he will read, furl it so that it is closed, and recite the blessing, and then he should again open the scroll, and read. This is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda said: He should open the scroll, and see the place from where he will read, and, without closing it again, he should recite the blessing, and read.
The Gemara explains the root of this debate:
The Gemara asks: What is the reason for Rabbi Meir’s opinion that the blessing is not recited over an open scroll? The Gemara answers: in order that people should not say that the blessings are written in the Torah. And Rabbi Yehuda is not concerned about this, as he claims there is no concern about people erring. People will realize the blessings are not actually part of the Torah’s text because they are recited by each person who reads.
The Gemara concludes:
Rabbi Zeira said that Rav Mattana said: The halakha is that he should open the scroll, see the place from which he will read, and, without closing it again, he should recite the blessing and read.
Rambam vs. Tosafot
The Gemara seems to resolve this question clearly – the Halachah follows Rabi Yehuda that we recite the Brachah with the Sefer Torah open. Indeed, the Rambam (Hilchot Tefillah 12:5) and the Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 139:4) rule accordingly.
However, Tosafot (Megillah 32a s.v. Golelo) write that even Rabi Yehuda agrees that closing the Torah when reciting the Brachah is preferable. Tosafot begins the Ashkenazic tradition of blending Rabi Yehuda's and Rabi Meir's opinions.
Three Ashkenazic Traditions
The Rama (O.C. 139:4) sets forth a means to satisfy Rabi Yehuda’s concern for undue delay and confusion created by closing the Torah after opening it to find the place (closing it makes the Ba’al Korei struggling a second time to find the place). The Rama recommends keeping the Torah open when reciting the Brachah but turning one’s head away to avoid creating the impression that the brachot are written in the Torah.
However, the Taz (O.C. 139:4 ) questions the Rama’s solution. He argues that turning away from the Torah upon which one recites a Brachah is wrong. Turning away disconnects one from the Torah, upon which one recites a Brachah. The Mishnah Berurah (139:18; following the Chayei Adam 31:12) prefers closing one’s eyes when reciting the Brachah to avoid making people think that the Brachot are written in the Torah. The problem with this suggestion is that only part of the synagogue attendees notice that his eyes are closed.
The Biur Halachah (139:4 s.v. v’ro’eh) records that some Ashkenazic communities customarily close the Torah after first looking at it, following Tosafot's view. Anyone who has received an aliyah in Elizabeth, New Jersey, knows this is the local minhag (Rav Elazar Meyer Teitz confirmed this to me). The Bi'ur Halachah concludes that each community should follow its minhag.
Sephardic Practice
Although one would expect Sephardic Jews to follow the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch's view, Rav David Yosef (Halachah Berurah 139:4) notes that Sephardic Jews customarily follow the Ari z”l to cover the Torah with its cloth when reciting the Brachah. In this way, he avoids making others think that the Brachot are written in the Torah. If a Sephardic Torah lacks a cloth or if a Sephardic Jew receives an aliya in an Ashkenazic minyan, he should follow the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch and recite the Brachah with the Torah open unless the community he visits has a firm minhag otherwise.
Brachah after the Reading
Tosafot note that even Rabi Yehuda agrees with Rabi Meir that the Torah should be closed when reciting the Brachah after the Torah reading. At that point, there is no concern about delaying the Tzibbur since the Torah is closed or covered between aliyot. The Shulchan Aruch codifies this ruling and none of the commentaries dissent.
Conclusion - Rav Soloveitchik's Approach
Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (cited in Nefesh HaRav pp. 137-138 and Davening with the Rav, p. 115) recited the first Brachah on the Torah reading facing his right (even though the Rama recommended facing left). An advantage of Rav Soloveitchik's approach is that many do not know the Brachah by heart and need to look to the right to recite the Brachah. The benefit of following Rav Soloveitchik's variation of the Rama is that it removes embarrassment from those who do not know the Brachah by heart. We find numerous examples of standardizing practices to avoid shaming those who do not know (i.e., having a ba'al kore so as not to embarrass those who receive an aliya but cannot read that portion, Tosafot Megillah 21b s.v. Tanna based on Mishnah, Bikkurim 3:7 and Tosafot Bava Batra 74a Paskei). Perhaps this should become the standard practice for Ashkenazic Jews as well.
Postscript 1 – Opening the Sefer Torah
Why we must open the Torah in the first place before reciting the Brachah? To see the place in the Torah upon which we are reciting the Brachah since we must connect to that upon which we recite a Brachah. For example, we must hold the food upon which we make a Brachah (Shulchan Aruch O.C. 206:4).
Postscript 2 – Rav Soloveitchik’s Explanation of Rabi Yehuda
We set forth above the standard explanation for why Rabi Yehuda does not want us to close the Sefer Torah – Tircha D’Tzibura, causing unnecessary delay. Rav Soloveitchik explains that opening the Sefer Torah generates an obligation to read from the Torah and closing it reverses this process.