USCJ Review - Fall 2004

Participation in the Torah Service by Jews Who are Blind

by Rabbi Daniel Nevins

Question

May a person who is blind read Torah for the congregation?

Responsum

Do not curse the deaf nor shall you place a stumbling block before the blind; you shall revere your God–I am Adonai. (Leviticus 19:14)

Throughout Jewish history, Jews who are blind have functioned as full members of the Jewish community, and, in many cases, as spiritual and educational leaders. In contrast to other ancient societies that scorned and persecuted people with disabilities, Judaism has taught us to see the infinite worth of human life and to preserve the safety and dignity of all people. One measure of a person’s dignity is the extent to which he or she is included in the ritual expectations of his or her community.

There is a substantial halakhic literature regarding the obligations of Jews who are blind to observe the mitzvot and their ability to fulfill various ritual requirements on behalf of themselves, their families and the congregation. In the Talmud (Bava Kama 87a), Rabbi Yehudah argued that blind Jews are exempt from the commandments, but Jewish law followed the majority view, that they are obligated for any mitzvah that is physically possible for them to fulfill.

Mishnah Megillah 4:6 specifically allows Jews who are blind to serve as Torah translators (which was an official role in talmudic times) and to lead other parts of the service. But can the blind actually read Torah?

The Prohibition of Reading Torah from Memory

Talmud Gitin 60b states that scripture must not be transmitted from memory, but only from a scroll. This statement led to the requirement that the Torah must never be chanted for the congregation by heart. Already in the ninth century, Rav Natronai Gaon used this principle to prohibit Jews who are blind from reading Torah for the congregation: “One who is blind may not chant the Torah portion because the people cannot fulfill their obligation by hearing the Torah [chanted] from memory. Rather, we need to hear from one reading the text, and not from memory... Thus even if a blind person has memorized the portion, it is forbidden to hear him in synagogue, and the obligation [to chant Torah] is not fulfilled, for they have not heard [the Torah] from the text.”

This geonic edict clearly influenced many Rishonim. Rabbi Jacob b. Asher states the prohibition very clearly: “The blind person may lead the congregation in prayer, but he specifically must not read the Torah, for one must not read Torah from memory.”

Rabbi Yosef Karo repeats this ruling in the Beit Yosef and Shulhan Arukh. Later authorities understood Rabbi Karo to prohibit the blind not only from reading Torah but even from reciting the Torah blessings while a sighted reader chanted the text. Nevertheless, the halakhah evolved in a more lenient direction, especially in the Ashkenazi world. Rabbi Moses Isserles dissents from Rabbi Karo’s strict position: “But the Maharil wrote that now we do read for the blind, just as we read the Torah for the unlettered.”

This ruling was adopted as Ashkenazi practice. The established custom is therefore that Jews who are blind may not read from memory on behalf of the congregation. Rather, they are honored with aliyot to the Torah to recite the blessings and to have the portion read on their behalf, and may certainly repeat the text softly along with the reader.

Is it possible to add one more level of participation so that Jews who are blind might somehow chant not only the Torah blessings but also the Torah text? The major objection to this proposition relates to the unique sanctity of the Torah scroll. The congregation’s obligation to read the Torah at its prescribed time is met only when a reader chants from a kosher Torah scroll. This presumably would exclude Jews who are blind from chanting from a Braille edition of the Humash in order to fulfill the obligations of the congregation. A Braille Humash, like any printed Humash, may be used as a guide, but not as a substitute for a kosher sefer Torah.

A Jew who is blind may certainly lead services, recite the Torah and haftarah blessings, and chant haftarah, whether for a bar/bat mitzvah celebration or in the normal course of services. Nevertheless, learning to read Torah is a powerful and important task in the Jewish life-cycle. It symbolizes acceptance of the Torah as a re-enactment of the revelation at Mount Sinai. For many centuries, Jews have linked their celebrations as well as their solemn commemoration of yahrzeit with the reading of Torah. Is there any method for including the blind in this sacred act?

Possible Paths around the Stumbling Block

Can a scanning device be used by a Jew who is blind to read Torah, just as visually impaired Jews use eyeglasses? In fact, such a machine, called the Optacon, does exist, although it is no longer manufactured. Dr. Abraham Nemeth, a highly proficient reader, demonstrated the use of this machine for me. This device could allow a Jew who is blind to feel the actual text of the Torah. S/he would literally read “from the writing.” Unfortunately, the Optacon is an obsolete device and is noisy and very unwieldy, even for an expert. It cannot be used to read at normal speeds, since it takes a moment to find and identify each letter. Use of such technology on Shabbat and Yom Tov would introduce new complications, such as writing.

Nevertheless, should technology improve to the point where the actual Torah scroll could be read by blind Jews, we may have an ideal solution, at least for weekdays. Further study of the developing technology is required. People who are not fully blind may certainly use magnifying devices in order to read Torah.

A better option is to distinguish the maftir reading from the rest of the parashah. Already in the Talmud (Megillah 23a), the maftir’s reading of Torah is set apart from the rest of the portion. His status as one of the mandatory seven Shabbat readers is subject to debate. According to Ulla, his repetition of a passage of Torah prior to chanting the haftarah is out of deference to the Torah, rather than fulfillment of a communal obligation.

As Rambam notes, the reader’s kaddish between the end of the portion and the maftir separates it from the seven mandatory aliyot. The barrier to reading from memory is specific to cases in which the reader is fulfilling the obligation of others. If so, then a Jew who is blind could read the maftir Torah section from a Braille Humash, since this is neither prohibited as a recitation from memory nor insufficient to fulfill a public obligation which does not truly exist.

Given what we have learned, there are three practical options for a Jew who is blind to participate in the chanting of the Torah:

When called up for his aliyah, the Jew who is blind listens to the chanting and follows in a Braille Humash. After each word or phrase, the reader pauses and allows the blind oleh to repeat the text softly. This solution has ample precedent, but it would possibly be the least satisfying to the oleh and to the congregation.
The Jew who is blind may serve as meturgamon, the official translator of the text. Although this custom has fallen into disuse (with the notable exception of the Yemenite rite), it remains a perfectly valid option. The blind reader can perform an important service for the congregation by translating the Torah into the vernacular as it is read from the scroll, verse by verse. If done for the entire portion, this might become an imposition, but it could be used as a teaching tool for a specific selection. Indeed, there has been a recent movement to reinstitute the ritual translation of Torah as a dramatic and effective educational tool.
A third option is for the congregation to complete its reading of the parashah and then to call the Jew who is blind to recite the maftir or even a longer passage from a Braille text. If the blind reader is not also saying the blessings, and the oleh is sighted, then he or she should follow in the scroll. This adaptation could not be practiced on days when maftir is a special reading, rather than a repetition of the final verses of the portion. The congregation would have already discharged its obligation to have the parashah chanted in the established format from the Torah scroll. The blind reader would obligate him or herself for the additional reading and blessings.

These solutions all preserve our reverence for the sacred act of chanting Torah from a kosher scroll while also allowing Jews who are blind to be included in the act of publicly accepting and revering the Torah. This ritual act of blessing the Torah and chanting its words would certainly be a public sanctification of God’s name. It would ennoble the reader and inspire the congregation.

Rabbi Daniel Nevins is the spiritual leader of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI, and is a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. This article is adapted from a responsum that was approved unanimously by the CJLS on January 15, 2003. The full text with notes and Hebrew sources is available online at www.rabbinevins.org.