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Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Reading and Righting

May 11, 2023

Q Should I correct a ba’al korei’s mistake?

A The Rambam (Hilchos Tfilah 12:6) writes that a ba’al korei should be corrected. Other Rishonim say to refrain, to avoid embarrassing him (Tur O.C. 142 quoting Sefer Hamanhig).

The Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 142:1) codifies the Rambam’s ruling. The Rama mostly agrees but sets a limit: One should send the ba’al korei back (i.e., even if he has moved on—Teshuvos Vehanhagos 1:147) only for a mistake that changes the meaning, not for an error in trop (cantillation) or nikud (vowels); but even in those cases, the correction should be shouted (only if the error is caught before he continued reading—ibid.).

The Mishnah Brurah (ibid. 4) points out that even nikud mistakes sometimes change the meaning, e.g., from future tense to past; for those, the ba’al korei should be sent back. And in certain cases, even the wrong trop can change the meaning (ibid.). Conversely, if a letter is omitted (or added) and the meaning is not affected, one need not go back (ibid.).

If an entire word was omitted, even one that does not affect the meaning, the ba’al korei must be sent back (Biur Halacha ibid. s.v. Aval).

Some poskim are more lenient, like the Derech Hachaim (cited in Biur Halacha ibid. s.v. Ein), who says that even mistakes that change the meaning don’t need to be corrected. Ask your rav or gabbai which view your shul follows. The practice in many shuls, from what I’ve observed, is to correct all mistakes when caught immediately, except those of trop.

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