Laws of the Shliach Tzibbur - Rabbi Avraham Mizrachi shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast of Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 In this part of the lesson, we’ll discuss a very interesting subject: the laws of the shliach tzibbur, the prayer leader. Who is fit to be a shliach tzibbur? What are his responsibilities? What about his pay? We’ll look at these questions and more in this part of the lesson. The verse says, “She raised her voice against Me; therefore I hated her,” and our Sages applied this verse to an unfit shliach tzibbur who leads the prayers. In other words, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is not pleased with an unfit shliach tzibbur. So we need to know what makes a shliach tzibbur fit. What is required of him? Halacha sets out several requirements. The first is that he be free of transgressions. Simply put, he should not be someone who habitually commits sins. In his past, he should not have been prone to deliberately committing transgressions or doing improper things. If something happened inadvertently or under duress, or he has done teshuvah, that is all right. He should also be humble and acceptable to the community. He should have a pleasant voice that draws his listeners’ hearts, and the words of the prayers should be familiar to him so that he can daven fluently. If there is no one with all the qualities we’ve mentioned, we choose the best person in the community, one who has several of them. A shliach tzibbur who knows the meaning of the prayers, understands the words, and understands the intention behind the prayer has a greater advantage than someone who may chant more beautifully or be older but does not understand the words. It may be right to prefer the younger person, the one who sings less well, if he understands the words. That is extremely important. As we said in the introduction to the lessons on prayer, intention is very important in davening. When we have a choice between two prayer leaders, one has the advantage

02:35 Speaker 2 of distinguished lineage. His ancestors were tzaddikim. He has merits of his own, and his ancestors were also great tzaddikim. On the other hand, there is a shliach tzibbur who himself meets the criteria, but whose ancestors were not tzaddikim. That very fact gives him an advantage: he is more humble, approaches the task with less self-assurance, and relies less on the merit of his ancestors. So the first has the advantage that the merit of his ancestors protects him—a tzaddik, the son of a tzaddik—while the second has the advantage of humility. The Alter Rebbe says that it all depends on the balance between the righteousness of the first man and his ancestors, and the humility of the second. In other words, if the second man is very humble while the first man’s parents were not such great tzaddikim, we would prefer the second. But if the reverse is true—the ancestors were very great tzaddikim and the second man’s humility is not so exceptional—we would prefer the first. A certain disability does not disqualify a person from being a shliach tzibbur. But if he has visible physical blemishes, it is not considered respectful to present before Hakadosh Boruch Hu a shliach tzibbur with visible blemishes. On the other hand, blindness does not prevent a person from being a shliach tzibbur; he can lead the prayers even though he cannot see. As for the shliach tzibbur’s age, on the Yamim Nora’im—Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—and on public fast days, it is important to appoint someone who is truly elderly, or the most senior of the mature members of the community. During the rest of the year, someone aged twenty or older is qualified to serve as a regular shliach tzibbur. Someone under twenty who is eighteen or older and whose beard has already grown, as halacha puts it, is also fit to serve. If no shliach tzibbur of those ages—twenty or eighteen—is available, then of course someone aged

04:59 Speaker 2 thirteen or older is fit to serve, if without that bar mitzvah boy serving as shliach tzibbur there would be no prayer with a minyan at all. In that case, he should certainly lead the prayers. All this concerns a regular appointment. On an occasional basis, there is no obstacle to a younger shliach tzibbur serving: if he is thirteen or older, he may serve occasionally, but not on a regular basis. How should someone serving as shliach tzibbur conduct himself? Halacha says that it is proper for him to be the first to enter the shul and the last to leave. The congregants leave, and the shliach tzibbur leaves afterward. All this shows how much importance he attaches to davening and how dear it is to him. He arrives earlier and leaves later, giving honor and importance to the prayers. It is proper that someone whose mouth serves as the community’s representative before Hakadosh Boruch Hu—a kind of intermediary between Hakadosh Boruch Hu and the Jewish people, who depend on his prayers as shliach tzibbur—should have a clean, pure mouth. But if, G-d forbid, he uses foul language or sings tunes during the prayers that are inappropriate, tunes associated with idol worship and the like, he is admonished. If he does not change his behavior, he is removed from his position. If, in addition to serving as chazzan, the shliach tzibbur has other work—perhaps he works in shechitah or somewhere else that is not so clean—and his clothes become stained or smell unpleasant, he should not lead the prayers in those clothes. He certainly needs to change them. More than that, he should not even walk among people in those work clothes, lest, G-d forbid, he cause the opposite of a kiddush Hashem. The shliach tzibbur should be liked by the community and should correct them in matters of serving Hashem.

07:07 Speaker 2 In other words, when something needs correcting or clarification, he should point it out. Of course, he should speak pleasantly and in a way people can accept, but he should not turn a blind eye. He should also know how to attend properly to the community’s needs. For that reason, halacha says he must not be a fool. That is, he must be perceptive enough to understand the community’s needs and deal with them properly. There are laws governing how the chazzan leads the prayers, too. Here as well there are rules and guidelines, and halacha says: “He should not prolong his prayers because of the burden on the community.” It is very important to respect the community’s time and not draw out the prayers so much that it becomes a burden. Prayer should be conducted with seriousness, awe, and reverence. When a shliach tzibbur embellishes his singing with melodies and tunes, his intention should always be to rejoice in his lot, thanking Hakadosh Boruch Hu and davening with melody and song. His aim should not be to show off his voice or take pleasure in his talents. If it is, that is unacceptable, and the verse we mentioned at the beginning of the lesson applies to this as well: “She raised her voice against Me; therefore I hated her.” The shliach tzibbur must know how to pronounce the words of the prayers correctly and precisely. But if he is in a place where everyone is, in the language of halacha, “inarticulate”—they do not pronounce the words correctly—and he is part of that community, he may lead the prayers there, since everyone davens in that way. A shliach tzibbur who has been appointed to the position on a regular basis may go to the lectern and lead the prayers without being asked each time, since that is his appointment and his role. But if there is no regular shliach tzibbur, and a different person leads each time, it is not proper for him to go up on his own. He should be asked once, then twice, and on the third time he goes up. And of course, if a leading member of the community—whether the gabbai or if

09:24 Speaker 2 If the local rabbi asks him to lead the prayers, he may go up immediately, because one does not refuse a person of stature. Likewise, if something happens to the shliach tzibbur in the middle of the prayers and he needs to be replaced, this is not the time to delay, since holding up the prayers is unseemly. The replacement should go up directly. As for the shliach tzibbur’s clothing: because he represents the congregation, he must dress in a way that honors them. That is why halachah insists that he not lead the prayers with his arms uncovered, okay? For this reason, one wears a jacket or a tallis, and it is also proper for him to wear long pants so that his legs are not visible. Now, who decides who will be the shliach tzibbur? Remember, “shliach tzibbur” means that the congregation sends him; he is their representative. But if he appoints himself to lead the prayers without being chosen, and certainly if he pushes his way in without regard for the congregation’s wishes, he is not considered a shliach tzibbur at all—to the point that one does not answer amen to his blessings. His entire role is to represent the congregation. The accepted practice is therefore for the majority of the congregation to choose a suitable shliach tzibbur. By “the majority,” we mean the majority of those who contribute to his salary. Halachah even addresses situations in which a non-Jewish government wanted to decide who would be the shliach tzibbur, and that is not acceptable, because “their rock is not like our Rock.” They do not decide for us what happens in the shul. Rather, everything is determined by the minyan that prays there. Of course, care must always be taken to avoid disputes and to handle things pleasantly and peacefully. Halachah recommends paying a shliach tzibbur rather than having him serve as a volunteer, for two reasons. First, once the position is a paid appointment, it is occupied and is not, uh, open to anyone who steps forward wanting to lead the prayers, even if he is unfit. The position is

11:41 Speaker 2 already filled by someone who is paid. Not just anyone who steps forward can serve as shliach tzibbur. Another reason is that when the shliach tzibbur is paid, he has a greater responsibility to carry out his sacred work properly. The last issue we’ll touch on regarding the shliach tzibbur is replacing someone who already holds the position but now finds it difficult to lead all the prayers without help. If there is no clear local custom for handling such a situation, he may bring in an assistant. And if he chooses his son to help him as an assistant and support in leading the prayers, that is perfectly fine, because a person’s son takes precedence over anyone else—provided, of course, that he can take his father’s place in the essential qualities required of a shliach tzibbur. Even if his voice is not quite as pleasant as his father’s, he still has priority over others. After his father’s passing, too, the son succeeds him and takes precedence over anyone else. If there is a clear custom for what to do when the shliach tzibbur grows older, then everything follows that custom. And if the custom is to engage him from the outset for a fixed term, then when that term ends there is no concern about replacing him with another shliach tzibbur, because that is the local custom. What happens if they find a shliach tzibbur with greater abilities? There is already someone serving in the position, and he is doing fine, but they want someone who surpasses him. It is not proper to remove the first chazzan just because they found someone better. If the majority nevertheless want to bring in a more

13:57 Speaker 2 capable shliach tzibbur, then the two should share the role. In other words, there should be a place for both of them, rather than the first being pushed aside entirely in favor of the second.