Honoring Torah Scholars and Commemorating Donors: Order of Priorities in the Synagogue
The seating of Torah Scholars in the Synagogue
Q: Must rabbis be seated at the front of the synagogue facing the congregation?
A: Our Sages said: “How would the elders sit? Their faces toward the people and their backs toward the kodesh (the Holy Ark containing Torah scrolls)" (Tosefta Megillah 3:14). Several early authorities wrote similarly (Rif, Rosh, Rambam, Tur, and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 150:5).
At first glance, this implies that the elders literally turned their backs to the Holy Ark. However, it may be interpreted that “their backs toward the kodesh" means toward the side where the Ark stood, but not that they actually turned their backs directly to it. This is how the Meiri explained (Megillah 25b; see also Responsa Chatam Sofer, Orach Chaim 29, 35).
Regarding the seating of the congregation, the Rambam wrote:
“All the people sit row after row, with the face of each row toward the back of the row before it, until all the people face the kodesh area, the elders, and the ark"
(Hilchot Tefillah 11:4).
Who Are the “Elders" Who Sat Facing the People?
The elders (zekainim) who sat facing the people were the Torah sages, as our Sages said:
“There is no elder except one who has acquired wisdom" (Kiddushin 32b; Sifra Kedoshim).
They were called elders because, naturally, when people devoted Sabbaths and festivals to Torah study, and even on weekdays fixed times for learning, those who had studied Torah for more years, and accumulated more life experience, were wiser in understanding the Torah.
The Reason for the Halakha
By seating the elders at the front of the synagogue, the entire congregation honored the Torah and its sages. As a result, the desire among the worshipers was strengthened to engage in Torah, to follow God’s ways, and to increase goodness and blessing in the world.
In addition, by facing the people, the sages expressed honor to all who entered the synagogue-God’s beloved children who came to pray before Him, and to learn the Torah He gave them (see Beit Yosef 150:5; Har Tavor 7).
Why Some Communities Did Not Practice This
In practice, although many Jewish communities observed this custom, there were communities that did not. In the ancient work The Differences Between the People of the East and the Land of Israel, it is stated that in Babylonia they practiced as described in the Tosefta, whereas in the Land of Israel, they practiced differently.
Similarly, in the period of the Rishonim (early authorities), many Ashkenazic communities did not seat Torah sages at the front of the synagogue. Likewise, in North Africa and Yemen, many communities were not strict about this.
Several reasons were given to explain the custom of communities that did not seat Torah sages at the front:
1) Some communities funded synagogue maintenance by selling seats. The closer the seat was to the front, the higher its price, with the first row being the most expensive. If these seats were reserved for scholars, it would have been difficult to maintain the synagogue (Levush Orach Chaim 150:5; Taz §2; Mishnah Berurah §14).
2) Choosing which elders should sit in the mizrach (east) could lead to disputes, since it is sometimes difficult to determine who the Torah sages of the community truly are. Attempting to decide this could cause conflict. To avoid quarrels, they refrained from seating elders at the front. Similar to the rabbinic enactment that a kohen (priest) is called first to the Torah “for the sake of peace," even when others may be more distinguished (Mishnah Gittin 5:8-9).
In this vein, Rabbi Abraham son of the Rambam wrote in the book Ha’maspikLaOvdei Hashem, chapter 25, that sometimes rabbis grow arrogant over the public, and it is therefore not fitting for them to sit in the east.
The Custom of Izmir
Rabbi Chaim Palaggi wrote (Kaf HaChaim 11:27) that in Izmir, Turkey, the sages sat near the entrance. He explained that perhaps this was done to prevent lightheaded people from sitting near the entrance in a way that would make synagogue attendance seem burdensome to them. Alternatively, it may have been because all worshipers customarily kissed the hands of the rabbis, and they did not want to trouble them to walk all the way to the Ark.
The Custom of Some Sephardic Communities to Sit in a “Horseshoe" Formation
In later generations, many Sephardic synagogues abolished the custom of seating elders facing the congregation, instead seating the rabbis in the center beside the bimah, with the entire congregation facing the bimah. In this way, all were united in prayer and song around the rabbis and the cantor. This seating arrangement also existed in some Ashkenazic synagogues.
Nevertheless, even with this arrangement, it is still possible to preserve the teaching of our Sages by seating the elders at the front of the synagogue, on both sides of the Ark.
Ideally, Rabbis Should Be Seated in the ‘Mizrach‘
Although we find various communities that practiced not seating rabbis in the “mizrach"-that is, at the front of the synagogue facing the congregation-it is proper to return to the original custom recorded by the Tannaim in the Tosefta, and ruled by most of the early authorities.
This was the practice in many Jewish communities, and it is possible that it was the practice in the majority of them. This is done in order to honor the Torah, and increase its influence.
The Abandonment of the Custom in Recent Generations
In recent generations, through a gradual process, even communities that previously seated rabbis in the ‘mizrach’ ceased doing so. Apparently, the primary reason was the disappointment of many community members with the conduct of rabbis who, out of great fear for preserving tradition, instituted many stringencies and thereby nullified sacred commandments and values.
Thus, there were rabbis who opposed the mitzvah of Yishuv Ha-Aretz (settling the Land of Israel), the obligation to defend the people and the Land through service in the IDF, opposed scientific studies, and diminished the value of working for a living and proper conduct, that precede Torah. Some even stirred disputes over these matters.
In such a situation, many preferred that rabbis handle religious services-such as kosher supervision, marriage and divorce, mikveh, and eruv-but not be given a position of honor that they might use to provoke disputes and undermine sacred values. For this reason, in many communities there is no desire to appoint a rabbi.
The Solution
However, the solution is not to abolish the status of Torah scholars, but rather to be careful to seat in the “mizrach" elders who are faithful to all the commandments and values of the Torah of Israel: Torah and settlement of the Land, commandments between man and God, commandments between man and his fellow, and proper conduct that precedes Torah.
To emphasize the full range of Torah values, it is also proper to seat at the front of the synagogue Torah scholars who have achieved distinction in science, settlement of the Land, and the military. They too are included among the elders worthy of honor, so that they may serve as role models for the younger generation.
Even where disputes do not allow seating the elders facing the congregation, at the very least, the rabbi should be seated there, fulfilling the verse:
“Your eyes shall behold your teachers" (Heichal Yitzchak, Orach Chaim 9).
The Practice of Rabbi Gustman
I learned the idea of seating Torah scholars from other fields from the late Dr. Feingold, who told me of the practice of Rabbi Yisrael Ze’ev Gustman, of blessed memory. In the Netzach Yisrael yeshiva, he seated in the “mizrach" Torah scholars who were also professors-Professor Menachem Elon, Deputy President of the Supreme Court, and Professor Halperin, a physicist.
He also asked Professor Aumann-who later received the Nobel Prize in Economics-to sit in the ‘mizrach‘, but out of humility, he preferred to sit with the rest of the congregation. When asked, “How does the rabbi choose whom to seat in the ‘mizrach‘?"-understanding the question as referring to why he seated professors who were not rabbis-he replied: “Here in the Land of Israel, we must care for malchut (Kingship), and these are people who symbolize malchut."
“Malchut" apparently refers to the various systems upon which the nation is built. It should also be noted that these professors were outstanding Torah scholars.
Commemorating Donors
Q: Should one accede to the request of a person who donated a large sum toward building the synagogue, to place a plaque stating: “This synagogue was built with the assistance of the donation of so-and-so"?
A: If he was indeed a significant partner, his request should be granted. Such an incident occurred in the days of the Rashba in Spain, when a wealthy man agreed to expand the synagogue at his own expense and on his own land, but demanded that this be written on the synagogue entrance.
Some worshipers were displeased, and asked the Rashba whether it was appropriate. He ruled that his request should be fulfilled for two reasons: first, the land was his; second, it is the way of our Sages and the pious to publicize those who perform mitzvot, “in order to give reward to those who do mitzvot… and if the Torah did so (that publicized those who performed the mitzvah), we must follow the ways of the Torah, which are ways of pleasantness" (Responsa Rashba I:581).
Many later authorities ruled likewise (Rema, Yoreh De’ah 249:13; Magen Avraham, Orach Chaim 154:23; Mishnah Berurah §59; Peninei Halakha - Faith and Its Mitzvot 23:7).
Donations from Non-Jews and Commemorative Plaques
Q: May one accept a donation from a non-Jew for a synagogue, and is it proper to mention this on a commemorative plaque?
A: Just as we accept from a non-Jew-even an idol-worshiper-a burnt offering in the Temple (Peninei Halakha - Faith and Its Mitzvot 5:3), so too, it is permissible to accept from him a donation for a synagogue, such as a donation to purchase a lamp
(Arakhin 6a; Tosafot, Bava Batra 8a; Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah 259:4; Rema 254:2).
However, charity for the poor may not be accepted from non-Jews, both because it entails a desecration of God’s Name-since Jews would appear dependent on non-Jews-and because charity atones for sin, and perhaps through it, their sins would be atoned, and they would continue to subjugate Jews.
Gifts and synagogue donations, however, are accepted, since they are not intended for atonement (Hagahot Ashri; Taz Yoreh De’ah 254:4). There is no desecration of God’s Name in this, as through his donation, he wishes to participate with Israel in the service of God.
One may not accept a donation from a Christian who seeks to convert Jews. However, from Christians who have undertaken not to proselytize Jews, it is permissible to accept a donation for a synagogue-and all the more so, from lovers of Israel.
In general, it is permissible to mention the non-Jew on a commemorative plaque, and this even constitutes a sanctification of God’s Name. Some, however, fear that this may harm the honor of Israel, by implying that Jews alone did not contribute sufficiently (Yad Yitzchak III:271). In practice, the local rabbi must decide the matter.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.