Category: Focus on What We Teach (Winter 2004)
Our students access our tradition by encountering the Jewish bookcase. As educators we seek to promote a direct encounter – rather than a teacher-mediated encounter – between the student and the text. The educator is a facilitator, a guide, hoping to empower the student to personally experience the texts of our heritage. The ability to study Jewish texts is predicated on the ability to decipher the language. For students unfamiliar with the lexicon of our tradition, this can be a gargantuan task. Accurate reading is a sine qua non ingredient for unimpeded access to original texts and is paramount in the quest for knowledge and understanding.
Rabbi Mordekhai Yaffe (1530-1612), active leader in the Council of the Four Lands, rabbi in various cities in Poland and Lithuania and halakhic codifier, recorded the following vignette: [1]
.שהיה איש אחד שמו ר' עזריה בן מורינו הרב ר' ידידיה, שהיה חסיד גדול ופרוש גדול ומופלג בפרד"ס, בא בחלום לחברו ר' גדליה, ואמר לו שנה אחר מותו הביאו אותו לבית דין של מעלה. אמרו לו: שים עיניך למרום...
וראיתי כמו פרחים קטנים ככוכבי השמים לרוב ומיד נפלה עלי חרדה גדולה ורתתו כל אברי וברכי, ואמרתי: מה אלה המה? והשיבו לי: אלו הנקודות אשר בזית והתפללת ציר'י מקום שו'א וחירי'ק במקום שורי'ק וכו' ושארי חלופים, ואשר דלגת אותיות במה"
שלא נתת ריוח בין הדביקים. אלו אותיות והנקודות אשר קלקלת מעולם, אחד מהם לא נעדר, כלם מקטרגים ומבקשים דין לאמר – פלוני זה בזונו והכלימנו ומנע אותנו מלהיות נמנין בכתר עליון! וה' אוהב משפט, ומשפטיך זה חרוץ: להיות מגולגל, אולי תתקן אשר עוית. ולולי מעשיך הטובים אשר הגינו עליך היה דינך חמור מאד מאד. והלכתי בפסק דין זה שמח וטוב לב
.והעלינו כל זה על הכתב למען ידעו דור אחרון יקומו ויספרו לבניהם ובניהם לבניהם, אולי יקחו מוסר
ואנשי העיר ההוא מיד בשמעם זאת הפליאה שלחו למרחוק כמו חמשים פרסה שהיה שם איש אחד ושמו מורינו הרב משה חיים מדקדק, ולקחוהו להקהלה שלהם להיות להם לרב ולפטרון וללמדם חכמות הדקדוק. והרגילו עצמם כל הקהלה – המה ובניהם ובני בניהם – בחכמות הדקדוק, וקל וחומר שהיו נזהרים באותיות ונקודות וליתן ריוח בין הדבקים ולקרות המפיק ה'א בכל מקום שהוא. ומיום שבא המדקדק הנזכר לעיל לעירם, נתקבלה תפלתם ולא אירע להם שום צרה ומכשול ופוקה. כה יתן הא-ל להם ולכל ישראל עד ביאת הגואל, אמן.
…There was a man whose name was Rabbi Azarya the son of our great master, Rabbi Yedidya, who was very pious and a profound ascetic with vast knowledge in Pardes (an acronym or the four primary levels of relating to text: Peshat, Remez, Derash, Sod). He appeared in a dream to his friend Rabbi Gedalya, and told him that a year after his death he was brought before the Heavenly Court. They said to him: Look up to the heavens.
“And I saw something like little flowers as numerous as the stars of the heaven, and immediately I felt greatly alarmed and my limbs and knees began to tremble, and I said: What are these? And they responded to me: These are the dots that you have treated with contempt when you prayed [and pronounced] sērê (אֵ) instead of šewa (אְ) and hîreq (אִ) in place of šûreq (אֻ), and other such changes. And you skipped letters when you neglected to pause between [similar] consonants. These are the letters and the dots that you have spoiled forever - not a single one is missing - they are all denouncing [you] and demanding justice, saying: This man has disgraced us and brought shame upon us and prevented us from being included in the Heavenly Crown! And as God loves justice, your sentence is determined – [Your soul will] be transmigrated, perhaps you can repair the damage that you have wrought. And were it not for your good deeds that have protected you, your judgment would indeed have been severe. And I went in the wake of this judgment, happy and content at heart.”
We have put all this into writing so that later generations will know, they will be aroused and will tell their children, and their children [will in turn tell] their children, perhaps they will learn a lesson.
Immediately upon hearing this amazing story, the people of that town sent a great distance – some fifty parsangs – for a person named Rabbi Moshe Hayim the grammarian, and they took him for their community to serve as a rabbi and patron and to teach them the wisdom of grammar. The entire community - themselves, their children and their grandchildren – became attuned to the wisdom of of grammar, and it goes without saying that they were careful in [the pronunciation of] letters and vowels, pausing between the consonants and putting the mappiq he in every appropriate place. And from the day that the aforementioned grammarian came to their town, their prayers were accepted and no trouble, obstacle or hardship occurred to them. Thus God should grant them and all of Israel until the coming of the redeemer, Amen.
Clearly, Rabbi Mordekhai Yaffe reported this striking and somewhat frightening image – the attack of the letters and vowels – with a pedagogic purpose in mind: “So that later generations will know, they will be aroused and will tell their children, and their children will in turn tell their children, perhaps they will learn a lesson.” According to the account presented, the dream did indeed inspire the people of the city to change their ways, and it appears that Rabbi Mordekhai Yaffe recorded the incident in order to have a similar affect on the reader.
In the aggadic literature we find similar condemnation of mispronunciation. Though the description is not as vivid, this passage highlights some of the pitfalls of inaccurate reading:[2]
.כתוב בה וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי (ויקרא כב, לב) – אם אתה עושה חי"ת - ה"א אתה מחריב את העולם; כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ (תהלים קנ, ו) – אם אתה עושה ה"א - חי"ת אתה מחריב את העולם
.(וכן: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד (דברים ו, ד) – אם אתה עושה דל"ת - רי"ש אתה מחריב את העולם, שנאמר כִּי לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לְאֵל אַחֵר (שמות לד, יד
.כִּחֲשׁוּ בַּה' (ירמיה ה, יב) – אם אתה עושה בית כ"ף תחריב את העולם; אֵין קָדוֹשׁ כַּה' (שמואל א' ב, ב) - אם אתה עושה כ"ף - בי"ת תחריב את העולם
.ואם אות אחת כך, כל שכן התיבה כולה
It is written in it: ‘Neither shall you profane my holy name.’ (Lev. 22:32) – if you change heţ [tehallelu = you will profane] to he [tehallelu = you will praise] you destroy the world; ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Halleluya.’ (Ps. 160:6) – if you change the letter he [tehallel = you will praise] and heţ [tehallel = you will profane] you destroy the world.
Similarly: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.’ (Deut. 6:4) – if you change dâlet [ehad = one] to reš [aher = other] you destroy the world, as it says: ‘For you shall worship no other god.’ (Ex. 34:14).
‘They have belied the Lord.’ (Jer. 5:12) – if you change bet [=belied the Lord] to kaf [=belied like the Lord] you destroy the world; ‘There is none holy as the Lord.’ (II Sam. 2:2) – if you change the kaf [=as the Lord] to bet [=within the Lord] you will destroy the world.
And if one letter is so significant, how much more so an entire word.
One aggadic passage recounts how a imprecise reading lead Yoav to misunderstand the commandment regarding the killing of the ‘Amaleqites.[3] The Biblical injunction reads (Deut. 25:16):
תִּמְחֶה אֶת זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק
Blot out the remembrance of ‘Amaleq
Yoav read זָכָר meaning males, rather than זֵכֶר (remembrance), and hence refrained from killing females.
In more recent times, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady (1745-1813), founder of the Habad hassidic movement and dynasty, carefully compiled his version of the siddur in accordance with the principles of Hebrew grammar. In this context, Rabbi Yehuda Leib,[4] the brother of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, reported that the latter stressed the importance of teaching accurate reading skills to the youth, lest they acquire bad habits, which they would not be able to change later in life.[5]
Disapproval of imprecise reading finds expression in the legal literature as well. Maimonides (1135-1204), representing the dominant halakhic attitude towards mispronunciation in Torah reading, rules that any mistake, even a mistake of one letter, requires the reader to repeat the reading.[6]
Despite the clear censure of inaccurate reading indicated by the above-cited sources, a more lenient position also finds expression in our tradition. Thus we find in another Midrash:[7]
(אמר ר' אחא: עם הארץ שקורא לאהבה איבה כגון וְאָהַבְתָּ – וְאָיַבְתָּ [כמו בקריאת שמע (דברים ו, ה) - וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ - וְאָיַבְתָּ אֵת ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ!], אמר הקב"ה: ודילוגו עלי אהבה (עפ'י שיר השירים ב, ד
(אמר ר' יששכר: תינוק שקורא למֹשֶה - מַשֶה, לאַהֲרֹן - אַהֲרַן, לעֶפְרֹן - עֶפְרַן, אמר הקב"ה ולגלוגו עלי אהבה (עפ'י שיר השירים ב, ד
Rabbi Aha said: an ignorant person who reads eivah [=enmity] instead of ahava [=love] for example ve’ahavta – ve’ayavta [as in the recitation of the Shema (Deut. 6:5) – ‘And you shall love (ve’ahavta) the Lord your God’ – with a change of a letter this could mean ‘And you shall be hostile (ve’ayavta) to the Lord your God’!]. [So] said the Lord: ‘And his omissions (dilugo) over me were with love’ (see Song 2:4 where the text uses the word diglo – his banner).
Rabbi Yissakhar said: A child who calls Moshe – Mashe, Aharon – Aharan, Efron – Efran, thus said the Lord: ‘They gave me their love in a humorous way (liglugo)’.
Echoes of this Midrash can be heard in the liturgy of the High Holy Days. In the Hineni He’ani prayer, recited in many congregations before the commencement of the Musaf service, the leader begs forgiveness for his unworthiness to represent the congregation, adding:
וִיהִי נָא דִגְלֵנוּ עָלֶיךָ אַהֲבָה
May You regard our gathering together with love
Or in other versions:
וִיהִי נָא דִלוּגֵנוּ עָלֶיךָ אַהֲבָה
May You regard our omissions [– in all likelihood referring to errors in pronunciation or deletions of letters or words from the prayers –] with love
Some authorities adopt this lenient position, excusing one who mispronounces words from the prayers or Torah reading while leading the service. Thus, Rabbi Yehuda HeHassid (1150-1217) writes:[8]
!?אם יפלא בעיניך על אותן המגמגמין בלשון וקורין לחי"ת - ה"א, ולשי"ן - סמ"ך, ולקו"ף - טי"ת, ולרי"ש - דלי"ת, איך מתפללים או איך קוראים בתורה ואומרים דבר שבקדושה, כשמגיעים נַפְשֵׁנוּ חִכְּתָה [לַה'] (תהילים לג, כ) לא נמצאו מחרפים ומגדפים
.אל תתמה על החפץ, כי בוראינו אשר הוא בֹחֵן לִבּוֹת (תהילים ז, י) אינו שואל כי אם לב האדם אשר יהיה תמים עמו, ואחרי שאינו יודע לדבר כענין, מעלה עליו כאלו אומר יפה
וכן אותם הקוראים פסוקי דזמרה בקול רם ונעים זמר, ואינם יודעים הפסוקים ואומרים בטעות, תפלתם וזמירותם מתקבל כריח נחוח. וגם הקב"ה שמח עליו שמחה גדולה ואומר כמה הוא מזמר לפני לפי דעתו, על זה נאמר וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה (שיר השירים ב, ד) - מעילתו עלי אהבה. בְּמִשְׁפָּט לֹא יִמְעַל פִּיו (משלי טז, י) מתרגמינן - לא ידגל[9] פומיה
.מעשה בכהן אחד שהיה פורש כפיו ואומר יִשְׁמְדֶךָ (במקום יִשְׁמְרֶךָ – במדבר ו, כד), והיה שם חכם אחד והעבירו מלפני התיבה לפי שאינו יודע לחתוך האותיות אשר בברכת כהנים, והראוהו מן השמים לאותו חכם כי אם לא יחזרנו יענש בדבר
If you wonder how those who stutter when they speak and read heţ as he and šin as samekh and quf as tet and reš as dâlet, how do they pray and how do they read the Torah and say matters of holiness? For when they reach, ‘Our soul waited for the Lord’ (Ps. 33:20), are they not cursing and blaspheming [by pronouncing hikta, meaning smote, rather than hikta meaning waited]!?
Do not be surprised. Our Creator who examines hearts (Ps. 7:10) asks only for pure intent, and since he does not know how to speak properly it is considered as if he spoke nicely.
Similarly, those who recite Pesukei Dezimra in a loud voice and with pleasant tunes, yet do not know the verses and make mistakes, their prayers and singing are accepted as a sweet-smelling offering. Furthermore, it gives God great joy, and he says – Oh, how this person is singing before me, according to his ability. About this it says: ‘And his banner upon me was love.’ (Song 2:4) – his transgression to me is a show of love; ‘His mouth does not transgress (ma’al) in judgment.’ (Prov. 16:10) – we translate: his mouth is not trickery (yidgol).
There is an anecdote about a certain Kohen who would spread his hands [to bless the congregation] and say: ‘and you shall be destroyed’ (=yishmedekha, instead of yishmerekha – Num. 6:24), and there was a sage there who removed him from before the ark, because he did not know how to pronounce the letters in the Priestly Blessing. [Subsequently,] the sage was shown from the Heavens that if he would not reinstate him [=the Kohen], he [=the sage] would be punished.
Similarly, Rabbi Avraham ben Natan HaYarhi (1155-1215), basing himself on the above Midrash, adopts the more lenient position:[10]
אם טעה הקורא בתורה או החזן המקרא אותו, טוב לו שלא להגיה על שגגותיו מלהלבין את פניו ברבים כי אע'פ שטעה יצא ידי קריאה. דאמרי' במדרש - מנין שאם קרא לאהרן - הרן, ולאברהם - אברם שיצא ידי חובתו, שנאמר וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה (שיר השירים ב, ד) פי' ושקר שלו, במשלי קֶסֶם עַל שִׂפְתֵי מֶלֶךְ בְּמִשְׁפָּט לֹא יִמְעַל פִּיו (משלי טז, י) - בדינא לא לידגול[11] פומיה
.אך אם טעו ביתרון אות אחת או בחסרון או שקרא לדלת - ריש, או לריש - דלת, בדבר שהוא כלפי מעלה שהוא כמחריב את העולם אין עצה ואין תבונה לנגד ה' (עי' משלי כא, ל), ויש עלינו להגיה לו בקול רם עד שיחזור בו לקראות כהוגן וכדת...
If the Torah reader or the leader guiding him made a mistake, it is preferable not to correct his errors rather than to shame him in public, for even though he erred he has fulfilled the obligation of reading [the Torah]. For we say in the Midrash – from where do we know that if someone read Aharon as Haran and Abraham as Abram that he has fulfilled his obligation, as it says, ‘And his banner (diglo) over me was love’ (Song 2:4) meaning his trangression [not his banner], as in Proverbs, ‘A divine sentence is in the lips of the king, his mouth does not transgress (ma’al) in judgment.’ (Prov. 16:10) – [translated in the Targum as:] his mouth does not transgress (lidgol) in judgment…
However, if they erred by adding a letter or by leaving [one] out or by reading dâlet as reš or reš as dâlet, in a matter which with regards to Heavens appears like he devastates the world - there is no counsel nor understanding against the Lord (see Prov. 21:30), and we must correct him in a loud voice until he returns to read properly and in accordance with the law.
This ruling is adopted as normative by Rabbi Yoel Sirkis (1561-1640) in his Bayit Hadash.[12] The codifiers, however, have generally not accepted this position.
Down to our times, both the strict and lenient positions appear in the halakhic literature. Of particular interest is the ruling of Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi (1925-1998) who quotes the accepted ruling and then adds the more lenient position:[13]
ועתה נוהגים לצער השליח צבור ולהחזירו על כל דקדוק קטן אף שאין העניין משתנה, ולא טוב עושים, ולכן נעתיק סברת החולקים (אף שאין הלכה כמותם) כדי ללמוד מהם חומרת העניין, והוא סברת בעל המנהיג, שאם טעה הקורא או החזן, טוב שלא להגיה עליו על שגגותיו ברבים שלא להלבין פניו כי לדעתו יצא בדיעבד. וטעם הלבנת פנים ודאי שחמור הוא עד מאד. ועוד נראה להוסיף טעם שהנסיון מוכיח שכאשר מחזירין את הקורא גורמים לו בלבול מחשבה ומוסיף לטעות גם אחר כך מתוך בלבול ולכן טוב שלא להחזירו בטעות שאין העניין משתנה. וגם אז רע המעשה שכל הצבור כולו קופצים להחזירו, ומה טוב שיעמוד על יד הקורא אדם נבון ויודע ספר, ורק הוא בלבד יחזיר הקורא על טעויותיו
And now we are accustomed to trouble the leader of the congregation and to make him go back for every mistake, even though the meaning is not altered. And this is not good practice. And therefore we will quote the opinion of those who argue (although the law does follow them) in order to learn from them the severity of the matter. And this is the opinion of the author of the Manhig, that if the reader or the leader made a mistake, it is better not to correct him in public for his errors in order not to humiliate him, for according to him (i.e. the author of the Manhig) he has post-factum fulfilled his duty. And the reason- since humiliation is certainly extremely severe. And furthermore perhaps we could add another reason, that experience proves that making the reader return confuses [his] thoughts, and he continues to make mistakes afterwards out of confusion, and therefore it is better not to make him return where the meaning is not altered. And even then, it is bad practice when the entire congregation jumps to make him return, and it would be better if a sensible well-read person would stand next to the reader, and only he will make the reader return for his mistakes.
Expressions of leniency, however, do not condone mispronunciation; they merely give priority to the value of heartfelt service or the injunction against embarrassing someone in public, or they declare that, despite the mispronunciation, an obligation has been discharged.[14]
In a recently published manuscript from the estate of Nechama Leibowitz (1902-1997), she opens by describing the objectives of teaching the book of Exodus and the commentators in middle school. There she writes:[15]
...('חשוב לנו בייחוד החינוך לקריאה מדויקת, לעיון מדוקדק בטקסט. באשר כל יהדותנו מבוססת על לימוד ספרים (ספרי קודש: מקרא, משנה, גמרא, מדרש, שאלות ותשובות וכו
Education towards precise reading and rigorous study of the text is particularly important to us, since our entire Judaism is based on studying books (holy books: Bible, Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Responsa, etc.). …
Although the author is primarily relating to issues of content – “rigorous study of the text” – she is also referring to accurate pronunciation – “precise reading” – as the key to access the texts of our heritage.
The implications of the above sources go beyond the need to teach correct grammar and pronunciation in the classroom. During recitation of Grace after Meals, prayer services and other public readings of Hebrew texts, accurate reading should be required from students and exemplified by teachers. As educators, we bear responsibility for inculcating precise and accurate reading and pronunciation in the formative years of encountering texts.[16]
[1] My thanks to my friend and teacher, Rabbi Dr. Baruch Feldstern, who shared some of the sources mentioned herein.
Though the Shulhan Arukh of Rabbi Yoseph Karo (1487-1574) has become the basis of halakhic codes, there have been other competing attempts to codify Jewish Law. One such attempt was Rabbi Mordekhai Yaffe’s Levush Malkhut. On Rabbi Mordekhai Yaffe and his literary activity, see:
;ר' חיים יוסף דוד אזולאי (1724-1806),שם הגדולים, מערכת ספרים, אות ל, סימן יב
מנחם אלון, המשפט העברי, מהדורה שלישית מורחבת ומתוקנת, ירושלים, תשנ'ב, עמ' 1160-1169.
This story is printed at the back of a small booklet of songs for the Sabbath: יצחק שליאמאוויץ מלאדז (מביא לבית הדפוס), זמירות שבת עם פירושים, פיעטרקוב, עת'ר [1910], עמ' 148
[2] Midrash Tanhuma, Warsaw edition, Bereshit, Section 1.
See the colorful poem of Al-Harizi (d. before 1235) about the ignorant leader of the service, in: חיים שירמן, השירה העברית בספרד ובפרובאנס, מהדורה שניה מתוקנת, ירושלים-תל אביב, תשי'ז, תשכ'א, ספר שני, חלק א (=כרך ג), עמ' 161-169, and about the poet, see there pp. 97-103. Much of the brilliance of this poem, is somewhat lost in translation.
[3] See B. Bava Batra 21a-b, relating to II Kings 11:14-16.
[4] Born circa 1749, rabbi in Janowice, Belorussia, and author of a commentary on the laws of salting meat, some eighty responsa on different topics and novellae on four tractates of the Talmud, all published in one volume bearing the title of the commentary on the laws of salting meat – שארית יהודה, N.Y., 1957. On Rabbi Yehuda Leib, see: אברהם חנוך גליצנשטיין, ספר התולדות – רבי שניאור זלמן מליאדי, כפר חב'ד, תשמ'ו, חלק א, עמ' 76-77, 102, 103; חלק ב, עמ' 302-303, 309, 401, 552; חלק ד, עמ' 1123, 1189 (the original sources are cited in the footnotes to this work). Rabbi Yehuda Leib related many details about Rabbi Shneur Zalman and in many fields the two men worked together; it is clear that the brothers enjoyed a special relationship (op. cit., pp. 78, 114-116, 302-303, 329ff., 342-343, 378, 383-384, 385, 388, 389-390, 392, 424, 459, 475, 510, 636ff., 763, 765, 772, 804, 1071, 1133, 1154, 1233, 1437).
[5] See ר' טוביה בלוי, "סדור התפילה של אדמו'ר הזקן", על הספרות החב"דית – לקט סקירות על ספרי חב'ד, כפר חב'ד, תשכ'ט, עמ' 33:
"דגש מיוחד שם אדמו'ר בסידור התפלה שלו על ההתאמה לדקדוק הלשון, ולפי דברי אחיו רבי יהודה לייב, ראה חשיבות מיוחדת בהקניית הנוסח המדוקדק לבני הנעורים, שלא ישתבשו בהרגלם במדה שלא תהא אח'כ אפשרות תיקון."
It is important to note that accurate pronunciation is not issue of occidental pronunciation as opposed to oriental pronunciation; within both the Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions there is correct and incorrect pronunciation.
[6] Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer, 12:6:
"קרא וטעה אפילו בדקדוק אות אחת - מחזירין אותו, עד שיקראנה בדקדוק"
This is the accepted position amongst the codifiers: Rabbi Yoseph Karo, Shulhan Arukh, OH 142:1; Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen (1839-1933), Mishna Berurah, ibid, section 4.
For possible sources of the ruling of Maimonides, as suggested by later authorities, see: B. Megilla 24b; B. Sanhedrin 99a; Y. Megilla 2:2, 73a; 4:1, 74d; 4:4, 75b.
[7] Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:4:1 (2:13). This Midrash appears slightly differently in Tosafot, Avoda Zara 22b, s.v. Ragala (see also Rabbi Yisrael Isserle of Krem (c.1340-1420), Haggahot Asheri, Shabbat, chapter 6, section 13):
"(...מנין לקורא בתורה שקרא לאהרן הרן שיוצא – פי' שאע'פ שלא יקרא האלף – שנאמר וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה (שיר השירים ב, ד..."
[8] Rabbi Yehuda HeHasid, Sefer HaHassidim, Section 18.
[9] In the standard Targum the word is: נדגול.
[10] Rabbi Avraham ben Natan HaYarhi, Sefer HaManhig, Laws of Shabbat, Section 31 (pp. 160-161 in Y. Raphael’s edition, Mossad Harav Kook, Jerusalem, 1978). This passage appears in the New York manuscript only, but is also quoted in the Tur, OH 142. The author bases himself on the above Midrash from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, though his version of the Midrash is similar to that of Tosafot and Haggahot Asheri (above, note 7).
[11] See above, note 9.
[12] Rabbi Yoel Sirkis, Bayit Hadash, on Tur OH 142.
[13] Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi, Makor Hayim, volume 3, chapter 125, sections 7 and 9.
[14] To elucidate this point: In the case of Sefer HaHassidim, the author is stressing the importance of heartfelt service (see also B. Sanhedrin 106b) and its priority over accurate reading. This is evident from the passage itself as well as from its context (see there). One of the commentators on the Midrash, Rabbi Hanokh Zondel (d. 1867), in his commentary Eitz Yosef, echoes this approach (emphasis mine):
".והיא מחמת גודל אהבתו יתברך עליו חביב עליו גם טעותו. אחר שהקב'ה יודע שיצא ממנו בתמימות ובכוונת הלב. כי החשיבות בעיני ה' הוא רק אם יעבדנו האדם כפי יכלתו. וזהו דילוגו עלי אהבה"
In the case of Sefer HaManhig the author is dealing with the legal question of whether the reader and congregation have satisfied their halakhic obligation. Rabbi Avraham HaYarhi, referencing the above passage from the Midrash, gives priority to the injunction against embarrassing someone in public and therefore rules that they have discharged their obligation.
Certainly those who commented on the ruling of Rabbi Avraham HaYarhi did not understand it to be an approval of mispronunciation. Thus Rabbi Yaakov ibn Haviv (1459-1516, quoted by Rabbi Yoseph Karo in his Beit Yosef, OH 142:1) understood the ruling of Rabbi Avraham HaYarhi to be post-factum. Similarly, the testimony of Rabbi Yisrael Isserlein (1390-1460; incidentally, the grandson of the abovementioned Rabbi Yisrael Isserle of Krem, see note 7) in his Terumat HaDeshen, volume 2, section 181 (also quoted in the Beit Yosef, ibid.) should not be read as approval of mispronunciation, but rather as a post-factum ruling. A further qualification limited the ruling to mispronunciations that do not change the meaning; as in the example given by Rabbi Avraham HaYarhi, but in contradistinction to the example given in the above Midrash. Rabbi Yehoshua Falk (1555-1614) in his commentary to the Tur OH 142, Derisha, offers another qualification: Rabbi Avraham HaYarhi is dealing with an individual who is reading for himself, whereas a leader reading to discharge the obligation of the congregation would be required to repeat the reading in the event of inaccurate reading.
None of the above statements provide a license for or express approval of mispronunciation. Even Rabbi Yoel Sirkis (above, note 12) who accepts Rabbi Avraham HaYarhi’s ruling as normative qualifies the ruling as being post-factum, while ideally a congregation should seek a leader who is a proficient reader. See also Rabbi Yehiel Mikhel Epstein (1829-1908), Arukh HaShulhan, OH 142:5
[15] נחמה ליבוביץ, הוראת פרשני התורה - שמות, תשס'ג, עמ' 9
[16] I have only related to accurate reading with the goal of understanding the text. There is another aspect to correct pronunciation that I have not dealt with here – the virtuous nature of the Holy Tongue.