Tzfas, Israel – The Tzfat (Safed) Rabbinical Court ruled that the Ashkenazi HaAri Synagogue cannot remove from his position the High Holidays’ shofar blower (baal toke’a) because he has been filling the post for ten years and should be considered tenured.
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The shofar blower had filed charges against the synagogue’s manager (gabbai), who had removed him from his position.
Yeah,, nothing like forcing one’s presence in a place where people don’t want him.
Gevalt. When the courts tell the gabbi rishon who can be the baal tkiah, they are intruding into the micromanagment of the shul to an inappropriate degree. How do they know who can blow shfoar with a sweeter sound that moves the neshama. Do they do auditions? If they can insert themselves to this level of detail, will they next decide who gets to sit next to the bimah, who has chazakah or “tenure” for the chasan berashis aliyah on simcha torah,etc. Where does this madness stop??
We have a baal tikiah who has been blowing shofar for over 30 years and while he is big tzadik and nice guy, his best days are behind him. The sound he produces (usually after a number of failed attempts, are very schvach and many times he misses the correct number of notes. However, the rav and big baalhabatim are reluctant to confront the issue and replace him with a younger and more capable baal tikiah.
More power to the shofar blower, I hope he continues in his position for many more years to come.
We davened in a BP shtiebel, will not mention names for obvious reasons. Our Rov a”h was above and beyond in yiras shomayim, a very special person. He only trusted his oldest son with tekios, but this son had sensitive lips and after one or two tries it was bad news. The tekios were a worse inuy than YK, especially in the shtille shmone esrei. Maybe no other mispallel was as ehlich and frum as his son, but he was no baal tokea. We as children were falling off our feet and losing balance after standing so long, and I just wonder how the elderlies managed to last. There were millions of nu and nu-oh trying to convince him to give over the shofar-to no avail. It was quite a dilemna.
I love how everyone expresses their own opinions without even considering whether there is an applicable halakha. There is — generally one has a chazakah on such a position. (That does not mean someone who is completely incompetent retains his position — that is a factor to consider.) I assume the beis din took into account all the relevant factors when it issued its psak..
this story blows.
Reply to #11
Actually, there IS such an Halacha. Kitzur Shulchan Orach my good friend. It actually talks about a Ba’al Tfilah that has been in a position of davening for the Amud for a while.
THis should be a lesson to shuls–don’t make anyone feel permanent. It may be the halachah, but also creating an unpleasant atmosphere for all parties involved. This will create sina’ah or maybe break up the shul, and then the blower, for whatever reason made a case out this, will have to find a new place anyway.
the Gemara says that there is no chazaka without a kol- haha
guess my five cent counts like everybodys. before coming to conclusions, there is a thing like eino meritze l’koohel (annoyance to congregants). for which evidently besdin didn’t pasken that rosh hakooel wins. means that he’s meritze (wanted by congregants). before everybody jumps gun yes it is IT IS foolish to comment before knowing any story. find and read full psak first and even then think “perhaps I’m not as smart as I think” call up the dayan and ask him or any dayan what the basis for his ruling is.