Yes, But What If It Happened in a Minyan?

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

The right-wing media had a field day with it.

“WHAT ON EARTH IS JOE BIDEN DOING? It’s live TV!” said conservative strategist Steve Guest.  “YOU sit in the chair, YOU smile at the lady, YOU stay until we come get you,” remarked Substack writer Jim.  “The Biden Presidency in one clip,” former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wrote.  “Bathroom run?” Media Research Center associated editor Nicholas Fondacaro wondered.

This was the reaction of the media after President Joe Biden seemed to have randomly walked off the set of an MSNBC interview yesterday – before it was over.

But before we continue, let us discuss three important points.

• A Torah Jew must look at everything that happens in the world through the lens, the eyeglasses of the Torah. We must never forget this.  The Berditchever Rebbe once said that the mouth was created for two purposes:  For Torah and Tefillah and 2. To speak only good things about Klal Yisroel.
• We all have an obligation to teach Torah to Klal Yisroel.
• It is important to “hijack” conversations that deal with Dvarim B’tailim and replace them with conversations that deal with Torah.

With these three points in mind, let us imagine that instead of an NBC interview, this incident had happened in a minyan of just ten men.  And let us further imagine that the President was Jewish.  What would be the halacha if one of the ten in the minyan happened to have randomly walked off?

What follows can be called, “The 10 RWO Halachos.” (See SA OC SIMAN 55)

1. When dealing with a Minyan of ten, it is forbidden for any one of the ten to walk out.
2. The Pasuk in Yishayahu 1:28 is applied to such a person. The pasuk states, “ozvei Hashem yachalu.”
3. The pasuk would not apply to someone who walks off because of confusion.
4. There is an obligation upon others to tell the tenth person who is walking out, “Wait, wait.. we need you. Please do not walk out.”
5. B’di’eved, when faced with such a situation, the rest of the minyan [if there are still 6] may continue the matter that they had began. For example, if they began Chazaras HaShatz – the repetition of the Shmoneh Esreh – they may continue the repetition of Shmoneh Esreh.  If the person walked out before the shliach tzibbur began his repetition, then the repetition may not begin.
6. In Eretz Yisroel, or in a Sefardic Minyan in Chutz La’Aretz where birkas kohanim takes place daily, or on a Yom Tov in Chutz La’Aretz, birkas kohanim is NOT SAID during the repetition without a minyan. Rather, Elokeinu, v’Elokei avosainu is recited by the shliach tzibbur.
7. If it happened on a day that we lein, we do not lein from the Torah because it is a separate inyan. Thus if someone walked out as the shliach tzibbur was finishing, they continue to tachanun and then go on to ashrei.
8. The Kaddish after the Shmoneh Esreh is NOT SAID, as it is a separate matter.
9. If the person randomly walked off during the leining – leaving only nine, the krias haTorah continues, but one may not add any additional people above the 7 that are called normally. They do recite birchas haTorah before and after.
10. No haftorah bracha is said over the haftorah. Rather, the one who received maftir reads the haftorah without a bracha.

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