By Rabbi Yair Hoffman — L’ilui nishmas his father, Dr. Nathan Hoffman z”l, whose eighteenth yahrtzeit is 5 Iyar, this evening.

Introduction

Few decisions in shul are as socially delicate — or as halachically structured — as the Gabbai’s weekly question of who receives an aliyah. Competing chiyuvim walk in with competing expectations.

The Biur Halacha in Siman 136 gives the classical framework for sorting these claims, drawing heavily on the Shaarei Ephraim of Rav Ephraim Zalman Margolis, which in turn is the most influential halachic work ever written on the practical laws of Krias HaTorah.

What follows is a translation of the Biur Halacha’s enumeration of these priorities, together with expansions.

Summary Priority Chart

The following table captures the classical ranking. Exceptions and cases of equality are discussed in the body of the article.

The Translation

The aliyah priorities that the Segan (the Gabbai) calls to the Torah, according to the enactments and customs in which our Rabbis conducted themselves, are as follows:

1. A chosson on his wedding day.
2. A chosson on the Shabbos prior to the wedding, when they sing to him (Aufruf).
3. A boy who is becoming Bar Mitzvah on that Shabbos.
4. The husband of a woman who gave birth and is attending shul on Shabbos.
5. A chosson on the Shabbos after his wedding.
6. A yahrtzeit on Shabbos — the day his father or mother died.
7. The father of a male child on the Shabbos before the Bris.

Mohel and Sandek

There are places where it is the custom that the Mohel and the Sandek are also obligated in an aliyah, and there are places where the custom is merely to honor them with Hagbahah.

Chosson on His Wedding Day

A chosson on his wedding day — that is, on a weekday when he will be married that very day — comes before all others who are obligated, even a boy becoming Bar Mitzvah on that day, and certainly before a yahrtzeit.

Bar Mitzvah Boy

A boy who becomes Bar Mitzvah that week, and who is a resident of the city, comes before all other chiyuvim, because it is the time of his chinuch — with the exception of a chosson whom they sing to. The Bar Mitzvah boy is equal to him, and they should draw lots.

If the Bar Mitzvah boy is not a resident of the city, the community is still obligated to call him. However, he does not push aside a resident of the city who is obligated in an aliyah.

The Chosson Before the Wedding

A chosson on the Shabbos before his wedding also comes before all other chiyuvim. Even if the wedding will not actually take place that week — for example, if he is traveling to a distant city to be married — he still pushes off all other chiyuvim, but only when they sing to him.

A Widower Chosson

A widower, whom the congregation does not sing to, is not a chiyuv on the Shabbos before his wedding, even if his bride is a besulah. The Shaarei Ephraim writes that if there are no other chiyuvim he should be given precedence over others.

A Chosson Whose Wedding Was Delayed

If a chosson expected that his wedding would take place that week, and afterwards the wedding was delayed to another week, then if he wishes that the congregation sing to him a second time, he is a chiyuv. If he does not wish to be sung to again, he is not obligated to be called.

A Chosson After the Wedding

One whose wedding was held on Wednesday or later is a chiyuv on the following Shabbos. He pushes off a yahrtzeit chiyuv, and even the father of a son before a Bris Milah — but only if he was a bachur or married a besulah. Otherwise, he is not a chiyuv.

The Shaarei Ephraim writes that even if the wedding took place before Wednesday — although such a chosson does not push off another chiyuv — he should still be given precedence over others.

A Husband of a Yoledes

A husband whose wife gave birth and is now returning to shul for the first time precedes a chosson after the wedding, even a bachur who married a besulah.

Two Chassanim

A bachur who married a besulah precedes a man who married a widow. One who married a widow has precedence over one who married a chalutzah or a divorcée.

Yahrtzeit

A yahrtzeit is a chiyuv. He is, however, preceded by all the other chiyuvim above — with one exception: the father of a son before the Bris Milah, even if the Bris is on that Shabbos. The reason is that the father will receive his own aliyah on the Shabbos his wife returns to shul.

If the yahrtzeit is not on Shabbos itself, but falls somewhere during that week, he is not considered enough of a chiyuv to push aside the father of a son. Our minhag, however, is to call him when there is no other chiyuv.

The Father of a Newborn Son

The father of a newborn son, on the Shabbos his healthy wife attends shul, is required to receive an aliyah. However, if she is ill and cannot walk, he is not required to be called until she is able to come. If forty days have passed since the birth of a son, or eighty days since the birth of a daughter, he is obligated regardless — because this is the time of the bringing of the korban yoledes.

Miscarriage

A woman who miscarried — her husband is considered a chiyuv, unless the miscarriage occurred at so early a stage that the form of the fetus was not yet recognizable.

Who Pushes Off the Father of the Son

On the Shabbos that a yoledes attends shul — whether she gave birth to a boy or a girl — the husband has precedence over all other chiyuvim, except the Aufruf chosson (when they sing to him) and a Bar Mitzvah boy, both of whom precede him, as explained above.

Shofar Blower and Baal Mussaf

It is the custom to call the Baal Tokea to an aliyah on Rosh HaShanah. There are places where the shaliach tzibbur who davens Mussaf on Rosh HaShanah is likewise a chiyuv on the day that he leads — but only if he and the Baal Tokea are performing without payment. If they are being paid, they are not chiyuvim at all.

A Chiyuv on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur

There are places where, on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, chiyuvim are disregarded, with aliyos instead given to those who have donated generously to tzedakah.

If an Aliyah Was Sold and a Chiyuv Was Forgotten

If someone purchased an aliyah and the Segan afterward remembered that there was a chiyuv who should have been called, the transaction can be voided as an erroneous sale (mekach ta’us).

Two Equal Chiyuvim

When two chiyuvim are of equal rank, they draw lots — unless one is a talmid chacham, who receives precedence.

One Reciting Birkas HaGomel

Someone who recovered from illness, or any comparable situation that obligates him in Birkas HaGomel, should be given precedence over others — because the custom has become to recite HaGomel during the Torah reading. Even so, he does not set aside a chiyuv, because HaGomel can technically be recited in front of ten people without an aliyah, and that is what he should do rather than displace a chiyuv.

Travelers About to Embark

It is the custom to call someone who is about to travel and will not return until after the coming Shabbos.

Travelers Returning

It is the custom to call someone who has just returned from a trip.

An Honored Guest

Likewise, it is the custom to honor an important guest. This is a noble and beautiful practice, but it is obvious that it does not displace any of the chiyuvim enumerated above.

Where Aliyos Are Sold

In a shul where the custom is to sell aliyos and direct the proceeds to tzedakah, it is self-evident that we do not cause a financial loss to the tzedakah on account of those who are not strictly obligated, but whom the minhag merely honors. This remains at the Segan’s discretion.

It emerges from the Achronim that even in a place whose custom is to sell all the aliyos and override chiyuvim, nevertheless a chosson on the Shabbos before his wedding and a Bar Mitzvah boy may not be set aside. It further appears from the Mishna Brurah that even the other chiyuvim should not be set aside altogether; the minhag is ancient, and they should at least be given additional aliyos.

Reading from a Privately Owned Sefer Torah

There are places where, when an individual owns a Sefer Torah that resides in the shul, his personal Sefer Torah is used for his family simchah.

Two Baalei Simchah

When two people celebrate a simchah on the same day, a talmid chacham who is a posek — one who rules on practical halachah — precedes a talmid chacham devoted to pilpul who has not yet begun to rule.

Two Brissim on the Same Day

If two children are born at the same time, lots are drawn to determine which Milah is performed first.

Two Sifrei Torah

One who wrote a Sefer Torah with his own hand, or purchased one with his own money, has precedence over one who inherited a Sefer Torah from his father.

One Who Seized an Aliyah from His Fellow

If a person was called to the Torah and another ran up and took his place, there is a dispute among the Rishonim as to whether the one who stole the aliyah must pay for the financial loss of the berachah. Tosfos and the Rosh in Masseches Chullin (perek Kisui HaDam) discuss whether such a berachah has a quantifiable monetary value.[1] The practical halachah is that although the one who seized the aliyah has not committed an outright theft recoverable in Beis Din — because a berachah is not a tangible object with a fixed market price — it remains a serious offense (gezel she’eino nikar) for which he must seek forgiveness. In a community that sells aliyos, however, the case is entirely different: the purchaser has acquired a thing of monetary value, and one who takes his place must make good the loss.

[1]See Tosfos, Chullin 87a s.v. “V’yitein lo”; Rosh, Chullin perek 6; Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 382 for the parallel sugya on the blessing over kisui hadam.

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