TORAHS SOLD TO SUPPORT RABBI

QUESTION:

A congregation is losing its membership and is going to disband. The remnant will soon merge with another congregation. For some time this fading congregation had not paid its rabbi’s salary, and the rabbi is now in dire need. This fading congregation has five sefer Torahs which the other congregation does not need, having a number of its own. May these five sefer Torahs be sold for the support of the rabbi (or be given to him to sell) and thus enable the fading congregation to fulfill its contract with him and to help in his need? (Asked by Rabbi Fred Pomerantz, Closter, New Jersey.)

ANSWER:

THE FIRST QUESTION involved here is whether the Sefer Torahs, which will now no longer be used in this synagogue, may be sold at all. Of course, Sefer Torahs are being sold all the time, either directly by the scribes who make their living writing them or by merchants who deal with them. However this question arises: If a Sefer Torah has once been used in the synagogue for the readings on the Sabbath and holidays, may such a Sefer Torah be sold like any other article of commerce? Two famous authorities, Joseph Colon of Italy (15th cent, responsum # 161, first ed.) and Solomon Luria of Poland (16th cent, responsum # 15 ), both agree that once a Sefer Torah “has had the mantle put upon it,” that is to say, once it has been used for a sacred purpose, it has now a special status (cf. the discussion in Contemporary Reform Responsa, pp. 106 ff.). The special status to which these authorities refer is as to the ownership of the Torah. If, for example, someone gives the Sefer Torah to the synagogue but says: This Torah is to remain my (or my family’s) Sefer Torah and may be reclaimed by me, these authorities say he may not reclaim it once it has been used in the service. However, they do say that if he, at the time of his donation, formally declares in the presence of witnesses that this Torah will remain his property, then even if used in the service, he may still reclaim it. Therefore in the case mentioned in the inquiry it must first be clearly determined whether these five Sefer Torahs, or any of them, are still to be considered the private possessions of a certain family, or whether they actually belong to the congregation to dispose of as it wishes.

Whether they or some of them are still to be deemed private property depends upon whether this right was asserted at the time of the donation or loan or, more basically, upon the local custom as to such gifts to the synagogue. In these matters local custom, minhag, is the final determinant as to whether such gifts remain private or not.

Let us, then, suppose that some of these five Torahs are (by clear declaration at the time of the donation or by local custom) still deemed to be the property of certain families. In that case, may the family of the donor have the right to say: We are now willing that the Torah be sold for the benefit of the rabbi? The answer to that question is certainly clear (or at least clearly implied) in the statement of Isserles in his note to Yore Deah 259:2. He says: “If the local custom is such that it permits the donor to take the Torah back, then if the donor is in financial need, he may take it back to meet these needs.” Clearly, then, if the donor may sell the Sefer Torah to meet his own needs, he may certainly sell it to satisfy the needs of the rabbi, for thereby he will also be fulfilling the additional great mitzvah of zedaka.

Let us now take the other alternative. Suppose by local custom, or by actual past purchase, these five Torahs do not belong to certain private individuals but are without question the property of the congregation. Does, then, the congregation have the same right as an individual has, namely, to sell the Torahs to meet the needs described? The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch in Yore Deah 259 discuss the whole question of changing the purposes or the financial currency of articles given to the synagogue. There is, of course, concern as to the varying degrees of sanctity of the various synagogue articles. But, in general, a study of this section of the law will indicate that there are two main purposes for which sacred articles may be exchanged. One is the support of the poor, and the second, the support of the study of the Torah. Both these aims are now embodied in the person of the rabbi. Supporting him is based on the assumption that the study of the Torah is being supported, and the fact that he is in dire poverty gives the congregation further right to make use of sacred objects for his support. Also, it must be stated that the contract which the congregation has with the rabbi is a solemn obligation which is incumbent upon the members of the congregation to fulfill.

Perhaps the simplest procedure would be to give the five Torahs to the rabbi if he wishes to attend to the sale. He can be relied upon to sell them to another congregation, if that is possible, rather than to a merchant. It is an established fact that each congregation is deemed to be of equal status with any other congregation. Therefore, for a Torah to move from one congregation to another can involve no diminution of its status (cf. Israel Rappaport, Mahari Ha-Kohen, Yore Deah #474; Contemporary Reform Responsa, p. 106). If, however, it is difficult for the rabbi to find another congregation which will buy them, he may, of course, sell them to a Jewish Torah merchant. If he does not wish to deal with the whole matter himself, the obligation still remains incumbent upon the members to provide for him and, if need be, by the sale of the Sefer Torahs.

To sum up: Sefer Torahs, even when they are no longer an article of commerce in stores, etc., may still be sold. A man who can maintain his claim that he still owns the Torah used in the synagogue may, according to Isserles, sell it in order to ease his poverty. If, however, the Torah is owned without question by the synagogue itself, then clearly the rights of the poor, fostering the study of the Torah, and meeting a solemn obligation of the community fully justify the sale of these five Torahs.