Lefties and the Importance of Mitzvos

QUESTION: In which hand should a lefty hold his food when he recites a beracha?

ANSWER: There are numerous areas in halacha where a particular side or hand is given preference. In all of these instances, consideration must be given to the status of a left-handed person. The essential question is whether a lefty’s left hand is the same as a righty’s right hand, or not. The answer to this question is not always the same, as it depends on the reason why there is a preference for the right hand. Rav Chaim Kanievsky (introduction to Kuntrus Ish Itair) identifies eight separate principles that determine which hand takes precedence for various mitzvos. We will examine the status of a lefty with respect to a number of these areas.

When performing a mitzvah, the object is held in the right hand. By doing so, we show the importance of the miitzva. Does a left-handed person show greater importance by holding the object in his right hand, which is generally more important, or in his left hand, which is more important to that individual?

This is a major dispute between the Rishonim and Poskim, and it is reflected in the mitzvah of lulav and esrog.

The lulav is held in the right hand when the brocha is recited to show the importance of the mitzvah. The Rosh and Rashba rule that a lefty should hold the lulav his left hand, because that shows greater importance for that individual. On the other hand, the Baal Itur and the Tur maintained that even a lefty must hold the lulav in their right hand.

Rav Yosef Cairo rules in the Shulchan Aruch like the Baal Itur and Tur, that a lefty holds the lulav in his right hand, and this is the custom of the Sephardim. On the other hand, Rav Moshe Isurlesh (the Rama) rules that a lefty holds the lulav in his left hand and this the custom of the Ashkenazim.

The same dispute applies to holding food when a brocha is recited. Lefties who are Ashkenazim will hold the food in the left hand, while Sephardim will hold the food in the right hand. However, there is an apparent contradiction in the rulings of Shulchan Aruch who writes that a lefty should hold the cup of bentching with his left hand Shulchan Aruch (OC 183:5). Yalkut Yosef (183:note 4) explains that benching is an exception. Holding a cup of wine with the weaker hand for the entire bentching is difficult and might cause the wine to spill.  

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