Parshas Parah

QUESTION: This Shabbos we will read Parshas Parah. What happens if I missed hearing a word of Parshas Parah? Must I find another minyan and listen to Parshas Parah again?

ANSWER: Shulchan Aruch (OC 685:7) writes that there is an opinion that Parshas Parah is a Torah obligation, and one who lives in a town that has no minyan must come to the city for Shabbos to hear it read with a minyan. The Mishnah Berurah (685:15) writes that the conclusion of many poskim is that the mitzvah to listen to Parshas Parah is not a Torah obligation but rather it is Rabbinic; however, he writes that even a mitzvah derabbanan requires you to listen carefully with intent to perform the mitzvah. It would seem that since according to Mishnah Berurah listening to Parshas Parah is an obligation, if you missed a word, you should be obligated to listen again. However, the Mishnah Berurah (137:18) rules that even if the shliach tzibur skipped an entire pasuk of Parshas Parah, there might not be a need to repeat the reading. He explains that the first ten psukim of Parshas Parah are not crucial to the mitzvah and if a pasuk was skipped, there is no need to repeat the leining. Only the last twelve psukim of Parshas Parah must be read (and listened to) in their entirety. Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky (Kobetz Halachos – Arba Parshiyos) cites other poskim who disagree with the Mishnah Berurah and rule that there is no obligation on the individual to listen to Parshas Parah. According to this approach, even if one missed a word of Parshas Parah, even from the crucial psukim, there is no requirement to listen to a second reading of Parshas Parah.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.