Aseres Ha'Dibros - Standing

QUESTION: The Rambam (Teshuvos HaRambam 60) writes that one who is seated should not stand up for the reading of the Aseres Ha’dibros (Ten Commandments). However, the general custom today is that the entire congregation does stand during this reading. Why is it that this ruling of the Rambam is not followed?

ANSWER: Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l pointed out that there are two versions of cantillation for the Aseres Ha’dibros. The first is called ta’am ha’tachton (lower cantillation) which punctuates the Aseres Ha’dibros into sentences in the same manner as the rest of the Torah. The second is called ta’am ha’elyon (higher cantillation), which punctuates following the order of the commandments, reconstructing the manner in which the Ten Commandments were received during matan Torah.

There are two reasons why someone would wish to stand for the Aseres Ha’dibros. If one’s intent is to show extra honor to this portion of the Torah, this is inappropriate. The entire Torah was given to Moshe on Har Sinai, and therefore all of Torah is equally precious. Standing for the Aseres Ha’dibros might lead some to the erroneous conclusion that only the Ten Commandments were received directly from Hashem. However, there is a second reason why one would stand during the Aseres Ha’dibros and that is to recreate the assembly at Har Sinai. We stand for the Aseres Ha’dibros in the same fashion that all of Israel stood during the original acceptance of the Torah.

Today, the general custom is to always read the portion of the Aseres Ha’dibros with the ta’am ha’elyon. This indicates that this is not merely a reading of the Torah, but a recreation of matan Torah. Therefore, it is appropriate to stand. Rav Soloveitchik posits that the Rambam read the Aseres Ha’dibros with the ta’am ha’tachton, equating it to every other Torah reading, in which case, it would indeed be inappropriate to stand. The custom of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, zt”l was to read the Aseres Ha’dibros both on Shavuos and during the weekly portion with ta’am ha’tachton, following the practice of the Rambam.

Some, however, have the custom to read the Aseres Ha’dibros on Shavuos with ta’am ha’elyon, since this reading is a recreation of Sinai, but when parshas Yisro and parshas Va’eschanan are read on a regular Shabbos, the Aseres Ha’dibros are read with ta’am ha’tachton. In such a shul it would be best to stand from the beginning of the aliyah so as not to show more honor to one part of the Torah than another.

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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.