345. The Translator

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 12:11

The reader could not raise his voice louder than the translator’s, nor the translator louder than the reader’s. The translator could not start translating until the reader finished reading the verse, nor may the reader start the next verse until the translator finished his translation. The translator was not permitted to lean; he had to stand with proper reverence. He was not supposed to read his translation from a text; rather, he was to recite the translation by heart. The reader was not permitted to prompt the translator because people might mistakenly conclude that the translation was written in the Torah. A less-prominent person was permitted to serve as translator for a more-prominent person but a more-prominent person should not serve as translator for a less-prominent person. Two people may not serve as simultaneous translators; only one person reads at a time and only one person translates at a time.

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 12:12

Not everything read from the Torah was publicly translated by the translator. Things not publicly translated include the incident involving Reuven, the priestly blessings, and the incident of golden calf from “Moshe told Aharon” through “Moshe saw the people” (Exodus 32:21-25) plus the verse, “God set a plague upon the people” (32:35). When reading the incident involving Amnon (in the second book of Samuel), the verse that says “Amnon, son of David” (13:1) is neither read nor translated.