143. Being Shown the Wrong Place

23:17 Our practice is to give aliyos to blind people. Even though the Torah may not be recited by heart, the baal korei nowadays does the reading for the oleh, so it is permitted. We also do not check whether a person is learned or unlearned; we simply assume that he can follow the baal korei. (It is preferable not to call a blind person or a person who cannot read for parshas Zachor or parshas Parah – Mishnah Brurah 139:13.) 23:18 Let's say that someone who received an aliyah was shown the wrong place in the Torah and he said the blessings before the baal korei realized that they were in the wrong spot. Regardless of whether or not the baal korei started reading, if the place where he should be reading is visible after the place he was shown, even in a different column, there is no need for the oleh to repeat the brachos. This is because he could see the proper place when he said the blessings, so we assume he had it in mind. On the other hand, if the scroll must be rolled to reach the proper place, or even if the proper place was visible but it was earlier in the Torah scroll than the place the oleh was shown, he must repeat the bracha of "asher bachar banu," though Barchu is not repeated. The oleh he should first recite "Baruch Shem kavod malchuso l’olam vo’ed" for the bracha he recited unnecessarily. If the oleh only said the words ""Baruch Atah Hashem" when the error was realized, he should conclude his bracha "lamdeini chukecha" ("teach me Your laws" - Psalms 119:12). If the proper place to read is before the place he was shown but close enough that the baal korei can read three or more verses beyond the place the oleh was shown, as long as it is in the same parsha they should read without repeating the brachos. (The Mishnah Brurah says that so long as the proper place is visible, whether it is before or after the place the oleh was shown, he should not repeat the bracha – MB 140:9. He also cites other opinions in this matter in general, though he does not endorse all of them; see there.)