Question: Is it a sin to read Torah or recite Mourners Kaddish without a minyan?
How important is it in Judaism to have a minyan of ten people to read Torah? I come from a small shul in Texas. Our congregation is getting smaller as people are getting old and passing away. We have had to discontinue our Monday and Thursday morning services when we read the Torah because we could not get the required ten people for a minyan. Is it a sin if we read the Torah or recite Mourners Kaddish without having ten people for a minyan?
Answer: I appreciate your desire to fulfill the mitzvah of reading the Torah and saying Kaddish.
We see from the story of Abraham and Sodom, that Abraham begs to God to save the city. He says: "If there are 50 righteous people, will You save the city?" and God says, "Yes." But Abraham can't find 50 righteous people in Sodom. And Abraham keeps lowering the number, until he reaches 10. "If there are 10 righteous people, will You save the city?" and God says, "Yes."
And then Abraham stops. He doesn't try lowering the number to 7 or 5 or 3. Why? Because 10 is the minimum critical mass for a "community." If they're aren't 10, even Abraham knows it can't be saved.
Jewish law states clearly that the "Public" aspects of prayer -- reading the Torah and saying Kaddish -- can only be with a minyan. There's no way around that, I'm sorry.
As an alternative, the Torah portion can still be read aloud from a Bible book, without taking out the Torah scroll.
I think the answer is ultimately devising a way to revitalize the shul. Could you perhaps bring in a guest lecturer/rabbi once a month, to get some of the young people in town interested?
I might suggest organizing a Discovery seminar. It provides an excellent framework and overview of the entire gamut of Jewish history, philosophy, and literature. The seminar is given in hundreds of cities throughout the world.
With blessings from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Aish.com
We see from the story of Abraham and Sodom, that Abraham begs to God to save the city. He says: "If there are 50 righteous people, will You save the city?" and God says, "Yes." But Abraham can't find 50 righteous people in Sodom. And Abraham keeps lowering the number, until he reaches 10. "If there are 10 righteous people, will You save the city?" and God says, "Yes."
And then Abraham stops. He doesn't try lowering the number to 7 or 5 or 3. Why? Because 10 is the minimum critical mass for a "community." If they're aren't 10, even Abraham knows it can't be saved.
Jewish law states clearly that the "Public" aspects of prayer -- reading the Torah and saying Kaddish -- can only be with a minyan. There's no way around that, I'm sorry.
As an alternative, the Torah portion can still be read aloud from a Bible book, without taking out the Torah scroll.
I think the answer is ultimately devising a way to revitalize the shul. Could you perhaps bring in a guest lecturer/rabbi once a month, to get some of the young people in town interested?
I might suggest organizing a Discovery seminar. It provides an excellent framework and overview of the entire gamut of Jewish history, philosophy, and literature. The seminar is given in hundreds of cities throughout the world.
With blessings from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Shraga Simmons
Aish.com
