The Tzitz Eliezer (12:40) outlines (what I thought to be) normative psak in kavod sefer torah, that people should go to kiss the sefer torah and not vice versa. He calls upon the Rabbis to educate their communities who will be happy to follow. So why is this not done? (Me - more so in outside minyanim where the sefer is on the table and then is walked around back to the table?)
KT
Joel Rich
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The Tzitz Eliezer (12:40) outlines (what I thought to be) normative psak
in kavod sefer torah, that people should go to kiss the sefer torah and
not vice versa. He calls upon the Rabbis to educate their communities who
will be happy to follow. So why is this not done? (Me – more so in outside
minyanim where the sefer is on the table and then is walked around back to
the table?)
I think I understand the ideal situation, but putting it into practice is
tricky. Let's take, for example, Mishne Brura 149:7:
Similarly, when it [the Sefer Torah] is removed from the Aron, it is a
mitzvah for whomever it passes, to accompany it to the bimah.
Those words are straightforward enough, but how do we implement it? In a
large shul, perhaps the first dozen people will be able to accompany the
Sefer properly, but how close can the others get? And in a small minyan,
such as described by RJR, if the Sefer is simply picked up and put down, no
one at all will be able to accompany it.
My own practice is that when I am the chazan, I carry the Sefer along
whatever route is the practice in that shul, without deviating a bit. I do
not extend the Sefer to one side or the other as I see many others do. The
Sefer Torah doesn't go out of its way for anyone! When I am *not* the
chazan, I try to get all the way to the aisle so that I can kiss the Sefer
without it going out of its way for me; if I see that I won't be able to
get close enough (in a derech eretz manner, of course), then I just stay in
my place and "throw" a kiss.