By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com Never before in the annals of halachic history has there been such a need to plumb the depths of halachic nuances in light of new technology. We all miss our minyan, our Barchu, our Kaddish, our Kedushah, our krias haTorah. The ubiquitous use of Zoom has brought up the question in many circles of reestablishing the minyan, or at least a limited form of it, through Zoom. So, what is the story? What can be done? What may not be done? And what is a machlokes? Types of Zoom Minyanim Before entering into this halachic minefield, we have to distinguish between two theoretical types of Zoom minyanim. Pay close attention to these two types because the subtle nuances can make a huge difference in the final halachah. We will define a Zoom minyan type A as joining up via Zoom with a kosher minyan of at least ten shomer Shabbos men gathered in one room or area that is not separated by mechitzos, barriers. Let us also make another distinction here. It must also be a minyan that is countenanced by rabbanim. More on this later. Zoom minyan type B is when there is no physical minyan in existence at all and the ten people are praying together solely through Zoom. Cannot Join as Minyan of Ten It is universally agreed that one cannot join a minyan to be counted as one of the ten via Zoom — either for a Type A or Type B minyan. The Biur Halachah (Siman 57) even indicates that one may not even join a minyan to be counted as one of the ten if one is in a different room within the same house. This may be a little-known fact and is particularly problematic in shivah homes where there is simply no room for ten men. It is recommended by most poskim that the person join the minyan in the big room if possible. The Aruch HaShulchan (O.C. 55:23) writes, however, that one may stay where he is. Most poskim have adopted the Biur Halachah’s view. What May Be Done What can be done at both types of Zoom minyanim is to coordinate davening together at the same time. This is perhaps also a level of enhanced davening — davening at the same time as the tzibbur. We say “perhaps,” because if we are discussing Zoom minyan type B, who says that there is a tzibbur here? For a type A Zoom minyan there would be no question. The tzibbur would have to be in the same time zone (or Tefillah Zone) as the person Zooming. Talmudic Sources The Gemara (Sukkah 51b, for example) tells us in several places that there was a shul in Alexandria, Egypt, that had such a large attendance that people would stand on stepladders and wave flags as to when to respond to the various blessings in Shemoneh Esrei — Meinif bsudrin. So we see that perhaps there is benefit to coordination of time. Another source is the Gemara in Berachos (7b) where Rav Yochanan was chiding Rav Nachman for not attending the shiur and then suggesting that he should have coordinated his davening to coincide with the time that the congregation was gathering. Modern Poskim The issue in regard to whether […]
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