On Shavuos, many communities have the custom to stand for the reading of the Aseres Hadibros, based on our desire to reenact the giving of the Torah, which was given to the Jewish people as they were standing at the foot of Har Sinai. However, by specifically standing up for the Aseres Hadibros, it appears that we are placing a greater emphasis on this portion of the Torah than on other sections. This seems to contradict the gemara in Meseches Brachos, daf 12a that tells us that the chachamim wanted to incorporate the Aseres Hadibros into the everyday davening, but decided against doing so because it could lead heretics to convince the people that only the Aseres Hadibros were part of the Torah and nothing else. Is there any way to reconcile our practice in light of this gemara?

Indeed, the Rambam (Teshuvos HaRambam #46) writes against the practice to stand for the Aseres Hadibros, based on the gemara in Brachos, and says that communities that have such a custom should be corrected. Rav Ovadya Yosef (Yechaveh Daas #29) quotes a number of achronim who were in support of maintaining the minhag, and who offer explanations why it does not contradict the gemara in Brachos. However, Rav Ovadya Yosef isn’t willing to follow these achronim because he says that they did not see what the Rambam had written, for if they had, they would have agreed with him. Rav Moshe Shternbuch (Teshuvos V’hanhagos 1:144) recommends standing up before the baal koreh begins reading the Aseres Hadibros so no one will mistakenly think that the Torah is only comprised of the Aseres Hadibros.

Nevertheless, many communities maintain the practice, and a number of reasons are given. Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach (Halichos Shlomo Hilchos Tefillah, perek 12 footnote 30, and Hilchos Shavuos, perek 12 halacha 8) writes that we don’t need to take the gemara’s concern into account because there are other Torah readings we stand for, such as Shiras Hayam and at the end of each of the Chamisha Chumshai Torah, so no would be tricked into thinking that only the Aseres Hadibros are part of the Torah. Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe OC 4:22) says that there is no reason to broaden the concern discussed in the gemara. In the time of the gemara they had a specific concern based on the fact that they had instituted saying the Aseres Hadibros during davening, and found that this caused people to falter, and so they abolished the practice. However, says Rav Moshe, if something hasn’t been proven to be a problem, we don’t need to be worried about it.

Is there any way to reconcile our minhag with what the Rambam writes? Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik (Mesorah, vol. 1 page 17) offers an explanation. The Aseres Hadibros can be read as pesukim (tam tachton), or as dibros (taam elyon), with each commandment being read individually. Our practice is to read each dibrah by itself, thereby taking many pesukim and making them one long pasuk, or taking one pasuk and converting it into many small pesukim. However, there is a general prohibition to break up pesukim in the Torah reading up differently from the way they are arranged now because the weekly Torah reading is a public form of talmud Torah, accomplished by reading the pesukim as they are divided. However, the Torah reading on Shavuos is different. In addition to acting as a public form of talmud Torah, on Shavuos we read the Aseres Hadibros in the taam elyon, as separate commandments, as a remembrance and reenactment of kabalas haTorah. And just as we read the Aseres Hadibros as they were said on Har Sinai, we stand during their recitation because we initially received the Torah at Har Sinai while standing at the foot of the mountain. On Shavuos, we do as much as we can to commemorate that momentous occasion[1]. However, the Rambam was opposed to the practice of standing because the Rambam doesn’t mention the minhag of reading the Aseres Hadibros broken up into individual commandments. He felt that they should be read according to the existing pesukim, and that the only purpose of the kriyas haTorah is to allow public talmud Torah. Therefore, someone who would stand for this section of the Torah, and not for others, may be viewed as giving the Aseres Hadibros primary importance over the rest of the Torah, which could lead to a misconception.

The poskim (Chidah Tov Eiyin #11, Sharai Ephraim shar 7 #37, Igros Moshe ibid, Kaf Hachaim 146: 23) say that no matter what one’s individual practice is, one must conform to the minhag hamakom. If one is in a place where the practice is to stand, he or she should stand, and if the communal custom is not to stand then he or she shouldn’t stand (if doing so would be obviously going against the norm). By following the communal custom, and not separating oneself from the tzibbur, we build achdus in our communities.  This is another opportunity to recreate kabalas haTorah, as Chazal tell us that Klal Yisrael were “k’ish echad b’lev echad”, like one person with one heart when they stood at Har Sinai. May we be zocheh to reach that level once again, and see the Bais Hamikdash rebuilt b’meharah b’yamenu.

[1]  A colleague of mine, R’ Daniel Turkel, showed me that Rav Hershel Schachter in Nefesh Harav, page 136 cites R’ Soloveitchik who explains the Maharam Ruttenberg’s requirement to stand for every krias haTorah similarly. Every week during krias haTorah we recreate kabalas haTorah, which is why he maintains that one needs to stand.