יעמוד מי שירצה

יעמוד מי שירצה

The רמ״א (O.C. 428:6) writes that the minhag is not to call up someone by name for the עלייה of the תוכחה, but rather to summon “יעמוד מי שירצה” — whoever wishes to take it.

There is a מחלוקת between the מחצית השקל and the משנה ברורה in ביאור הלכה regarding how the גבאי should practically call up the עולה.

The מחצית השקל

According to the מחצית השקל, the גבאי indeed announces publicly: “יעמוד מי שירצה” — an open call inviting any volunteer to accept the עלייה.

יעמוד מי שירצה

The ביאור הלכה

The ביאור הלכה, however, strongly disagrees. He writes that he dislikes it when people introduce new practices that “do not sound correct,” adding, “וגם אין נוהגין כן – לחדש ענין כזה.” Therefore, he interprets the רמ״א differently: the גבאי should privately locate someone willing to take the עלייה, and then call him up by name.

The ביאור הלכה concedes that this פשט is a דוחק in the simple wording of the רמ״א, but he prefers it to what he considers an invented formula.

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It appears that the חפץ חיים was unaware that in most of Western and Central Europe — particularly the Oberland communities of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia — the longstanding, established minhag was precisely to call out publicly: "יעמוד מי שירצה.”

Had the חפץ חיים known this, likely he would not have written that such a practice is unknown and should not be introduced. Rather, he would have acknowledged the widespread minhag and agreed with the מחצית השקל that the correct procedure is indeed to announce:

יעמוד מי שירצה.