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קטגוריה משנית
Question
Rabbi, We do not have any person that can read the Torah, can we read the Parashah in Spanish from a book? please reply many thanks.
Answer
ב"ה Shalom Since I only have the little information you gave me, I will list a few possibilities beside the option you mentioned. 1. Even if someone does not know how to read the Torah scroll with the proper pronunciation and musical intonation (the "te'amim" ) , he may have somebody read to him silently from a chumash , in order to assist the reader. 2. If there is nobody who knows the musical intonation in order to assist the reader, but there is someone who at least knows how to read the Torah , without making mistakes in pronunciation of the Hebrew which would change the meaning of the words, then one should read the Hebrew from the Torah scroll and the blessing should be recited before the reading. 3. If there is nobody who knows to read the Torah without making mistakes in pronunciation of the Hebrew (as explained before) , then the Torah should still be read, but the blessing should not be said. 4. If there is nobody who knows even the above, I think what you should suggested is important, so that the custom of reading the Torah on Shabbat should not be forgotten. However, it should be made clear to the community, that this does not fulfill the requirement of reading the Torah but it is done until you have a better solution. 5. All the best and my best wishes to you for trying to uphold the religious tradition in your community.
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