Ra'anana Community Kollel

Choosing the Chazan

Rabbi Dovid Horwitz

When Yitzchak and Rivka prayed to be blessed with children, the Midrash relates how each went into a corner of the house to pray individually. Ultimately, the Torah tells us that Hashem was moved by the prayers of Yitzchak more so than by the prayers of Rivka. The Gemara explains that this was due to the fact that Hashem saw an intrinsic difference between the prayers of Yitzchak who was a tzaddik ben tzaddik and those of Rivka, a tzaddik ben rasha. This Midrash is perplexing as it seems to contradict another well known Midrash which states that the spiritual heights achieved by ba’alei teshuvah lie far beyond the capability of others, including the perfectly righteous. According to this Midrash, it would seem clear that a ba’al teshuvah, a tzaddik ben rasha, is on a greater level than a tzaddik ben tzaddik. Why then did Hashem answer the prayers of Yitzchak and not those of Rivka? While it is true that a ba’al teshuvah is greater in as much as his observance of Torah came with a tremendous amount of self sacrifice that the tzaddik ben tzaddik cannot hold a candle to, from the story of Yitzchak and Rivka we learn that specifically regarding prayer, the words uttered by a tzaddik ben tzaddik have a greater impact as he or she is able to move the heavens by summoning the merits of his or her ancestors.

Interestingly, the poskim seem to discuss just how much the principle of this Midrash applies when choosing a chazan to lead the prayers in shul. Some Poskim write that it is better to choose a righteous person who comes from a lowly family, rather than a tzaddik ben tzaddik. They reason that as the chazan is meant to represent the entire congregation, even those who are far from the service of G-d, it is beneficial for a tzaddik ben rasha to lead the service. Alternatively, the Mishna Berurah rules, in keeping with the Midrash in this week’s parshah, that it is better for a tzaddik ben tzaddik to lead the prayers as it is more likely that his prayers will be answered in the merit of his forefathers. In addition, the Mishna Berurah maintains that even the lenient opinion described above only prefers a tzaddik whose ancestors were of neutral character. However, a tzaddik who comes from a family of sinners would never be a first choice for a chazan, as the effectiveness of his prayers will certainly be weakened by the transgressions of his predecessors as was true in the case of Rivka. The most righteous ancestors in the world are never significant enough to transform a Jew whose personal religious values are deficient into an ideal chazan. Without question, the first and foremost factor in determining the worthiness of a chazan is whether he himself can be considered a righteous person.