Question:
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Why is it permitted for two brothers to lead the davenning, say where one leads the Minchah
and the other follows him by leading the Maariv, yet for Aliyos (call-ups to the Torah) it is
not permitted to call two brothers one after the other?
Answer:
Yes, the practice is that two brothers are not called to the Torah consecutively because of
the “aiyn hora” (commonly translated as the “evil eye”), as codified in Shulchan Aruch (Orach
Chayim chap. 141, 6), by R’ Yossef Karo.
The concept of “aiyn hora” or “eina bisha” in the Aramaic, as mentioned in the Talmud, is
aroused by the envious glances of another person, hence the practice of introducing an
enviable statement with the Yiddish “kain aiyn hora” or the Hebrew “bli aiyn hora” – without
“aiyn hora”. We may not fully comprehend what “aiyn hora” is, but it is a well documented
concept in our literature and even has legal implications.
So you ask why is it not more widely applied with two brothers doing other things; why is it
only mentioned in the context of call-ups?
If one looks at the wording of the Shulchan Aruch, translated rather literally, it is put in
the following way:
“One may call up two brothers one after the other or a son after his father, but we do not
let this happen only because of the aiyn hora.”
In other words the only reason that we don’t do it is because of the aiyn hora. Now the
earliest source quoted by the Beit Yossef, (this is R’Yossef Karo’s commentary on the Tur
which his Shulchan Aruch is based on), is from the Orchas Chayim, where it states the reason
that we do not call up two brothers or a father and son, is because the “call-ups” act as
witnesses to the eternal truth of Hashem and His Torah, (as reflected in the berochos over
the Torah), and these are pairs of people disqualified from giving testimony together. After
that the Beit Yossef quotes the later reason because of “aiyn hora”, as mentioned by Kol Bo
and the Mordechai in the name of his teacher R’ Meir of Rothenburg, which is the actual
wording used in the Shulchan Aruch. There are also later sources that apply this prohibition
only to where they are actually called up by their names.
So in other words it was the practice not to call up two brothers or a father and son
consecutively, but the reasons vary. With this in mind, the application remained within the
confines of the “Reading of the Torah” without extending it beyond the parameters as defined
within the Halakhah. So although one could apply the fear of arousing the “aiyn haora” to
many other situations, we don’t!
One could also say that it was not applied to other areas of the Shul rituals, because there
is more likely to be envy aroused with call-ups because of the prestige of being given an
aliyah.
For further treatment of the subject refer to the above sources and Kitzur 23:13 together
with the Shearim Mitzuanim Behalakhah, note 10; Mishnah Berurah 141:19. See also Rashi Gen
49:22. There are numerous Talmudic references to the “aiyn hora”: Berochos 20a and 55b,
Pesachim 26b, Sotah 36b, Bava Metzia 84a, Bava Basra 118ab and 141a.
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