Sandra phoned me sounding very concerned. “Rabbi, I need your help. Isaac’s hearing has declined. His hearing specialist recommends that he wears hearing aids. But he refuses to wear them! He is making our lives unnecessarily complicated! And do you know why he refuses? Because Isaac has blown the shofar for our community on Rosh Hashana for over 30 years, and he’s concerned that if he starts wearing hearing aids, he will be unable to continue doing so. Rabbi, is that true?”
We will answer Sandra’s question in three steps. Firstly, someone who is totally deaf is exempt from the mitzva to “hear the sound of the shofar,” and one who is personally exempt from the mitzva cannot blow the shofar on behalf of others (O.C., 589:2; Hazon Ovadia, Yamim Noraim, p. 125). The Beit Yosef explains (ibid) that deaf people are excluded because the mitzva is to hear the shofar, not to blow it. That is why the beracha recited prior to performing this mitzva is “to hear the sound of the shofar.” Kaf HaChaim (ibid, #6) adds that according to this reasoning, someone who is blind is obligated to listen to the shofar since he can hear, and consequently he can also blow the shofar for others.
The second issue is how to relate to someone like Isaac, who is hard of hearing but is not totally deaf. Here, the halacha states that they are obligated to fulfil the mitzva as long as they can hear the sound of the shofar. Kaf HaChaim (ibid, #13, quoting Halachot Ketanot) goes so far as to say that this even obligates someone who can only hear with the aid of a mechanical listening device. Hacham Ovadia, zt”l, (Yabia Omer, O.C., 7:18:2) explains that this is no different to seeing with the aid of a pair of glasses, which is halachically recognized as vision. Hence, only someone who is severely deaf and cannot hear even when the shofar is blown very loudly is exempt from the mitzva. Moreover, even somebody who can only hear when aided by a mechanical listening device is obligated to fulfil the mitzva of shofar, and consequently he can also blow the shofar for others.
The third issue is whether electronic hearing aids are equivalent to the mechanical listening device discussed by the Kaf HaChaim. The Mishna in Rosh Hashana (27b) teaches that to fulfil the mitzva, one must hear the actual and original sound of the shofar, not its echo. By the same token, Hacham Ovadia (Yabia Omer, OC 1:19:18) rules that one does not fulfil the mitzva when hearing the shofar via a PA system, as one is not hearing the actual sound of the shofar. He writes that following a discussion with Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, they both concluded that a PA system projects an amplified electronic sound and not the original sound of the shofar, which means that one does not fulfil the mitzva by hearing the shofar over a PA system.
Does the same concern apply to electronic hearing aids? Hacham Benzion Abba Shaul (Ohr Lezion, 4:5:16), Rabbi Auerbach (Minchat Shlomo, 9:1), and many other poskim rule that they, too, produce an echo or an electronic sound that is not the actual shofar sound. However, Hacham Ovadia (O.C., 7:18:2) rules that electronic hearing aids are equivalent to mechanical hearing devices and one may fulfil the mitzva of shofar while wearing hearing aids. The Rishon LeZion, Hacham Yitzhak Yosef, (Yalkut Yosef, Rosh Hashana, p. 397) quotes the aforementioned Minchat Shlomo, adding that Rabbi Auerbach heard from the Hazon Ish that there may be room to differentiate between hearing aids and a PA system, and to consider hearing aids a form of direct hearing.
In conclusion, one does not fulfil the mitzvah of shofar when hearing it via a PA system. There is a difference of opinion regarding electronic hearing aids. However, since Isaac is only hard of hearing and not totally deaf, he is obligated to hear the shofar according to all opinions. I therefore advised that he remove his hearing aids while blowing the shofar for others, in order to fulfil the mitzva according to all poskim. The same applies to anyone else who is not totally deaf and wears electronic hearing aids. The hearing aids should ideally be removed when the shofar is sounded and one should stand near to the baal toke’ah if necessary. If one cannot hear the shofar without them, one should wear them and fulfil the mitzva according to Hacham Ovadia.
Rabbi Yehuda Finchas is a worldwide expert, lecturer, and author on Medical Halacha. He heads the Torat Habayit Medical Halacha Institute. His latest book is “Brain Death in Halacha and the Tower of Babel Syndrome.” To contact Rabbi Finchas, email rabbi@torathabayit.com.