Question: When must one stand to honor the Sefer Torah?
Discussion: One is required to stand,263 without leaning on anything, whenever the Sefer Torah is in motion. Thus, when the Torah is being carried from the Aron Kodesh or being raised for hagbah, one must stand until it is placed on the bimah or is no longer within view.264
When the Torah is not in motion, the following rules apply:265
When the Sefer Torah is in a closed aron, or resting on the bimah, or being held by someone who is sitting down, there is no reason to stand.
When the Sefer Torah is being held by a person who is standing (e.g., during Keil Malei Rachamim), or is standing upright in the Aron Kodesh, and the door of the Aron Kodesh is open, it has become standard practice for the congregation to honor the Torah by standing – even though one is not halachically required to do so.266
If the Sefer Torah is being carried and the person carrying it has simply stopped to rest, the congregation is required to remain standing, as this is considered “in motion.”267
As the Sefer Torah is being carried along the right side of the shul towards the bimah, some authorities say that it is proper for the congregants on the path of the Sefer Torah to honor it by following and escorting it268 as it passes by them.269 Others, however, maintain that it is considered “pompous” to do so and should not be done.270 All agree that there is no reason for anyone who is not in the path of the Sefer Torah (e.g., the people who are seated behind the bimah) to come to the front of the shul so that they can follow the Sefer Torah.
It is both customary and considered correct chinuch for people to bring their young children forward so that they can respectfully kiss the Torah mantle.271 Many adults, as well, have a custom to kiss the Sefer Torah when it passes,272 while others question this custom and permit only touching or pointing at the Sefer Torah and then kissing that hand.273
Some people take a detour [or bend down] while carrying the Sefer Torah to the bimah to allow those who are not within reach of the Sefer Torah to kiss it or touch it. This practice is regarded by some Poskim as highly inappropriate.274
263 A person who is sitting must stand up, and a person who is walking must stand still until the Sefer Torah passes by (Aruch Hashulchan, Yoreh Deah 282:3).
264 Mishnah Berurah 146, note 17, based on Yoreh Deah 282:2. According to some opinions, one is required to stand as long as one can sense that the Torah is being carried, even if it is not visible to him. [Many Poskim attempt to justify the practice of those who sit on Simchas Torah during the dancing even though the Sefer Torah is in motion; see Ishei Yisrael 47, notes 91 and 92. Still, it is proper for God-fearing people to stand whenever the Sefer Torah is in motion unless he himself is holding a Sefer Torah.]
265 Based on Sha’ar Hatziyun 146, note 18; Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim V, 38:4; Minchas Shlomo 1:33.
266 Accordingly, a weak or ill person may sit.
267 Shach, Yoreh Deah 282:2.
268 Mishnah Berurah (149, note 7) writes that it is proper to follow the Sefer Torah until it reaches the bimah. Cf. Halichos Shlomo, Tefillah 12:12 that it is sufficient to follow along “a bit.”
269 Mishnah Berurah ibid.
270 Aruch Hashulchan 149:3; 282:1.
271 Rema 149:1.
272 Sha’arei Ephraim 10:4; Kaf Hachaim 134:10; 149:10.
273 Pischei She’arim 10:, citing Kitzur Shelah; Siddur Tzelosa De’Avraham, p. 375; Gevuros Eliyahu, Yoreh Deah 91:3 and 141:1; Ashrei Ha’ish, Orach Chaim I, 25:4.
274 Yad Yitzchak, cited by Beis Baruch 31:171; Responsa Rivam Shneituch, cited by Tzitz Eliezer 12:40.