A Sefer Torah That Fell
“As Though Bitten by a Snake”
(Menachos 32b)
Our Gemara recounts that Rabbi Elazar once sat on a bed and remembered that a Sefer Torah had been on it before. He slid off and sat on the ground and acted as though he had been bitten by a snake. Rabbi Elazar physically felt the manifestations of the custom to fast as if, G-d forbid, a Sefer Torah or tefillin had fallen on the floor (see Magen Avraham, Orach Chayyim 44, s.k. 5).
A Fast for the Disregard of Holy Objects
The Chida, who discusses this custom in his Responsa Chayyim Sha’al 12, emphasizes that the custom is mentioned neither in the Talmud nor by the Rishonim. “However, it is the custom to fast even if one’s tefillin fell, and certainly for a fallen Sefer Torah.” In his opinion, the reason for the custom is for one to atone for his disregard of the holy items while he was holding them. Therefore, he ruled that those present when a Sefer Torah fell do not have to fast as they did not cause the desecration. However, sometimes rabbanim declared a fast for the entire congregation to arouse the obligation to be meticulous in the honor of a Sefer Torah.
The Difference Between Tefillin and a Sefer Torah
Responsa Yad Eliezer (126) writes that the reason for the fast is that we should regard the fall as a sign from Heaven calling for introspection and repentance. According to the Yad Eliezer, only the person whose tefillin fell fasts, but the matter is different concerning a Sefer Torah that fell. The latter obligates the whole congregation to fast, as a Sefer Torah belongs to the community and its fall is a sign to arouse them all (see Moznayim Lemishpat 5 by Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, zt”l). The Chazon Nachum 86 adds that the fast for a Sefer Torah that fell is an expression of the pain one should feel for its desecration. On the other hand, many poskim write that the congregation does not have to fast and that this halacha is not our practice as a Sefer Torah falling is not a frequent event, and how can we say that the custom was one way or another concerning a rare event? (Zecher Yehosef, Orach Chayyim 31).
Some poskim (see Responsa Maharshag, Yoreh Deah 53; Responsa Riva 27) rule that those who were present when a Sefer Torah fell should redeem their fast with charity (see Responsa Tzitz Eliezer 5:1:3).