More than any other time of year, the Chazzan (cantor) takes a primary role in the services during the High Holidays. (I can still vividly, and fondly, remember my grandfather, a”h, Oscar Goldman, leading the services at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, even joining him at times on the Bimah.) Nevertheless, since there is a “Sh’liyach Tzibbur” all year long, the laws pertaining to who is qualified to lead the services are included in the laws of the daily services (O”C 53). Granted, as the decisors discuss, there might be a higher set of standards at certain times of the year (such as Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), but the basic guidelines and preferences are listed there. Included is the requirement that the person who leads the services be appropriate, i.e. not a sinner. One of the discussions that stems from these guidelines is about which is more preferable, a Chazzan who is not only righteous himself, but whose parents were also righteous, or one who is righteous despite his parents not being righteous. (For the record, not only did my grandfather have to find a new job every week because he refused to work on Saturdays, but his father, a”h, Nissan Yitzchok, lost a lot of money because he closed a new restaurant he had just opened when he found out that his partner had secretly started to prepare foods to be served Saturday night before Shabbos was over.)

Mishneh B’rurah (53:13), Aruch HaShulchan (53:9) and Magen Avraham (53:8) are among the decisors who say it is preferable for someone who is “righteous the son of someone who is righteous” to lead the services. The basis for this preference is quite straightforward, as we find that even though both Yitzchok and Rivkah beseeched G-d to have children, Yitzchok’s prayers were the ones G-d responded to because his parents were righteous whereas hers were not (see Rashi on B’reishis 25:21). [As a side note, this is clear evidence that Aggadic interpretations have an impact on Jewish law.] Others, e.g. Taz (53:3), Elyah Rabbah (53:16, see also Elyah Zuta 53:11) and Maharshal (Responsa 20, Chulin 7:17) say it is preferable for this righteous person to be the son of parents who aren’t righteous. Even though only Yitzchok was answered, a differentiation is made between asking for personal needs, where having righteous parents makes it more likely to be answered (due to their merits), and asking on behalf of the community, where the fact that he abandoned the inappropriate lifestyle of his parents is more advantageous. Let’s take a closer look at how these factors can make a difference.

It should be noted that, to a large extent, the discussion as to which is preferable is based on how the words of the Rosh, quoted by the Tur, are understood, and how the text reads (whether or not a certain verse is included in the Rosh’s reason for discounting it being preferable to come from a distinguished family). Although it seems to me that the Rosh treats the two (having righteous parents and coming from a distinguished family) as two separate things, (so discounting the family’s status does not automatically affect the impact of his parents being righteous), some commentators/decisors equate the two, which leads them to prefer a righteous cantor whose parents were not righteous. Nevertheless, despite the necessity of relying on what the Rosh wrote (since following the precedents set forth by earlier decisors is of primary importance when it comes to Jewish law), there must be a rationale behind the different ways the Rosh can be understood.

Is the person who leads the services praying on behalf of the community, or helping the community offer their prayers. Is his role to inspire them, so that their prayers can be more effective, or to represent them before G-d? When Moshe davened on behalf of the nation after the sin of the golden calf, he was answered in his own merit (because of how he would have been impacted had G-d wiped them out, see Ralbag). Since his payers were answered because of how he was affected by the situation, it follows that the merits of his parents could have played a role as well. Although Moshe likely had enough merits on his own, if a Chazzan is praying for the community, since it becomes — at least to some extent — a personal prayer, having righteous parents would be beneficial. This is especially true since some of the prayers are about the community as a whole, which he is a part of; having his prayers answered is also personally beneficial to him, so the merits of his righteous parents will help them be answered — which in turn benefits the entire community. If, on the other hand, the Chazzan’s role is to help the community offer more heartfelt prayers, the righteousness of his parents is only relevant insofar as it impacts the quality of the prayers of the community. Since knowing that he has become a community leader despite his weaker background may inspire the community to improve more than if his parents were also righteous, a Chazzan with a weaker background is preferred.

[Although I referenced the Maharshal as being of the opinion that it would be preferable to have a Chazzan who was righteous even though his parents weren’t, and he does say this in two places, elsewhere (Chullin 1:48) he says that all things being equal (i.e. the level of righteousness of the candidates to lead the services being the same; see Shulchan Aruch HaRav for a more nuanced formula), it’s better to hire someone whose parents were also righteous. Nevertheless, it is possible that the Maharshal distinguishes between situations where the Chazzan’s main role is to inspire the congregation (such as during the High Holidays), in which case it is better to have someone who overcame a weaker background lead the services, and when his role is to help those who can’t pray on their own, and is therefore praying on their behalf, in which case having the extra merits of his parents’ righteousness is better.]

To be sure, both aspects are true, as the Chazzan not only represents the community with his prayers, but is also supposed to inspire the community and help raise the quality of their prayers. The question would then be which role takes precedence; if representing the community and praying on their behalf is primary, it would be more beneficial if his parents were righteous too, whereas if inspiring them is primary, being righteous despite his parents not having been is more advantageous. We can add to the mix Shulchan Aruch HaRav’s suggestion (53:7) that one whose parents were not righteous is likely to be more humble and offer more heartfelt prayers than one who (thinks he) can rely on his parents’ righteousness for his prayers to be answered.

There may be another factor as to why a righteous Chazzan whose parents weren’t righteous might be preferred despite the fact that Yitzchok was answered because his parents were also righteous while Rivka wasn’t because her parents were not.

Saying that it is preferable to hire one over the other makes it seem as if both are viable options, just that one is better than the other (with the question being which one is preferable). However, in the case of Yitzchok and Rivka, the implication of G-d listening to him and not her is that her prayers weren’t answered at all. Not that both offered great prayers, and the prayers of both helped Rivka become pregnant with Yitzchok’s accomplishing more because his parents were righteous, but that only his prayers worked, not hers. Previously (http://www.aishdas.org/ta/5765/toldos.pdf), I suggested, based on B’reishis Rabbah (60:13), that the reason the prayers of the righteous whose parents were not righteous are ignored is so that no one will mistakenly attribute the success to the actions or prayers of the wicked parents. [This is especially true in Rivka’s case, as her family gave her a blessing for success which included having much offspring (B’reishis 24:60).] It therefore had to be made obvious to all that despite Rivka’s constant prayers, she wasn’t answered until Yitzchok prayed on her behalf too; her parents had nothing to do with it.

When it comes to leading the services, though, since the prayers made are on behalf of the community, there is little concern that being answered when led by a Chazzan whose parents aren’t righteous will be attributed to those unrighteous parents. Therefore, all else being equal, the only factor involved is whether the added merits of the Chazzan’s parents helping the Chazzan personally, which by extension helps the congregation, outweighs the benefit of the added inspiration of the Chazzan being righteous despite his weaker background (or vice versa).