Q. One of the members of our congregation recently returned to shul after a long illness in which he lost the use of his eyes.
He is now unfortunately totally blind and gets around with the help of a seeing eye dog ( a magnificent creature in its own right).
On his return to shul last shabbat he was given the honor of an aliya. However, when he approached the bima with his dog, the rabbi montioned the gabbai not to allow the dog on the bima. The gabbai helped the member up the bima stairs and the dog remained at the bottom of the bima. The member was clearly very upset and shaken by these events.
Later the assistant rabbi (the rabbi was away) told the congregation that it was not kovod hatorah for a dog to be on the bima. Normally I would agree, but under the circumstances what do you think?
A. Igrois Moshe (O.H. 1: 45) permits the attendance of a seeing eye dog to shul when needed. Sha'are Halacha Uminchag (p.204) further asserts that from the fact that the Talmud (Yuma 21b) describes the heavenly fire resting in the altar as taking the form of a dog, it would seem that there is no unsuitable connotation in a dog's presence, other Poskim disagree.
However. Chelkas Ya'akov (O.H. 34) differs with the Igrois Moshe leniency, since the presence of the dog may cause levity and frivolous distractions especially among the youngsters. He also argues about safety, two concerns that may not seem valid today in many shuln. Yalkut Yosef (150: 25) quoting Horav Ovadia Yosef zt”l is also stringent since the dog could easily be placed outside, and the blind be helped by the other attendants to the shul. (See Hatefila Vehilchateha p. 170)
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit”a opinion is that if it is possible for someone to help the blind man up the bimah it is preferable.The most important issue is. to avoid this becoming a source of machlokes and conflict.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a
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