Question:
Regarding exactly 10 men and someone runs out in the middle, if the baal korei or chazan realizes someone went out in the middle of an aliyah or in middle of chazaras hashatz, are they required to stop until the person gets back? Or can they complete it since they started it with 10 men?
Thank you!
Answer:
The chazzan or baal koreh does not have to stop, when he realizes that there is no longer a minyan there, however he is only allowed to continue until the end of that part of davening. If the chazzan realized the person left after the chazzan started chazoras hashatz the Ashkenazi minhag is that he may continue until after kaddish tiskabel (after ova ltzion) and may even say that kaddish after tachanun. The Sefardi minhag however, is that each kaddish is a topic in of itself and he can’t say kaddeishim. According to everyone birkas kohanim and kriyas hatorah can not be said. If the person left in middle of kriyas hatorah they may continue until the end of the kriyah is a separate part of davening.
Sources:
Rema O:CH 55-3, M:B 55-12, Kaf Hachayim 55-38 brings a number of poskim who hold like the Shulchan Aruch and argue on the Rema, that each kaddish is it’s own section, Piskei Teshuvos 55- 8.
