Apropos of nothing, a quick post. On Shabbos
Hol Ha-Mo'ed morning, I attended a Chaim Berlin
minyan. I was not expecting the following to occur and it was the first time I ever saw it. They read
Koheles from a scroll -- not so unusual, some synagogues read every
haftarah from a scroll -- and recited a blessing of "
al mikra megillah" prior to reading. I was so surprised that I actually said "Wow" audibly (I don't normally react that way). And then they said a "
she-he-heyanu"! Sure, I knew immediately that they were following the practice of the Vilna Gaon. I just had never actually seen it. Cool! It was worth walking all that way in the pouring rain just for that.