General background
The Torah reading is one of the most time-honored institutions in Judaism, dating back to the era of Moses himself. This ritual, as the name suggests, consist of the public reading of a particular passage out of the Torah scroll.
When the concept of the Torah reading was initially enacted, it called for a distinct reading for every Shabbat and holiday, as well as a reading for Mondays and Thursdays, so that three days would never elapse without a Torah reading. It was sufficient, however, for a single verse from the Torah to be read and for a single person to receive the honor of reading it.
The Torah reading began to take on the form with which we are familiar today during the times of Ezra the Scribe, who lived at the beginning of the Second Temple era. Ezra added several elements to the original practice instituted by Moses, calling for three people to be called to the Torah on Mondays and Thursdays and for every Torah reading to consist of a minimum of ten verses.
In practice, the reading of the Torah on Shabbat is divided into seven sections, and on Mondays and Thursdays the reading is split into three sections. For each section of the Torah reading, the gabbai calls up a member of the congregation by name. The honoree recites blessings both before and after the reading; he also reads from the Torah scroll quietly along with the “baal koreh” (reader).
Since the Torah reading takes place on the bimah, an elevated platform, the honoree ascends the bimah. During the times of Ezra, every honoree would also ascend a small wooden structure. For this reason, the honor of being called to the Torah is known by the Hebrew word “aliyah,” whose literal meaning is “ascent.”
The original practice was actually for the recipient of an aliyah to read his particular portion from the Torah scroll by himself. Over the years, however, increasing numbers of Jews were unable to read from the Torah scroll on their own. Reading from the Torah scroll is a particularly difficult task, since the Hebrew letters appear by themselves on the parchment, without the addition of the vowel signs or cantillation symbols that indicate how to read the words properly. As a result, it became common practice for the Torah portions to be read aloud by an individual who is trained and proficient in doing so.
At the conclusion of the Torah reading, the Torah scroll is lifted and shown to the congregation. It is then rolled closed and returned to the Ark.
Just like Kedushah and Kaddish, the Torah reading takes place only in the context of a communal prayer service, with a minimum of ten adult Jewish males present.
The procedure of the Torah reading
Opening the Ark
A congregant is chosen to open the Ark and remove the Torah scroll. The same congregant will return the scroll to the Ark at the conclusion of the Torah reading.
- The curtain of the Ark should be pulled from the right to the left when it is opened.
- It is obligatory to stand from the time the Ark is opened and the Torah scroll is removed until the scroll is placed on the table where it is read.
- When the Ark is opened, the congregation should recite the appropriate prayers as they appear in the siddur: “Vayehi B’nesoa HaAron–When the Ark traveled” and “Brich Shemeih–Blessed is His Name.”
“Brich Shemeih–Blessed is His Name”
When the Ark is opened, it is a special time when G-d more readily accepts our prayers. At this time, we recite a special prayer in the Aramaic language that begins with the words “Blessed is His Name.”
In this prayer, we bless the Master of the world and ask Him to have mercy on us and grant us long lives filled with pleasantness and good so that we will be able to continue serving Him wholeheartedly. We declare that we place our trust solely in the G-d of heaven and earth, for He is true and His Torah is true forever.
This prayer was preserved in Aramaic, its original language, presumably because it was commonly recited during the Talmudic era even by ordinary Jews, who spoke Aramaic, and this version of the prayer ultimately became that which was widely used.
As we explained regarding Kaddish, tradition teaches us that there are certain angels whose task it is to carry our prayers to Heaven. These angels examine the deeds of every person to determine whether his prayers should be “permitted” to reach G-d. But the angels are unable to block a prayer that is recited in Aramaic since they do not understand that language.
The congregant who opens the Ark presents the Torah scroll to the chazzan, and he takes it in his right hand. He then announces, “Declare the greatness of G-d with me, and let us exalt His Name together.” The congregation responds with the verses of “To you, G-d, is the greatness and the might” and “Father of mercy.”
The chazzan then proceeds toward the bimah while holding the Torah scroll and ascends the bimah from its right side.
- When the Torah scroll passes by each congregant, it is customary to kiss it and to bring small children to kiss it as well, in order to train them to perform mitzvot and to implant feelings of love for the Torah within them.
- It is customary to walk along with the Torah scroll from the Ark to the bimah in order to display honor for it.
The Aliyah
After the chazzan places the Torah scroll on the bimah, the gabbai calls up the honorees to receive their aliyot.
The first aliyah is given to a kohen. The second is given to a levi (Levite). The third, “shlishi,” is given to a yisrael (a Jew who is neither a kohen nor a levi). These three categories represent the three different types of Jews. The initials of the Hebrew words “kohen,” “levi,” and “yisrael” spell the Hebrew word kli, “vessel,” and the requirement to dispense aliyot to each of the three groups hints that we can only become a “vessel” worthy of receiving Divine blessing if we combine to form a unit consisting of all three types of Jews.
As we explained in our section on the Priestly Blessing, both the status of kohen and the status of levi is inherited from one’s father. If you know that your father and grandfather were either kohanim or leviim, that means that you too have received their special status!
The gabbai calls up each honoree by calling out his name and the name of his father. Thus, for instance, a gabbai may call, “Yaamod Yosef ben Elazar–Let Yosef the son of Elazar rise.” In Sephardic communities, however, it is not customary to call honorees up by their names. Instead, the gabbai calls out, “Let the kohen rise,” “Let the levi rise,” etc.
A person who is called to the Torah should approach the bimah via the shortest possible route from his seat. By doing so, he demonstrates that the Torah is valuable to him and he does not wish to delay even for a few seconds before reading from it.
Question: Who is called up for the first aliyah when no kohen is present?
Answer: A levi may be called to the Torah instead. If no levi is present, a yisrael may be called. The gabbai calls out, “Let Yosef the son of Elazar rise—a levi in place of a kohen” or “Let Yosef the son of Elazar rise—a yisrael in palce of a kohen.” The second aliyah should be given only to a yisrael.
Obligatory Honorees
The first two aliyot are reserved for a kohen and a levi. The third aliyah can be given to any member of the congregation, but there are some people who are obligated to receive aliyot on specific occasions.
It is highly recommended to be called to the Torah on specific milestone occasions–when circumstances allow for it, of course–as follows:
- A groom on the day of his wedding
- A Bar Mitzvah boy on the day of his Bar Mitzvah
- A person serving as sandak at a circumcision
- The father of an infant to be circumcised that day
- A person observing the yahrtzeit (anniversary of death) of one of his parents
- A person who experienced a Divine salvation and is required to recite the blessing of “Hagomel”
- A person whose Hebrew birthday occurs on the day when the Torah is read
- A person observing the year of mourning for one of his parents
The Blessings
The honoree ascends the bimah to the right of the reader, who points to the spot in the Torah scroll where the Torah reading will begin so that he will know on which portion he is to recite the blessing. The honoree touches the beginning and end of his “personal” Torah portion with his tallit or the belt of the Torah scroll and then kisses that item. Then he closes the Torah scroll.
With an Ashkenazic Torah scroll, the honoree grasps the wooden handles of the scroll. With a Sephardic scroll, the honoree places his hands on the scroll itself after it has been closed.
- The honoree recites Barchu—“Bless G-d, the Blessed One,” and the congregation replies, “Blessed is G-d, the Blessed One, for all eternity.”
- The honoree then recites the blessing over the Torah reading: “Blessed are You, G-d, our Lord, King of the Universe, Who chose us from among the nations and gave us His Torah. Blessed are You, G-d, Who gives the Torah.” The congregation responds, “Amen.”
The Reading
After the congregation has finished responding Amen to the blessing, the reader begins to read the verses from the Torah scroll. During the course of the reading, the honoree reads along in a whisper from inside the scroll.
- During the Torah reading, both the reader and the honoree should hold the wooden handles of the Torah scroll.
There should always be a minimum of three people standing at the bimah during the Torah reading. In general, these three people will be the gabbai, the reader, and the honoree.
At the end of the Torah reading, the honoree once again uses his tallit or the belt of the scroll to “kiss” the place where the reading concluded. He then closes the Torah scroll and recites the blessing, “Blessed are You, G-d our Lord, King of the world, Who gave us the Torah of truth and planted eternal life in our midst. Blessed are You, G-d, Who gives the Torah.” The congregation responds “Amen.”
At the conclusion of the reading, the honoree should remain standing on the right side of the bimah, alongside the Torah scroll, until the conclusion of the following aliyah. When he descends from the bimah to return to his seat, he should walk slowly and take a longer route, in order to demonstrate his love for the Torah and that he is not in a “rush” to depart from it.
- During the Torah reading, the congregation should follow along in a printed Chumash.
- One should not speak throughout the course of the Torah reading.
Hagbahah
At the end of the Torah reading, either the reader or an orphan in the congregation recites “half Kaddish” and the Torah scroll is raised.
This is true regarding the Ashkenazic custom. The Sephardic custom, however, is for the Torah scroll to be raised immediately upon its removal from the Ark.
One of the congregants is given the honor of performing Hagbahah, the raising of the Torah scroll. He opens the scroll wide enough for at least three columns to be visible, lifts it into the air, and turns to his right and left so that everyone present can see the writing. During Hagbahah, the congregation recites, “This is the Torah that Moses placed before the Children of Israel,” followed by the prayer beginning with “A Tree of Life,” as it appears in the prayer book.
- The congregants should endeavor to see the writing in the Torah scroll during Hagbahah.
Gelilah
After Hagbahah, the scroll is placed back on the table and closed so that the seam where two sheets of parchment meet is in the center. By doing so, we ensure that if the scroll rips, Heaven forbid, only the seam will rip, rather than the parchment itself.
After the scroll has been closed, the congregant who was honored with Hagbahah holds the Torah scroll against his chest and sits on a bench or chair designated for him. Another congregant is honored with Gelilah; he ascends the bimah, uses the belt of the Torah scroll to tie it tightly shut, and places its cloth covering and crown on top of it.
- The congregant who performed Gelilah remains sitting with the Torah scroll in his arms until the conclusion of the prayer Uva L’Tzion (A Redeemer Will Come to Zion).
At the conclusion of the Torah reading, we continue with the prayers of Ashrei and Uva L’Tzion. Only after these prayers is the Torah scroll returned to the Ark. See below for further details.
