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Torah reading (; ) is a Judaism Religion tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation (trope), and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. It is also commonly called " laining" ( lein is also spelt lain, leyn, layn; from the Yiddish (), which means "to read").
Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles from the Babylonian captivity ( BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah.. In the modern era, Orthodox Judaism practice Torah reading according to a set procedure almost unchanged since the era.The exceptions being that most communities (except for Yemenites) ceased in the early Middle Ages to translate the Torah reading into Aramaic as was done in Talmudic times. In addition, in Talmudic times, the one receiving an Aliyah would read his own portion, but most communities today have an institution of a Baal keriah who reads on behalf of all of those receiving Aliyot. Since the 19th century CE, Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same:
As a part of the morning or afternoon prayer services on certain days of the week or holidays, a section of the Pentateuch is read from a Torah scroll. On Shabbat (Saturday) mornings, a weekly section (known as a sedra or parashah) is read, selected so that the entire Pentateuch is read consecutively each year.The division of parashot found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities (Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite Jews) is based on the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls, chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of the parashot for the Torah on the Aleppo Codex. Though initially doubted by Umberto Cassuto, this has become the established position in modern scholarship (see the Aleppo Codex article for more information.)Conservative and Reform Judaism synagogues may read parashot on a triennial rather than annual schedule... On Sabbath afternoons, Mondays, and Thursdays, the beginning of the following Sabbath's portion is read. On Jewish holidays (including chol hamoed, Chanukkah and Purim), Rosh Chodesh, and fast days, special sections connected to the day are read.
Many Jews observe an annual holiday, Simchat Torah, to celebrate the completion of the year's cycle of readings.
The mitzvah of Torah reading was based on the Biblical commandment of Hakhel (Deuteronomy 31:10–13), by which once every 7 years the entire people was to be gathered, "men, women and children," Deuteronomy 31:12 and hear much of Deuteronomy, the final volume of the Pentateuch, read to them (see the closing chapters of the Talmudic tractate Sotah) by the King.
Torah reading is discussed in the Mishna and Talmud, primarily in tractate Megilla.
It has been suggested that the reading of the Law was due to a desire to controvert the views of the Samaritans with regard to the various festivals, for which reason arrangements were made to have the passages of the Pentateuch relating to those festivals read and expounded on the feast-days themselves.
Joseph Jacobs, in the Jewish Encyclopedia article mentioned, notes that the transition from the triennial to the annual reading of the Law and the transference of the beginning of the cycle to the month of Tishri are attributed by Sándor Büchler to the influence of Abba Arikha (175–247 CE):
The current practice in Orthodox synagogues follows the annual/Babylonian cycle. At the time of the Jewish Encyclopedia's publication (1901–06), the author noted that there were only "slight traces of the triennial cycle in the four special Sabbaths and in some of the passages read upon the festivals, which are frequently sections of the triennial cycle, and not of the annual one"..
In the 19th and 20th centuries, some Conservative (as evidenced in the Etz Hayim chumash) and most Reform,. Reconstructionist. and Renewal congregations have switched to a triennial cycle, where the first third of each parashah is read one year, the second third the next year and the final third in a third year. This must be distinguished from the ancient practice, which was to read each seder in serial order regardless of the week of the year, completing the entire Torah in three (or three and a half) years in a linear fashion.
When the Torah is read in the morning, it comes after Tachanun or Hallel, or, if these are omitted, immediately after the Amidah. The Torah reading is followed by the recitation of the Half Kaddish.
When the Torah is read during the afternoon prayers, it occurs immediately before the Amidah.
The Torah scroll is stored in an ornamental cabinet, called a Aron kodesh ( ), designed specifically for Torah scrolls. The Holy Ark is usually found in the front of the sanctuary, and is a central element of synagogue architecture. When needed for reading, the Torah is removed from the ark by someone chosen for the honor from among the Minyan; specific prayers are recited as it is removed. The Torah is then carried by Hazzan to the bimah — a platform or table from which it will be read; further prayers are recited by the congregation while this is done.
Ikuv keriah, rarely practiced today, was a procedure by which community members could have their grievances addressed by interfering with the service at the time the Torah was removed from the Ark.
In Ashkenazi Jews tradition, lifting is called "Hagbah" and is usually done after the reading, although some Nusach Sefard communities, especially in Israel, have adopted the Sephardic custom of doing it before the reading. The order was a matter of medieval dispute but the position of the Kol Bo, lifting before, eventually lost to that of Moses Isserles and is followed in only a few Ashkenazic communities. Two honorees are called: the Magbiah ("lifter") performs Hagbah ("lifting of") and displays the Torah's Hebrew text for all to see,.. after which the Golel ("roller") performs Gelila ("rolling" of") and puts on the cover, belt, crown, and/or other ornaments (this role, originally distinguished, is now often given to minors). In Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and some Open Orthodox congregations, these roles may also be performed by a woman. The respective titles for women are "Magbihah" and "Golelet". Rashi says on Megillah 32a that these roles were originally performed by the same honoree.
As the Hagbah is performed, the congregation points toward the Torah scroll with their pinky fingers and recites Deut. 4:44, "And this is the Law which Moses set before the people of Israel", adding, "on the word of the LORD, by hand of Moses." The custom of pointing has no clear origin. The medieval Ashkenazic custom (according to Moses Isserles) was to bow toward the scroll during Hagbaha; pointing is mentioned by Mordecai Crispin of Rhodes () in a work published by his grandson in 1836; pointing with the pinky, first recorded as a "Russian" custom by the 1912 Jewish Encyclopedia, was codified by the Me'am Loez in 1969. Twentieth-century additions to the Me'am Loez were written by an Ashkenazi, Shmuel Kroizer, but the Sephardic prestige of the work has helped the custom become near-universal among both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews.
In Ashkenazic congregations, the Magbiah will usually sit holding the scroll until after the Haftarah is performed and the chazzan takes it from him to return it to the ark. In some congregations, the scroll is instead placed on the Bema or handed to a different honoree (frequently a minor) to sit and hold.
There are always at least three aliyot in a given Torah-reading service:
| Mondays and Thursdays, Shabbat afternoon, fast days (morning and afternoon), Hanukkah, Purim, Yom Kippur afternoon |
| Rosh Chodesh, Chol HaMoed |
| Passover (Yom Tov days only, excluding chol hamoed), Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot (Yom Tov days only, excluding chol hamoed), Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah |
| Yom Kippur morning |
| Shabbat (Saturday) morning |
On Saturday mornings, there are seven olim, the maximum of any day, but more may be added if desired, by subdividing these seven aliyot or repeating passages (according to the custom of some communities). When a festival or Yom Kippur coincides with Shabbat the readings are divided into seven aliyot instead of five or six.
In most congregations, the oleh does not himself read the Torah aloud. Rather, he stands near it while a practiced expert, called a Baal keriah ("one in charge of reading"; sometimes ba'al kore), reads the Torah, with cantillation, for the congregation. The oleh follows along with the expert, reading in a whisper. In Yemenite Jews communities, the oleh reads the portion himself, while on the Sabbath and Festival mornings another person, usually a young boy, recites the targum after each verse.
In both Orthodox and Conservative congregations, it is common practice to give out an aliyah to a man (or woman, in Conservative congregations) who has just recovered from a serious illness, or returned from a long trip, or survived some other significant danger, in order to allow him (or her) to recite a special blessing, known as "benching gomel", although technically one can "bench gomel" even without receiving an Aliyah.
Aliyot are also given to a groom-to-be, or in egalitarian congregations, the bride-to-be and groom-to-be, together, in a pre-wedding ceremony known as an "aufruf".
In Jewish custom, baby boys are named in a special ceremony, known as a brit milah, but baby girls are often named during the Torah reading, with the father (in non-egalitarian congregations) or both parents (in egalitarian congregations) being called up for an aliyah prior to the naming, and a special blessing for the baby.
Each oleh, after being called to the Torah, approaches it, recites a benediction, a portion is read, and the oleh concludes with another benediction. Then the next oleh is called.
In Ashkenazi congregations, as well as some Sephardi congregations, the gabbai recites a Hebrew verse upon calling the first person to the Torah. Afterward, men are called with: " Ya'amod (Let him arise), Hebrew ben (son of) Father's Ha-Kohen (the name of the Aliyah in Hebrew)." (In Conservative and Reform synagogues where women may receive aliyot, women are called with " Ta'amod (Let her arise), Hebrew bat (daughter of) Father's Ha-Kohen (the name of the Aliyah in Hebrew)." In some egalitarian communities, the mother's Hebrew name is added along with the father's, or both parents are included in the case of same-sex parents). In some communities, a mi she-beirach is recited for the person after he received his Aliyah; in other communities, this is done only on shabbat morning or only for special occasions.
These aliyot are followed by half-kaddish. When the Torah is read in the afternoon, kaddish is not recited at this point, but rather after the Torah has been returned to the Ark (the exception being in the Chabad custom, where the Kaddish is recited immediately after the reading instead of after the Torah has been returned to the Ark).
בָּרְכוּ אֶת יְיָ הַמְבֹרָךְ׃
Bar'chu es Adonai ham'vorach.
You will bless The Lord the Blessed one.° (° or " who is to be blessed ")
The congregation responds with the traditional blessing:
בָּרוּךְ יְיָ הַמְבֹרָךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד׃
Baruch Adonai ham'vorach l'olam va'ed.
Bless The Lord who is (to be) blessed forever and eternally.
The oleh now repeats the blessing just uttered by the congregation.
The oleh will then say:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בָּנוּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת תּוֹרָתוֹ׃
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ נוֹתֵן הַתּוֹרָה׃
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu melech ha'olam.
Asher bachar banu mikol ha'amim v'nasan lanu es toraso.
Baruch atah Adonai, nosen hatorah.
Blessed are You O Lord, our God, king of all existence,
Who chose us from among all nations and gave us His Torah.
Blessed are You, O Lord, giver of the Torah.This blessing is found in the Talmud, Berachot 11b, where Rabbi Hamnuna is quoted as saying "This is the best of all blessings." Bernard S. Jacobson, The Sabbath Service (Engl.transl. 1981, Tel Aviv, Sinai Pub'g) page 264; Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, N. J.: Jason Aronson) s.v. "Birkat Hatorah" pages 105–106. The "simple but sublime words" mean that, while the Torah is meant not for Jewry alone but for all mankind, the Israelite nation was selected for the duty of proclaiming the Torah to the rest of the world. Joseph H. Hertz, Authorised Daily Prayer Book (NYC: Bloch Publ'g Co., rev.ed. 1948) page 486.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם
אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָנוּ (אֶת תּוֹרָתוֹ) תּוֹרַת אֶמֶת
וְחַיֵי עוֹלָם נָטַע בְּתוֹכֵנוּ׃
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ נוֹתֵן הַתּוֹרָה׃
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheynu melech ha'olam.
Asher nasan lanu (Sephardim add: et torato) Toras emes.
Ve'chayey ‘olam nata’ besochenu.
Baruch atah Adonai, nosen ha-torah.
Blessed are You O Lord, our God, king of the Universe,
Who has given us the Torah of truth,
and planted life everlasting within us.
Blessed are You, O Lord, giver of the Torah.
In North America, and elsewhere, many congregations extend the honor of an aliyah to visitors or new members, to members who have recently attained a major life event, and to the relatives of the bar/bat mitzvah child. Refusing an aliyah is regarded as an insult to the Torah itself.Adin Steinsaltz, A Guide to Jewish Prayer (Hebrew ed. 1994, Engl. transl. 2000, NY, Schocken Books) page 259. It would be desirable that anyone who might expect such an honor would rehearse these blessings beforehand in order to do a creditable performance when the occasion occurs.An example is sending a copy of the blessings with transliteration with invitations to a bar mitzvah, in Ronald H. Isaacs, Reaching for Sinai (1999, NJ, KTAV Publ'g) page 41.
When the Torah is read on Tisha Bav in the morning, on the afternoon of a fast day, and on Yom Kippur afternoon, the third aliyah is considered the maftir, and is followed immediately by the haftarah.
In Ashkenazic communities, the Chazzan takes the Torah scroll in his right arm and recites "Let them praise the name of HaShem, for his name alone will have been exalted." The congregation then responds with Psalm 148, verses 13–14. In other communities, the verses recited may differ.
On the day of Simchat Torah (in Judaism, day follows night), some communities repeat the seven rounds of song and dance to varying degrees, while in others the Torah scrolls are only carried around the Bimah (seven times) symbolically. Afterwards, many communities have the custom of calling every member of the congregation for an aliyah, which is accomplished by repeatedly re-reading the day's five aliyot. The process is often expedited by splitting the congregants into multiple rooms, to each of which a Torah is brought for the reading, and traditionally care must be taken that a minyan is present for the entirety of each reading.
Following the regular aliyot, the honor of Hatan Torah ("Groom of the Torah") is given to a distinguished member of the congregation, who is called for an aliyah in which the remaining verses of the Torah are read, to complete that year's reading. Another member of the congregation is honored with Hatan Bereishit ("Groom of Genesis"), and receives an aliyah in which the first verses of the Torah, containing the creation account of Genesis, are read (a second copy of the Torah is usually used, so that the first need not be rolled all the way to the beginning while the congregants wait). In the Italian Nusach, this reading is read from a printed book without reciting a blessing. Afterwards, the services proceed in the usual manner, with the maftir and haftarah for Simchat Torah.
Based on this in most Orthodox congregations, only men are called to the Torah. This term is interpreted in numerous ways by various sources.
A small number of Modern Orthodox congregations have added all-female prayer groups, where women are permitted to read the Torah to an audience of women, though without blessings, aliyot, or associated liturgy. The Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis stated that women were not permitted to read from the Torah in the United Synagogues.
By 2019 the number of tapes produced was in the millions, including the public lectures by Avigdor Miller. Torah Tape libraries have been opened beyond the NY/Tri-state area. Yissocher Frand's Torah Tapes are recordings of lectures he gives in Baltimore.
Moishe Mendlowitz9781598263619, Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 9781598263619
See also
Other religions
Further reading
External links
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Text, transliteration and recording of Torah blessings
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