Torah reading
[1] Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles from the Babylonian captivity (c. 537 BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah.
Many Jews observe an annual holiday, Simchat Torah, to celebrate the completion of the year's cycle of readings.
[further explanation needed]The introduction of public reading of the Torah by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles is described in Nehemiah Chapter 8.
[8] 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,"[9] 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.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the triennial cycle "was the practice in Palestine, whereas in Babylonia the entire Pentateuch was read in the synagogue in the course of a single year.
[12] 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 Rav (175–247 CE): This may have been due to the smallness of the sedarim under the old system, and to the fact that people were thus reminded of the chief festivals only once in three years.
The beginning each weekly parashah (usually the first segment of seven) from the Torah is read during Sabbath afternoons and in the morning services on Mondays and Thursdays.
The Torah is then carried by the one leading the services 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.
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.
As the Hagbah is performed, the congregation points toward the Torah scroll with their pinky fingers and recites Deut.
The medieval Ashkenazic custom (according to Moses Isserles) was to bow toward the scroll during Hagbaha; pointing is mentioned by Mordecai Crispin of Rhodes (c. 1730-1790) in a work published by his grandson in 1836;[19] pointing with the pinky, first recorded as a "Russian" custom by the 1912 Jewish Encyclopedia, was codified by the Me'am Loez in 1969.
[16] 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 bimah or handed to a different honoree (frequently a minor) to sit and hold.
In Yemenite 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.
[24] The first two aliyot are sometimes referred to as "Kohen " and "Levi (or simply as rishon and sheini, especially on shabbat morning)," while the rest are known by their number (in Hebrew).
Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have abolished special ritual roles for the descendants of the Biblical priestly and levitical castes.
Although around the world, including North America, many congregations will have a trained scroll reader for the actual recitation, the very considerable honor of the reading is attributed to the oleh.
[25] The oleh says, preferably in a confident voice (as this is a call for a congregational response):[26] בָּרְכוּ אֶת יְיָ הַמְבֹרָךְ׃ Bar'chu es Adonai ham'vorach.
If a more skilled person is doing the recitation, the oleh will follow the reading (using the scroll or a printed book) in a subdued voice, as will the members of the congregation.
When the portion is finished, the oleh then says the concluding benediction: 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.
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.
At this point, if the oleh has recently been in danger of death (such as serious sickness or surgery or a journey on a boat (which some extend to an airplane flight) or captivity), they will add the Birkhat HaGomel – a blessing of thanks to God "who has dealt kindly with me".
The haftarah usually relates in some way to either the Torah reading of that day, a theme of the holiday, or the time of year.
During the hakafot, most or all of the synagogue's Torah scrolls are removed from the Holy Ark, and carried around the Bimah by members of the congregation.
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.
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).
[citation needed] Mendel Shapiro and Daniel Sperber permit women to participate in regular Torah reading on Shabbat, in services known as "partnership minyanim".
Prominent Modern Orthodox posqim, including Hershel Schachter, Mordechai Willig, Nisson Alpert, and others have ruled that this practice is not permitted.
