Torah reading
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The Jewish ritual of Torah reading (in Hebrew: קריאת התורה, K'riat HaTorah; "Reading [of] the Torah") involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. Torah reading is practiced by adherents of Orthodox Judaism according to a set procedure which has been followed for the past two thousand years, since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In recent times, new movements such as Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism have made adaptations, but the set pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same.
As a part of the morning or afternoon prayer services on certain days, a section of the Pentateuch is read from a Torah scroll. On Shabbat (Saturday) mornings, a weekly section (parsha) is read, selected so that the entire Pentateuch is read consecutively each year. On Saturday afternoons, Mondays, and Thursdays, the beginning of the following Saturday's portion is read. On Jewish holidays and fast days, special sections connected to the day are read.
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[edit] Origins and history of the practice
The introduction of public reading of the Torah by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Jewish people from the first exile is described in Nehemiah Chapter 8.
Prior to Ezra, 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,"[1] and hear much of Deuteronomy, the final volume of the Pentateuch, read to them (see the closing chapters of the Talmudic Tractate Sotah). Traditionally, the mitzvah of gathering the people and reading them the Torah under Hakhel was to be performed by the King. Under Ezra, Torah reading became more frequent and the congregation themselves substituted for the King's role. Ezra is traditionally credited with initiating the modern custom of reading thrice weekly in the synagogue. This reading is an obligation incumbent on the congregation, not an individual, and did not replace the Hakhel reading by the king.
Torah reading is discussed in the Mishna and Talmud, primarily in Tractate Megilla.
[edit] Occasions when the Torah is read
The first segment of each weekly Parsha from the Torah is read during the morning services on Mondays and Thursdays. The entire weekly Parsha is read on Saturdays. Most major and minor festival and fast have a unique Torah reading devoted to that day. The Torah is also read during afternoon services on Saturdays, fasts, and Yom Kippur.
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 half-kaddish.
When the Torah is read during the afternoon prayers, it occurs immediately before the Amidah.
[edit] Procedure
The term "Torah reading" is often used to refer to the entire ceremony of taking the Torah scroll (or scrolls) out of its ark, reading excerpts from the Torah with a special tune, and putting the scroll(s) back in the Ark.
The Torah scroll is stored in an ornamental cabinet, called a(n) (Holy) Ark (Hebrew: 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 congregants; specific prayers are recited as it is removed. 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.
[edit] Aliyot
A synagogue official, called a gabbai, then calls up several people (men in most Orthodox and some Conservative congregations, men and women in others), in turn, to be honored with an aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה; plural עליות, aliyot; "ascent" or "going up"), wherein they read the Torah for the congregation. Each reads a section of the day's Torah portion. There are always at least three olim (persons called to read the Torah):
| Number of aliyot | Occasion |
|---|---|
| 3 | Mondays and Thursdays, Shabbat afternoon, fast days, Hanukkah, Purim, Yom Kippur afternoon |
| 4 | Rosh Chodesh, Chol HaMoed |
| 5 | Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah |
| 6 | Yom Kippur morning |
| 7 | Shabbat (Saturday) morning |
On Saturday mornings, there are seven olim, the maximum of any day, but more may be added, by subdividing these seven aliyot, if desired (according to the custom of some communities).
In most congregations, the oleh does not himself read the Torah aloud. Rather, he stands near it while a practiced expert, called a ba'al k'ri'ah ("one in charge of reading"; sometimes ba'al ko're) reads the Torah, with cantillation, for the congregation. In some congregations the oleh follows along with the expert, reading in a whisper.
According to Orthodox Judaism, as a sign of respect, the first oleh (person called to read) is a kohen and the second a levi; the remaining olim are yisr'elim — Jews who are neither kohen nor levi. (This assumes that such people are available; there are rules in place for what is done if they are not.) The first two aliyot are referred to as "Kohen" and "Levi," while the rest are known by their number (in Hebrew). This practice is also followed in some but not all Conservative synagogues. Some Conservative synagogues permit a Bat Kohen and Bat Levi (a woman whose father is a Kohen or Levi) to have the first two aliyot. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have abolished special ritual roles for the descendants of the Biblical priestly and levitical castes.
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.
The gabbai recites a Hebrew verse upon calling the first person to the Torah. After that, everyone is called with: "Ya'amod (Let him arise), [Hebrew Name] ben (son of) [Father's Hebrew name] [Ha-Kohen (the Kohen) / Ha-Levi (the Levite)] (the name of the Aliyah in Hebrew)."
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.
[edit] Maftir
On days when a haftarah is read (see Haftarah below), there is a final aliyah after the kaddish, called maftir. The person called to that aliyah, as well, is known as "the maftir." On holidays, maftir is read from the Torah verses describing the sacrifices brought in the Temple in Jerusalem on that particular holiday. On Saturday, the maftir is a repetition of the last few verses of the parsha.
When the Torah is read on the afternoon of a fast day (and on Yom Kippur), the third aliyah is considered the maftir, and is followed immediately by the haftarah.
[edit] Hagbaha and Gelila
In the Sefardic tradition, the Torah is closed and temporarily put aside. In Ashkenazic tradition, two honorees are called. The first, the Magbiha ("lifter") performs Hagbaha ("lifting [of the Torah]") and displays the Torah's Hebrew text for all to see. The second honoree (often a boy under Bar Mitzva age), the Golel ("roller") performs Gelila ("rolling up"), then binds the Torah with a sash and replaces the Torah's cover.[2][3]
[edit] Haftarah
On Saturday and holiday mornings, as well as on the afternoons of fast days and Yom Kippur, the Torah reading concludes with the haftarah – a reading from one of the Books of Prophets. 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.
The Haftarah was created because the King did not allow Jews to read Torah, but he did not mention anything about a different type of reading. They created it so they could still read Hebrew, something that was very dear to them. [citation needed]
[edit] Returning the Torah
The Torah scroll is then put back in its ark to the accompaniment of specific prayers.
[edit] What is read?
On Shabbat mornings, the weekly parsha is read. It is divided into seven aliyot (see above for more on aliyot). The cycle of weekly readings is fixed. Because the Hebrew Calendar varies from year to year, two readings are sometimes combined so that the entire Pentateuch is read over the course of a year. See more information at Parsha.
On Monday and Thursday mornings and on Saturday afternoons (except on special days), a small section of the upcoming week's parsha is read, divided into three aliyot. On other occasions, the reading relates to the day. For example, on Passover the congregation reads various sections of the Pentateuch that deal with Passover.
[edit] Simchat Torah
On Simchat Torah (Hebrew: שמחת תורה ; "Joyous celebration of the Torah"), the order of weekly readings is completed, and the day is celebrated with various customs involving the Torah. The Torah is read at night – a unique occurrence, preceded by seven rounds of song and dance (hakafot, sing. hakafah). 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.
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) symbollically. 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.
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 Torah is usually used, so that the first need not be rolled all the way to the beginning while the congregants wait). Afterwards, the services proceed in the usual manner, with the maftir and haftarah for Simchat Torah.
[edit] Women and Torah reading
According to traditional Orthodox Judaism, all the olim are male. Some Orthodox congregations have added all-female prayer groups where women are permitted to read. In addition, following recent publication of opinions by Modern Orthodox Rabbi Mendel Shapiro and Bar-Ilan University Talmud Professor and Modern Orthodox Rabbi Daniel Sperber that halakha permits Orthodox women to participate in regular Torah Reading on Shabbat under certain conditions, a small number of congregations identifying themselves as Modern Orthodox, called Partnership Minyanim, have begun permitting it. The argument involved is controversial and most Orthodox authorities and organizations do not agree with it. [4].
A second, somewhat more obscure but potentially less halakhically controversial device for permitting women to have an aliyah to the Torah in an Orthodox synagogue has recently received an endorsement by an article in the Rabbinical Council of America's flagship publication Tradition. The 13th century Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg ruled that in a community consisting entirely of Kohanim, the prohibition on calling Kohanim for anything but the first two and maftir aliyot creates a deadlock situation which should be resolved by calling women to the Torah for all the intermediate aliyot. Rabbi Joel Wolowelsky of the RCA has recently endorsed relying on this authority to permit the deliberate creation of minyanim composed entirely of Kohanim for the express purpose of giving women an opportunity to have an aliyah to the Torah in an Orthodox setting.[5]
Within Reform and many Conservative congregations, women can also have an aliyah.
[edit] Innovations according to Conservative and Reform Judaism
In some Conservative synagogues, women who are Bat Kohenim (daughter of a male Kohen) and Bat Leviim (daughter of a male Levi) can be called for the first and second aliyot. Sometimes, particularly in Reform, the distinctions among kohen, levi, and yisrael are done away with consistent with their view that modern egalitarianism renders contnuation of special ritual roles for Biblical tribes and castes an archaism.
In addition to allowing female readers, some Conservative and most Reform congregations have switched to a triennial cycle, where the first third of each parsha is read one year, the second third the next year and the final third in a third year. Some Reform congregations have their main Shabbat service on Friday night and read Torah then.
Traditionally, boys who became Bar Mitzvah would read the Torah portion that falls on or shortly after their 13th birthday as part of the celebration of the event, though this is not a requirement. Beginning in the twentieth century, many Conservative and Reform congregations extended this practice to girls who reach religious maturity.
[edit] See also
- Synagogue Aliyah
- Aron kodesh
- Cantillation
- Haftarah
- Jewish services
- Minyan
- Parsha
- Torah scroll
- Yad
- Partnership Minyan
- Kabbalah
[edit] External links
- Hyperlinked table of Torah readings
- Summary of Reading by Weekly Parasha
- Weekly Torah reading with commentaries and columnists
- Weekly Torah reading submitted by many rabbis with commentaries and insights
[edit] References
- ^ Deuteronomy 31:12
- ^ http://www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5760/vayeishev.html
- ^ http://scheinerman.net/judaism/synagogue/glossary.html#gelilah
- ^ [1] (pdf)
- ^ http://traditiononline.org/news/article.cfm?id=100781
[edit] Further reading
- Gidon Rothstein, "Women’s Aliyyot in Contemporary Synagogues." Tradition 39(2), Summer 2005.
- Joel B. Wolowelsky, "On Kohanim and Uncommon Aliyyot." Tradition 39(2), Summer 2005
