Questions tagged [torah-reading]
reading from the Torah scroll (reading and blessings)
118
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When Israel and the diaspora are out of sync on parshiyot, why don't we take the first opportunity to re-align?
This year (5772) the seventh day of Pesach is on a Friday, so the diaspora has an 8th day of chag on Shabbat but Israel does not. The diaspora will thus read Sh'mini on April 21, Tazria-Metzora on ...
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1
answer
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Who broke the parshiyot into aliyot and how?
The Torah readings on Shabbat are broken into 7 aliyot. I know that there are rules for the minimum number of pesukim for each aliyah but I am wondering who set up the exact placement of the aliyah ...
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11
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1
answer
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Why is V'Zot Habracha read on Simchat Torah instead of on Shabbat?
I understand that Ezra began the concept of an annual Torah cycle where each Parsha is to be read on a Shabbat (except if coinciding with Yom Tov.)
However, V'Zot Habracha was scheduled to be ...
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10
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2
answers
469
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Standing during the Aseres HaDibros
There are people that always stand by Laining and people that always sit. Among those that sit there are those that stand at certain points, such as the Aseres HaDibros or the Shira, etc. Is it proper ...
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2
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Are women explicitly forbidden from handling and reading the Torah?
I am interested to know, despite the "political agendas" involved, if the "women of the wall" are in breach of halacha and if so, which one(s). As a part of that, I ask: Are women explicitly forbidden ...
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חזק חזק ונתחזק Chazak Chazak VeNischazek: why
Why do we say חזק חזק ונתחזק when we end each Chumash?
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7
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1
answer
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With which Torah can one fulfill the obligation of Parshas Zachor?
There is an argument between texts if the word "Petzua Daka" (Devarim 23:2) should be with an Alef or a Heih. Can someone fulfill his obligation to read Zachor (and normal Torah reading) with a Torah ...
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12
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3
answers
978
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Seven aliyot for V'zot Habracha?
In the Keter Yerushalayim Tanach (published by Hebrew University), parashat V'zot Habracha is divided into seven aliyot (aliyah 7 being all of chapter 34 of Devarim.) I don't see this in the Stone ...
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8
votes
2
answers
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Can a chumash be used for a public torah reading?
I recently attended a weekday morning minyan where the Torah reader was reading simultaneously from a sefer Torah and a printed Chumash. It appeared that the person was mostly reading from Chumash and ...
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5
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רָקִיאַע or רָקִיַע
The Minchas Shay at the beginning of B'reshis cites a dispute whether the word 'רָקִיעַ' (and likewise for other words with a furtive patach) is pronounced as רָקִיאַע or as רָקִיַע, that is, with a ...
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6
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Which books help one acquire a systematic understanding of Biblical Hebrew grammar?
A question for the grammar experts. How can I learn Hebrew grammar in a systematic way? Especially a book that would help me understand how to layn properly. Something that covers rules of nikkud, ...
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11
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Method for practicing Torah reading
What is your method for practicing reading a Torah portion and thus memorizing the associated vowelizations and intonations? I'm looking for ideas for maximizing your effectiveness at performing a ...
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4
answers
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Why are some words in Tanach read differently than they are written?
From here:
The MT [Masoretic Text] includes the kere and ketiv system, in which marginal notes indicate that certain words are to be read differently than they are spelled in the text, or that ...
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3
votes
2
answers
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Are there any leniencies for shortening the torah reading so the cycle takes more than a year?
In a small community without a learned ba'al koreh, it can be difficult to assemble enough readers to read the entire weekly parsha to a suitable degree of proficiency. Is there any provision in ...
- 56k
14
votes
1
answer
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הוא is he? Or is it?
The third-person feminine pronoun in Hebrew is היא, "hee." But in most instances in the Torah, the word is spelled הוא, with a vav rather than a yud as the middle letter. How does this make sense ...
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For purposes of how a Torah reader reads tochacha, where does it start and end?
Both parshat Bechukotai and parshat Ki Tavo contain "the tochacha", a section of the parsha with curses to befall B'nei Yisrael if they sin really badly. Traditionally, this section is read faster and ...
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11
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3
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Why doesn't saying the sh'ma satisfy torah-reading requirements?
According to this answer to a related question, the g'mara on Bava Kamma 82a requires reading torah at least every three days because we should never go longer than that without words of torah.
But ...
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6
votes
1
answer
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Is there anything like a "Tikun Korim" for Nach?
Is there a printed text like a תיקון קוראים for learning נ"ך, where one side has the כתיב without נקודות or טעמים?
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3
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4
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2
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When are the prophets and the writings read
I understand the yearly Torah reading, but when is the rest of the Tanach read?. is there a schedule for the rest of the Tanach?
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3
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558
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How to deal with the parts of the Torah reading that are pre-empted by the congregation
Sometimes, our traditional approach to the reading includes having the congregation recite a short section of the reading aloud before the Torah reader does it, and then he follows. The most ...
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4
votes
2
answers
710
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Does a home megilla reading require separate seating (or a mechitza) between men and women?
Occasionally people hold additional megillah readings in someone's home on Purim.
Assuming there's no prayers other than the megillah reading and its associated brachas, must/should there be a ...
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3
votes
1
answer
108
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Can a Ba'al Kri'ah review the parshiot that he must lain on Tish'a B'Av?
I understand that we are not supposed to learn Torah, in general from afternoon of Erev Tish'a B'av until after chatzot of Tish'a B'av except for designated areas such as Eicha, Iyov, etc.
Does this ...
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1
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1
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139
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Why do aliyos end with a different tune?
The communal Torah reading is divided into aliyos, sections read (originally and still in some places by, otherwise) on 'behalf' of distinct people, in succession. The Torah is read in a tune, and ...
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Aleph with a Dagesh
In four places in Tanakh, our text has an aleph with a dagesh: Gen 43:26, Lev 23:17, Job 33:21, and Ezra 8:18. What is the significance of this, and for the first two examples, how would you indicate ...
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2
answers
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Why Are These Double Parshiyos?
During a regular (non-leap) Jewish year, there are four instances where two of the weekly Torah portions are read together in the same week. This is because there are not enough weeks to read all of ...
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votes
3
answers
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Non-statutory Torah service
Is it possible to have a "stand-alone" Torah service, not connected to a statutory prayer? I saw this done on Shavuot once, where some people who slept through davening convened a minyan solely for ...
7
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1
answer
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Standing for the last aliyah of a sefer
Right before the final aliyah today (Parshat Pekudei) the gabbai asked everyone to stand up. He does this before the final aliyah of each of the books of the Torah. While I have seen discussions about ...
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Same phrase in two places, one uses dageish and one doesn't -- why?
In the seventh aliyah of Parshat Noach, the passage about the tower of Bavel contains the phrase עַל-פְּנֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ three times. Twice it is written כָל and once כָּל and I would like to ...
- 56k
3
votes
5
answers
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Reading zeicher, zecher, or both during the regular Torah reading
For parshat Zachor, many have a practice of saying both timche et zeicher amalek and timche et zecher amalek (different vowels on זכר). What are the customs regarding this word when it appears in the ...
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Must every sidrah begin at the start of a parsha? (Rashi on Breishit 47:28)
Rashi on Genesis 47:28 (excerpt)
ויחי יעקב לָמָּה פָּרָשָׁה זוֹ סְתוּמָה?
ויחי יעקב AND JACOB LIVED — Why is this section (weekly reading) totally closed?
Explanation for novices: The Torah ...
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6
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1
answer
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Why does the second aliya of Vayeira start with the last verse of one topic and then change?
The second aliya of Vayeira begins at 18:15, with the end of the Sarah-denying-having-laughed episode. It then goes on to focus on S'dom and the other cities. This happens in the middle of a column, ...
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Can a Bimah be placed on the sides, front, or back of a shul?
In my Yeshiva, the Bimah is somewhat central to the Beis Midrash: several rows of seating in front, then several more rows behind it, the entire column being directly behind the Aron. However, in my ...
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0
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Catching Up When Saying Tachanun M/Th
On Mondays and Thursdays I often fall very behind during tachanun. I see two options — I can start with the congregation after having listened with proper intent during chazarat hashatz, or I can ...
- 36.6k
4
votes
4
answers
499
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What if the Torah Reader for the Curses (Tochacha) is a Kohen or Levi?
It is (at least) the Chabad custom that the Torah Reader takes the Aliya with the curses (tochacha) in Parshat Ki Tavo and Bechukotai. The reader ascends without being called and recites the blessings ...
- 42.7k
4
votes
2
answers
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Machine-Readable Torah
Is there a machine-readable Sefer Torah or Chumash? Machine-readable meaning formatted as to be understood by a computer program. Despite the phrase, this is different from a Torah simply stored in ...
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3
answers
707
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Why Does the Torah Cycle start/end on Simchat Torah?
If the Torah was given on Shavu'ot, wouldn't it be logical to make that day the time to start the reading cycle (or, at least, line up the yearly cycle so I am up to the narrative of matan torah ...
- 36.6k
3
votes
1
answer
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What was the original reason to read Vezos Haberacha on the second day of Shemini Atzeres?
Contrary to popular belief, it would seem that the practice to read Vezos HaBeracha, the final parsha of the Torah, on the second day of Shemini Atzeres wasn't in order to finish the Torah on that day....
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3
votes
1
answer
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What should a community do if they missed a Parsha?
A shul 500 miles away from civilization had its only Sefer Torah stolen on Shabbos morning. As such, they couldn't read the parsha.
By the next week, they got themselves a new Sefer Torah.
Do they ...
- 39.9k
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1
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2
votes
2
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Difference in Nikkud for לא כי in Torah and Mishna
The phrase "Lo Ki" occurs in Tanach (Genesis 18, 15):
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ׀ לֹ֖א כִּ֥י צָחָֽקְתְּ׃
and in Mishna:
רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא כִי, אֶלָּא חֲצִי בָצָל גָּדוֹל (Trumot 2, 5)
אָמַר לוֹ ...
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Has any commentary explained why the Torah reading for fast days doesn't begin at a parsha?
Every public Torah reading, except for two, begins at a parsha (the start of a new "paragraph" as written in a Torah scroll.)
The two exceptions are:
Vayechi which has a space of just one letter ...
- 68.9k
1
vote
1
answer
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Krias HaTorah (or Megillah) before Davening
If a minyan won't be able to read from the Torah at the time we normally read from the Torah (i.e. after Shemoneh Esrei, on any day where we read from the Torah) may they read from the Torah before ...
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1
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What rule governs the varying nikkud in words מִשְׁתֶּה and מִשְׁתֵּה?
What rule governs the varying nikkud in words מִשְׁתֶּה and מִשְׁתֵּה in Megillas Ester? In Ashkenazi pronunciation this makes a difference because the first is read as "Mishte" and the second is read ...
user17319
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3
answers
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Hand motions for trope in Torah reading
I've seen people standing next to Torah readers and making hand signals during the Torah reading, presumably to prompt the reader in the trope. I think @Shalom mentioned this in Method for practicing ...
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0
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Looking for online German (Yekke) Torah Trope practice
As a lad, I often attended a German (Yekke) shul in my neighborhood, where they used the Yekke Torah trope. My main shul sometimes used this trope during Yom Tov readings. (I.e. - the Yekke trope is ...
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1
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Why do we leyn before mincha but after shacharis?
When reading Torah in the morning, we daven shemoneh esrei of shacharit and then afterwards read the Torah.
When reading Torah in the afternoon (Shabbos/fast days), we read Torah first and then daven ...
- 8,658
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3
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Trop (cantillation) for leining
Who created the trop (cantillation) for leining? Is it a Mesorah from when the Torah was written?
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1
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Would a Greek sefer Torah be read from in Greek?
If a sefer Torah was written in Greek, would it have been publicly read from in the Greek translation only, or would they also use a Hebrew scroll?
- 22.8k
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1
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Why is the torah reading for minor fast days different by just one verse from when that reading occurs in the regular cycle?
On minor fast days we read Sh'mot 32:11-14 and 34:1-10. The latter is almost the fifth aliyah of Ki Tisa, which is Sh'mot 34:1-9. I've been taught that aliyah boundaries are thoughtful (not ...
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