How to do an aliyah when called up to the Torah TB Megillah 32

With daf TB Megillah 32 finish massekhet Megillah! This daf teaches us many practical halakhot how to do an aliyah when called up to the Torah.

“The Sages taught in a baraita: When a person reads from the Torah, he should open the scroll and see the place from where he will read, furl it so that it is closed, and recite the blessing, and then he should again open the scroll, and read. This is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda said: He should open the scroll, and see the place from where he will read, and, without closing it again, he should recite the blessing, and read.

“(Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion is understandable; consequently, the Gemara doesn’t explain his reasoning. Although the Gemara doesn’t explain Rabbi Yehuda’s opinion, I shall. How many times after the person having the aliyah, the Torah reader has a hard time finding his place again because the scroll was closed for the blessing-gg) The Gemara asks: What is the reason for Rabbi Meir’s opinion that the blessing is not recited over an open scroll? The Gemara answers: His reasoning is in accordance with the statement of Ulla, as Ulla said: For what reason did the Sages say that one who reads from the Torah should not assist the translator, but rather the translation should be exclusively said by the translator? In order that people should not say that the translation is written in the Torah. Here too, the scroll should be closed when reciting the blessings, in order that people should not say that the blessings are written in the Torah.

“And Rabbi Yehuda is not concerned about this, as he claims that with regard to the translation, there is the possibility of people erring in this way, but with regard to the blessings, there is no concern about people erring. People will realize the blessings are not actually part of the Torah’s text because they are recited by each person who reads.

“Rabbi Zeira said that Rav Mattana said: The halakha is that he should open the scroll, see the place from which he will read, and, without closing it again, he should recite the blessing and read. The Gemara asks: If so, let him simply say: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda. Why did he have to explicitly state the whole halakha? The Gemara answers: Because there are those who reversed the names in the baraita and attributed the position of Rabbi Yehuda to Rabbi Meir and vice versa. In order to avoid any lack of clarity, Rabbi Zeira stated the halakha explicitly.” (Sefaria.org translation)

These are my instructions when I teach a person how to do an aliyah. Although I use the masculine pronouns, women in egalitarian synagogues like mine have equal access to the Torah and are called up to the Torah for an aliyah. The person takes the shortest route in order to ascend the bemah. This symbolically shows how eager he is to perform this mitzvah. When the Torah reader shows him where his aliyah begins, he takes his tallit and kisses the margin and not the text itself. We are afraid that by touching the text, a letter could become effaced and make the entire Torah pasul or not kosher for use. Holding onto the wooden handles, the etzai hayim (עצי חיים) with the Torah scroll open he recites the blessing. One should not look directly down at the Torah scroll less people in the congregation think that the blessings are written in the Torah itself. One may recite the concluding blessing over the Torah reading with the scroll closed. The honoree remains on the bemah for one more aliyah to show he is reluctant to leave the Torah. He takes the longer route back to his seat for the same reason.

We also learn how to do gelilah, rolling (and dressing) the Torah scroll at the conclusion of the Torah reading. “Rabbi Shefatya said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: When one furls a Torah scroll, he needs to position it so that it closes on the seam between two sheets of parchment. Once closed, the seam should be between the two rolls of the scroll, so that if it is mishandled or overly tightened, it will come apart along the seam and not be torn across the writing.” (Sefaria.org translation) Don’t think that having the honor of gelilah is less important than a speaking aliyah because you would be wrong. “And Rabbi Shefatya said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: If ten people read from the Torah, the greatest among them should furl the Torah scroll, for this is the most distinguished honor. And the one who furls it takes the reward of all of them, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: If ten people read from the Torah, the one who furls it receives the reward of all of them. The Gemara asks: Can it enter your mind to say that he actually receives the reward of all of them? Why should all the others forfeit their reward? Rather, say instead: He receives a reward equivalent to that of all of them.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Even though the Gemara doesn’t talk about the mitzvah of hagbah, lifting the Torah after the Torah reading, this is the accepted custom. The person lifting the Torah should show at least three columns to the congregation so that people will see we have read from a kosher scroll.

 

Tomorrow we begin massekhet Moed Katan!