What Happens in the Torah Service? A Bible Study
Studied with Parashat Yitro, where God gives the Torah at Mount Sinai, and Parashat Terumah, where He commands the ark that held it. Six short parts, each ending with a quick quiz and questions for reflection, then an FAQ and review questions. Part of our free B’nei Mitzvah self-study lessons.
Quick answer: In the Torah service, the scroll is taken out of the ark, carried around the room, and read aloud in sections. Before each section, a person called up for an aliyah says a blessing thanking God for giving the Torah, and says another blessing after it. Then the Torah is lifted for everyone to see, rolled, dressed and returned to the ark.
Studying on your own?
Read each part, take the quizzes, and answer the reflection questions and the review questions at the end. Have a question? Book a private guidance session with your Rabbi or Morah on Zoom by texting (469) 608-9944. See the fees.
Why learn the Torah service?
At your bar or bat mitzvah you will be called up to the Torah for the first time as an adult member of the community. To feel at home on that day, it helps to know every step of the service: what happens, why it happens, and what to say.
Who is this lesson for?
This lesson is for boys and girls preparing for Bar or Bat Mitzvah, for adults preparing to be called up, and for anyone who has watched the Torah service and wondered what was going on. Parents, it is a good lesson to go through together.
The lesson has six parts. Each part ends with a quick quiz and questions for personal reflection or to talk over as a family. Part 4 has the blessings you will say, in Hebrew, transliteration and English.
| Part | Question | Main texts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Where does it come from? | Exodus 19, 24; Deuteronomy 31; Nehemiah 8; Luke 4 |
| 2 | How is the Torah taken out? | Exodus 25; Numbers 10:35; Isaiah 2:3 |
| 3 | What is an aliyah? | Mishnah Megillah 4:1–2 |
| 4 | What blessings do you say? | The Torah blessings |
| 5 | How is the Torah lifted and returned? | Deuteronomy 4:44; Proverbs 3:18 |
| 6 | What should you expect? | Customs of respect |
Where does reading the Torah in public come from?
Quick answer: From the Torah itself. Moshe read it to the people at Sinai, Ezra read it to the people who returned from Babylon, and by Yeshua’s day it was read in every synagogue every Shabbat.
Reading the Torah aloud to the whole community is as old as the Torah itself. Moshe commanded it, Ezra renewed it, and Yeshua and his followers took part in it every Shabbat.
| Where | What happened |
|---|---|
| Exodus 24:7 | At Sinai, Moshe “took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people.” |
| Deuteronomy 31:10–13 | Every seventh year at Sukkot, the Torah was read to “men, and women, and children,” so that they “may hear, and that they may learn.” |
| Talmud, Bava Kamma 82a | The prophets in Moshe’s time set the reading on Shabbat, Monday and Thursday, so that Israel would never go three days without Torah, which is compared to water (Isaiah 55:1). Ezra added the Shabbat afternoon reading and set three readers on Mondays and Thursdays. |
| Nehemiah 8:1–8 | Ezra stood “upon a pulpit of wood,” opened the scroll, and “all the people stood up.” They answered “Amen, Amen” and bowed down. |
| Luke 4:16 | Yeshua went into the synagogue “as his custom was… on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” |
| Acts 15:21 | “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” |
Why Parashat Yitro? Yitro tells how God gave the Torah at Mount Sinai. The people answered together, “All that Hashem hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8), and they “stood at the nether part of the mount” (Exodus 19:17). Every Torah service is a small return to Sinai: the community gathers, stands, and hears God’s words again. That is why many congregations stand when the Ten Commandments are read.
Quick quiz: Part 1
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
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Reflection
- The sages compared the Torah to water: we cannot go three days without it. What is “water” for your soul during the week?
- Why do you think God wanted the Torah read to children as well as adults (Deuteronomy 31:12)?
- At Sinai the people stood together. How does standing together in the synagogue feel different from reading alone at home?
How is the Torah taken out of the ark?
Quick answer: Everyone stands, the ark is opened, and the scroll is taken out with songs from the Torah and the Prophets. It is carried around the room and laid on the reading table, the bimah.
The Torah scroll is kept in the ark, the aron hakodesh (אֲרוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ), at the front of the synagogue. The name comes straight from Parashat Terumah, where God commands an ark of wood covered with gold to hold the tablets of the covenant (Exodus 25:10–22). The synagogue ark is a reminder of that first ark in the Mishkan, the Tabernacle.
What happens, step by step
- The ark is opened and everyone stands. We sing Vayehi binso’a ha’aron, “And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Hashem” (Numbers 10:35), and Ki miTziyon, “for out of Zion shall go forth the law” (Isaiah 2:3).
- The scroll is taken out and held up while we say the Shema and “One is our God.”
- The leader calls Gadlu: “O magnify Hashem with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3).
- The Torah is carried around the room in a procession (hakafah). People reach out and touch the cover with the tzitzit of their tallit or with a siddur, then kiss it, as a sign of love.
- The scroll is laid on the reading table, the bimah, and its cover and ornaments are removed.
Why so much honor? The scroll is not worshipped. It is honored because it carries God’s words, just as the ark in the Mishkan carried the tablets. In Terumah, God says, “let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). Yochanan (John) 1:14 uses the same picture for Mashiach: “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The Greek word for “dwelt” means “pitched his tent,” like the Mishkan.
Quick quiz: Part 2
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Read Exodus 25:10–22. What did the first ark hold, and where did God promise to meet Moshe?
- Why might people kiss the Torah with their tzitzit instead of their hand?
- What does it mean to you that Yeshua is called “the Word” who “dwelt among us”?
What is an aliyah, and who is called up?
Quick answer: An aliyah, “going up,” is the honor of being called to the Torah to say the blessings over one section of the reading. Seven people are called up on Shabbat morning, plus the maftir.
Being called up to the Torah is called an aliyah (עֲלִיָּה), “going up.” The person called up, the oleh (or olah for a woman), stands at the bimah, says a blessing before and after one section of the reading, and follows along while it is read.
| When | Aliyot |
|---|---|
| Monday and Thursday mornings, Shabbat afternoon | 3 |
| Rosh Chodesh (the new month) and the middle days of festivals | 4 |
| Festivals | 5 |
| Yom Kippur | 6 |
| Shabbat morning | 7, plus the maftir |
This list comes from the Mishnah (Megillah 4:1–2). The maftir is the last person called up on Shabbat. He or she repeats the last few verses of the portion and then reads the haftarah, the reading from the Prophets. At your bar or bat mitzvah you will usually be the maftir.
Who does what?
- The gabbai runs the service at the bimah, calls people up by name, and follows along to catch any mistakes.
- The reader (ba’al korei) chants the text from the scroll. On your big day, that is you.
- The yad (יָד), “hand,” is a pointer. Readers follow the words with it, so fingers never touch the holy letters.
Called by your Hebrew name. The gabbai calls you up with your Hebrew name and your parent’s name: Ya’amod (for a boy) or Ta’amod (for a girl) “…ben (son of) / bat (daughter of)….” In many congregations, the first aliyah goes to a Kohen (a descendant of Aharon) and the second to a Levi. Customs differ, so follow your congregation.
Quick quiz: Part 3
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Why is it called “going up” to the Torah, even when the bimah is only one step high?
- What is your Hebrew name? Practice saying it with your parent’s name the way the gabbai will call you.
What blessings do you say when called to the Torah?
Quick answer: Before the reading you say Barkhu and thank God for choosing us and giving us His Torah. After the reading you thank Him for the Torah of truth and the eternal life He planted within us.
These are the blessings you will say at your aliyah. Learn them by heart; you will use them for the rest of your life. In the Hebrew below, God’s Name is written יְיָ; say Adonai.
Before the reading
The scroll is opened to the place, and you look at the first words. Then you hold the handles and say:
בָּרְכוּ אֶת יְיָ הַמְבֹרָךְ.
Barkhu et Adonai hamevorakh.
“Bless Hashem, the blessed One.”
בָּרוּךְ יְיָ הַמְבֹרָךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד.
Barukh Adonai hamevorakh l’olam va’ed.
“Blessed is Hashem, the blessed One, forever and ever.”
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בָּנוּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים, וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת תּוֹרָתוֹ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, נוֹתֵן הַתּוֹרָה.
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam, asher bachar banu mikol ha’amim, v’natan lanu et Torato. Barukh atah Adonai, noten haTorah.
“Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe, who chose us from all the peoples and gave us His Torah. Blessed are You, Hashem, Giver of the Torah.”
Everyone answers Amen, and the section is read.
After the reading
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָנוּ תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת, וְחַיֵּי עוֹלָם נָטַע בְּתוֹכֵנוּ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, נוֹתֵן הַתּוֹרָה.
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam, asher natan lanu Torat emet, v’chayei olam nata b’tokhenu. Barukh atah Adonai, noten haTorah.
“Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe, who gave us the Torah of truth and planted eternal life within us. Blessed are You, Hashem, Giver of the Torah.”
“Eternal life planted within us.” The blessing after the reading says God’s Torah is a seed of eternal life. Yeshua said the same about God’s word: “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).
Notice the verb. Both blessings end noten haTorah, “who gives the Torah,” not “who gave.” God gave the Torah at Sinai, and He keeps giving it every time it is read.
Quick quiz: Part 4
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- The blessing says God “chose us from all the peoples.” What responsibility comes with being chosen?
- Why do you think the blessing says “gives” the Torah and not “gave”?
How is the Torah lifted and returned?
Quick answer: One person lifts the open scroll for everyone to see, another rolls and dresses it, and it is carried back to the ark with the song “She is a tree of life.”
After the reading, the Torah is lifted, rolled, dressed and returned to the ark. Each of these is an honor too.
- Lifting (hagbah). One person lifts the open scroll high and turns so everyone can see the writing, usually at least three columns. Everyone stands and sings: V’zot haTorah asher sam Moshe lifnei b’nei Yisrael, “And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 4:44), “at the commandment of Hashem by the hand of Moses” (Numbers 9:23). Many people point toward the scroll with their tzitzit or little finger.
- Rolling and dressing (gelilah). A second person rolls the scroll closed, ties it, and puts back its cover and ornaments.
- The haftarah. On Shabbat and festivals, the maftir now reads the haftarah from the Prophets (see the next lesson).
- Returning the Torah. The scroll is carried back to the ark. We sing Etz chayim hi: “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her” (Proverbs 3:18), and Hashiveinu: “Turn thou us unto thee, O Hashem, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21). The ark is closed.
Why lift it up? In Nehemiah 8:5, Ezra opened the book “in the sight of all the people.” The Torah is not a secret for the few. Lifting it shows that it belongs to the whole community, men, women and children.
Quick quiz: Part 5
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Proverbs 3:18 calls the Torah a tree of life. What does a tree give the people who hold on to it?
- Lamentations 5:21 asks God to “renew our days as of old.” Why might we pray that right as the Torah goes back into the ark?
What should you expect at your own Torah service?
Quick answer: You will be called up by your Hebrew name, say the blessings, and read your portion. Stand when the ark is open, hold the handles, read slowly, and if you slip, just repeat the word.
On the day of your bar or bat mitzvah, you will take part in the Torah service yourself, at our congregation in person or on Zoom. Here is what to expect and how to show respect along the way.
- Stand when the ark is open and when the Torah is carried or lifted. Customs differ about standing during the reading itself; follow your congregation.
- Go up by the shortest way and return by the longer way, to show you are eager to come to the Torah and slow to leave it. This is an old custom found in the codes of Jewish law.
- Look at the words before the first blessing, so you know where the reading starts.
- Hold the handles of the scroll while you say the blessings. Never touch the parchment with your fingers.
- Read slowly and clearly. If you make a mistake, the gabbai will quietly correct you. Just repeat the word and keep going. Everyone in the room is cheering for you.
- After your aliyah, it is a custom to stay standing near the bimah until the next person finishes.
Girls read Torah at Benei Avraham. A girl at her bat mitzvah is called up, says the same blessings and reads her own portion. See Can girls read from the Torah? for the reasons from the Talmud and the Tanakh.
Quick quiz: Part 6
Pick the best answer for each question. You will see right away if you got it right, and your score when you have answered them all. To try again, press Start over.
Your answers and score are saved on this device only, so they will be here when you come back. Press Start over to clear them.
Reflection
- Which part of the Torah service are you most excited about, and which part makes you most nervous?
- Picture your ceremony day. Who do you hope will be there to hear you read?
Frequently asked questions
What is an aliyah in the synagogue?
An aliyah, Hebrew for “going up,” is the honor of being called up to the Torah. The person called up says a blessing before a section is read and another after it. Seven people are called up on Shabbat morning, plus the maftir, who also reads the haftarah.
What are the blessings before and after the Torah reading?
Before: Barkhu et Adonai hamevorakh, then “Blessed are You… who chose us from all the peoples and gave us His Torah. Blessed are You, Giver of the Torah.” After: “Blessed are You… who gave us the Torah of truth and planted eternal life within us. Blessed are You, Giver of the Torah.”
Why is the Torah read on Mondays and Thursdays?
The Talmud says the prophets in Moshe’s time set the reading on Shabbat, Monday and Thursday so that Israel would never go three days without Torah, which is compared to water (Bava Kamma 82a).
Why don’t readers touch the Torah with their fingers?
Out of respect for the holy letters, and to protect the hand-written ink and parchment. Readers follow the words with a pointer called a yad, “hand.”
What is the maftir?
The maftir is the last person called up on Shabbat. He or she repeats the last few verses of the Torah portion and then reads the haftarah from the Prophets. At a bar or bat mitzvah, the young person is usually the maftir.
Do I have to stand during the whole Torah service?
Everyone stands when the ark is open and when the Torah is carried or lifted. Customs differ about standing during the reading itself, so follow your congregation.
Review questions
After working through this lesson, you should be able to walk someone through the Torah service from the opening of the ark to its closing. These questions will help.
- Name two people in the Tanakh who read the Torah aloud to all Israel.
- Where does the synagogue ark get its name?
- How many people are called up on Shabbat morning, and who is the maftir?
- Say the blessings before and after the Torah reading by heart.
- What is sung when the Torah is lifted, and what is sung when it is returned?
The Torah service is a weekly return to Sinai. When you know every step, you can stop worrying about what comes next and simply enjoy hearing God’s words.
Sources
- Exodus 19:8, 19:17, 24:7, 25:8–22; Numbers 9:23, 10:35; Deuteronomy 4:44, 31:10–13; Psalm 34:3; Proverbs 3:18; Isaiah 2:3, 55:1; Lamentations 5:21; Nehemiah 8:1–8; Luke 4:16; John 1:14, 6:63; Acts 15:21 (King James Version)
- Talmud, Bava Kamma 82a: Sefaria
- Mishnah, Megillah 4:1–2 (the number of people called up): Sefaria
- The Torah blessings, in any standard siddur; Wikipedia, “Torah reading”: Torah reading
- Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 141 (going up by the short way and returning by the long way)
Scripture quotations follow the King James Version, with Hashem for the Divine Name (LORD), Hebrew names such as Shaul (Paul), and Yeshua for Jesus. Rabbinic sources are given in short translation or paraphrase. Part of the Bar & Bat Mitzvah training at Benei Avraham; see our Statement of Faith.