Torah Service

seder k'ri-at hatorah

סדר קריאת התורה

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

Returning the Torah

The Torah scroll is placed in the ark. Personal meditations, such as those found on page 169, may also be recited here.

Hebrew

וּבְנֻחֹה יֹאמַר: שׁוּבָה יְהֹוָה רִבְבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
קוּמָה יְהֹוָה לִמְנוּחָתֶךָ, אַתָּה וַאֲרוֹן עֻזֶּךָ.
כֹּהֲנֶיךָ יִלְבְּשׁוּ צֶדֶק, וַחֲסִידֶיךָ יְרַנֵּנוּ.
בַּעֲבוּר דָּוִד עַבְדֶּךָ, אַל תָּשֵׁב פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ.
כִּי לֶקַח טוֹב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם, תּוֹרָתִי אַל תַּעֲזֹבוּ.
עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ, וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר.
דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם, וְכָל־נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם.
הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהֹוָה אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה, חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם.

Israeli

uvnuchoh yomar: shuvah Adonai rivvot alfei Yisra-el.
kumah Adonai limnuchatecha, atah va-aron uzecha.
kohanecha yilbeshu tzedek, vachasidecha yeranenu.
ba-avur David avdecha, al tashev p'nei meshichecha.
ki lekach tov natati lachem, torati al ta-azovu.
etz chayim hi lamachazikim bah, vetomecheha me-ushar.
d'racheha darchei no-am, vechol-netivoteha shalom.
hashivenu Adonai elecha venashuvah, chadesh yameinu k'kedem.

English

Whenever the ark was set down, Moses would say: Adonai, may You dwell among the myriad families of the people Israel. Return, Adonai, to Your sanctuary, You and Your glorious ark. Let Your priests be robed in righteousness, and Your faithful sing for joy. For the sake of David, Your servant, do not turn away from Your anointed. I have given you a precious inheritance: do not forsake My teaching. It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and all who hold onto it are blessed. Its ways are pleasant, and all its paths are peace. Turn us toward You, Adonai, and we will return to You; make our days seem fresh, as they once were.

The ark is closed.

חֲצִי קַדִּישׁ

Ḥatzi Kaddish

Leader:

Hebrew

יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא, בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִּרְעוּתֵהּ,
וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן וּבְחַיֵּי דְּכָל־בֵּית
יִשְׂרָאֵל, בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.

Israeli

yitgadal veyitkadash sh'meh raba, be-alma di v'ra kiruteh,
veyamlich malchuteh b'chayeichon uvyomeichon uvechayei d'chol-beit
Yisra-el, ba-agala uvizman kariv, ve-imru Amen.

English

May God’s great name be exalted and hallowed throughout the created world, as is God’s wish. May God’s sovereignty soon be established, in your lifetime and in your days, and in the days of all the house of Israel. And we say: Amen.

Congregation and Leader:

Hebrew

יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא.

Israeli

yehei sh'meh raba mevarach le-alam ule-almei almaya.

English

May God’s great name be acknowledged forever and ever!

Leader:

Hebrew

יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא
וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל שְׁמֵהּ דְּקֻדְשָׁא, בְּרִיךְ הוּא,

Israeli

yitbarach veyishtabach veyitpa-ar veyitromam veyitnasei
veyithadar veyitaleh veyithalal sh'meh d'kudsha, b'rich hu,

English

May the name of the Holy One be acknowledged and celebrated, lauded and worshipped, exalted and honored, extolled and acclaimed—though God, who is blessed, b’rikh hu,

on Shabbat Shuvah we add:

on Shabbat Shuvah we substitute:

Hebrew

לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל [לְעֵלָּא לְעֵלָּא מִכָּל]
בִּרְכָתָא וְשִׁירָתָא תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחָמָתָא דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא,
וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.

Israeli

le-ela min kol [le-ela le-ela mikol]
birchata veshirata tushbechata venechamata da-amiran be-alma,
ve-imru Amen.

English

is truly [far] beyond all acknowledgment and praise, or any expressions of gratitude or consolation ever spoken in the world. And we say: Amen.

Commentary

WHENEVER THE ARK WAS SET DOWN וּבְנֻחֹה יֹאמַר. Numbers 10:36. As the Torah completes its circuit through the synagogue, we recall Moses’ words when the people finished a stage in their journey through the wilderness and came to rest in a new camp. This verse and the ones that follow (Psalm 132:8–10 and Proverbs 4:2) can also serve to refer to our own inner journey: we are accompanied now by Torah. Only the first and last verse are recited in all rites; the others were added in many communities in the late Middle Ages.

IT IS A TREE OF LIFE FOR THOSE WHO GRASP IT עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ. Proverbs 3:18. The Torah handles are called atzei ḥayim, “trees of life,” and this verse is the source of the custom of holding on to them as we recite the b’rakhot over the Torah. Thus, by studying Torah and by physically holding on to it, we both figuratively and literally “grasp” the tree of life.

ITS WAYS ARE PLEASANT, AND ALL ITS PATHS ARE PEACE דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם וְכָל־נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם. Proverbs 3:17. In their context, these two verses from Proverbs refer to wisdom, ḥokhmah. The ancient rabbis associated wisdom with Torah. As we put away the Torah, we pray that our study of Torah should provide us with the wisdom to promote a life characterized by pleasantness and the pursuit of peace.

TURN US TOWARD YOU, ADONAI הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהֹוָה אֵלֶיךָ. Significantly, this final verse is taken from Lamentations (5:21), the book of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem. We end the Torah service with a prayer for the reconciliation of God and Israel.

Returning the Torah Returning the Torah to the ark may be a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, we may feel satisfaction that we have been instructed through the Torah service, that we have read its teaching and engaged with it; on the other hand, we may feel that we have not had enough, that a friend is leaving us, as if returning home after having spent just an hour with us. Perhaps that is why so many of the verses chosen for this moment are those of longing—longing for redemption, longing for a time gone by. Equally, there is the knowledge that the Torah is a scroll, that there are chapters now hidden that have yet to be unrolled. What we have glimpsed is only a partial view of the Teaching; more is yet to be revealed.