Torah Reading
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Torah Service Without a Torah Scroll
In my synagogue we do not have a Torah Scroll.Can we conduct Torah services with a book that has the Torah in it? Thank you for your question. This exact situation is discused in the Kitzur Shulchan Oruch/ Concise Code…
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Yiddish Name
If I get called up to the Torah, may I use my Yiddish name, or does it have to be a Hebrew name? Many people do get called up to the Torah with their Yiddish names. Do you have a…
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Double Torah Portions
Why (as in the case of Matot/Maasei) are two Torah portions read on the same Shabbat? There are more Torah portions than there are Saturdays to read them on, in most years. As a result, portions are often combined. There…
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The “Yad” for the Torah Scroll
Why do we use a Yad when reading Torah? In general, why is it prohibited to touch the torah directly? Thank you You have actually answered your first question by asking your second question. A Yad is used in order…
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Mi SheBerach
I need the English translation of the text of the “Misheberach” that is said to honor the person being called to the Torah reading. Hi, The translation for that blessing is: He who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…
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Torah Portions
Deuteronomy (31:10-13) tells us to read the Torah once every seven years during the festival of booths. I also know that about a thousand years ago, a Rabbi decided that the people were forgetting what the Torah said so he…
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Lineage Through the Father or the Mother
Why when we pray for someone’s health we mention their mother’s name, and when we call someone up to the Torah we mention their father’s name? Generally a person is called by the name of his father, which in essence…
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Women reading from the Torah
Why don’t Orthodox women read from the Torah? Thank you for your question. The Talmud, in Megillah 23a states that “even a woman may read from the Torah, but the Rabbis said that a woman should not do so because…