{"id":2130,"date":"2018-03-07T07:21:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T07:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/2018\/03\/07\/aliyah-101-what-you-should-know-before-being-called-to-the-torah-2-2"},"modified":"2018-06-12T08:05:39","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T08:05:39","slug":"aliyah-101-what-you-should-know-before-being-called-to-the-torah-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/2018\/03\/07\/aliyah-101-what-you-should-know-before-being-called-to-the-torah-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What is So Special About the Aliyahs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With references to halachic and Kabbalistic sources, this brief article<\/a> from Chabad.org<\/a> explains why being called up to the Torah is a special honor, focusing on the spiritual significance behind this ritual. As part of Chabad’s online “Ask the Rabbi” service,\u00a0Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson<\/a> explains both why the aliyot are special and the hierarchy\u00a0between the different aliyot on Shabbat and other holy days. This article reflects the Hasidic Orthodox custom and philosophy of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Question:<\/h2>\n

At a synagogue I recently attended, I noticed people bidding for the right to be called to the\u00a0Torah<\/span>, or as they called it, getting an\u00a0aliyah<\/span><\/i>. What is so special about an\u00a0aliyah<\/i>? Are some more sought after than others?<\/p>\n

Response:<\/h2>\n

Let’s divide your question into two parts:<\/p>\n

What is so special about an\u00a0aliyah<\/i>?<\/h3>\n

In all Jewish communities, it is considered a great merit and honor to be called to recite the blessings at the Torah. It is referred to as an\u00a0aliyah,\u00a0<\/i>which means “ascent,” referring not just to the climb to the platform upon which the Torah is read, but also to the spiritual elevation which comes along with this opportunity.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Zohar<\/span>\u00a0tells us, “G\u2011d<\/span>\u00a0looked in the Torah and created the world; when a human looks in the Torah, and toils in it, he sustains the world.” Even the very gazing at the letters in the Torah scroll\u2014especially when this is preceded and followed by the special\u00a0aliyah<\/i>\u00a0blessings\u2014sustains and vitalizes the world.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, when one has an\u00a0aliyah<\/i>\u00a0to the Torah, all parts of one’s soul, including those which are in the spiritual realms beyond this world, experience an elevation at that moment.\u00a0For the above reasons, people vie for this privilege.<\/p>\n

Which\u00a0aliyah<\/i>\u00a0is the most coveted?<\/h3>\n

The first two\u00a0aliyot<\/i>\u00a0are reserved for a\u00a0Kohen<\/span>\u00a0and a\u00a0Levi<\/span>, respectively (if they are present). The remaining\u00a0aliyot<\/i>\u00a0are given to everyone else. It follows, according to the\u00a0Talmud<\/span>, that when it comes to\u00a0aliyot,\u00a0<\/i>the rule is “the earlier the better.” Therefore, in many communities,\u00a0Shlishi<\/i>, the third\u00a0aliyah<\/i>\u2014the first one available to the public\u2014is the most popular.<\/p>\n

This preference, however, is not universal. The Zohar relates that Rabbi Kruspedai would always have the sixth\u00a0aliyah<\/i>. In\u00a0Shaar Hakavanot<\/i>, a book of Lurianic\u00a0Kabbalah<\/span>, there is a lengthy explanation for this. In simple words, the seven\u00a0aliyot<\/i>\u00a0represent the seven emotional\u00a0Sefirot<\/span><\/i>\u00a0(divine attributes), and their corresponding attributes in the human soul. The sixth\u00a0Sefirah<\/span><\/i>\u00a0is\u00a0Yesod<\/span><\/i>, which acts as a funnel through which all the previous\u00a0Sefirot<\/i>\u00a0are channeled. Since all the special revelations of the\u00a0Shabbat<\/span>\u00a0are being channeled through\u2014and are fully manifest in\u2014Yesod,\u00a0<\/i>to which the sixth\u00a0aliyah<\/i>\u00a0corresponds, Rabbi Kruspedai preferred this\u00a0aliyah<\/i>. Accordingly, in many Chassidic synagogues, the sixth\u00a0aliyah<\/i>\u00a0is reserved for the\u00a0Rebbe<\/span>\u00a0or the Rabbi.<\/p>\n

On Shabbat and certain other special days, after the reading of the Torah portion has been completed, we have an additional\u00a0aliyah,<\/i>\u00a0called\u00a0Maftir<\/i>. The one who is called to the Torah for\u00a0Maftir<\/i>, during which the final verses of the Torah portion are repeated, also reads the\u00a0Haftarah<\/span>,<\/i>\u00a0a portion from the Prophets which expresses a message similar to that of the day’s Torah reading.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Maftir<\/i>\u00a0was commonly viewed as the least desired\u00a0aliyah<\/i>, since it is the only\u00a0aliyah\u00a0<\/i>which may be accorded, under certain circumstances, to a boy under the age of\u00a0bar mitzvah.<\/span>\u00a0However, many great scholars and saints preferred this\u00a0aliyah<\/i>\u00a0in particular. One reason is that the\u00a0Maftir<\/i>\u00a0includes a reading from both the Torah and the Prophets. Another is that the one who reads the\u00a0Haftarah<\/i>\u00a0recites several additional blessings which the others do not.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With references to halachic and Kabbalistic sources, this brief article from Chabad.org explains why being called up to the Torah is a special honor, focusing on the spiritual significance behind this ritual. As part of Chabad’s online “Ask the Rabbi” service,\u00a0Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson explains both why the aliyot are special and the hierarchy\u00a0between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=2130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2131\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=2130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=2130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matnasim.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=2130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}