From the desk of Rabbi Alex Greenbaum

Dear Friends,

Here we are about to spend our seventh High Holidays together and I still thank you…Thank you for accepting my ever-increasing family into yours. Thank you for letting us into your hearts as we have welcomed you into ours. Thank you for the past, present, and future. So far, so good, we just extended our contract until 2015. As I promised seven years ago, I am not going anywhere. So, now that we got that out of the way, what to write about this month? A congregant of ours, who likes to visit my office often and give constructive suggestions about our synagogue, asked me a good question: We may be growing, our services may be well-attended, but what are my future goals for Beth El? I answered that they are easy: Not a larger Beth El, but a more knowledgeable and observant Beth El. I believe the best way to achieve this goal is through education, in our services, our meetings, and our bulletins.

Last month I gave a dvar Torah on how to have an Aliyah. I have to admit, it went over well. So, for the few of you who were not in attendance, this is it. The Hebrew word Aliyah means Going Up, as in going up to the Bima. But, it also could refer to a spiritual ascent, for it wasn't always true that the Oleh (one who has an Aliyah) goes up. Back in Babylonia there is evidence that the Torah was actually brought down to the reader. Originally, the one called to the Torah, read the torah, and there were no blessings recited. The next step in the aliyah evolution was that only the first blessing was recited before the entire reading and the last after the entire reading, in between there were no blessings recited at all. But wait, the Talmud changed this to a blessing before each and every aliyah. Why? You'll love this, 2000 years ago: Because those who come late or leave early should not be deprived of hearing both of the blessings. But after Talmudic times, it became more difficult to find readers and embarrassing for those who tried. So, in ancient times, we would read the beginning and end in Hebrew and the middle in our local language. In Babylonia, the Gabbai began to help the reader read and then, finally, the Gabbais would do it themselves, while the one called up stood silently. Finally, we reached the tradition of our day, of the one who is called to the Torah do just the blessings before and after the reading.

The Oleh must be invited with his/her Hebrew name, traditionally using your father’s name. When saying a misheberach for the ill, we traditionally use our mother's name. Of course, you could always use both. The reader shows the oleh where the reading begins and with a Tallit or wimple (Torah belt), the oleh touches and kisses, but never rubs, the spot. Then the oleh takes the Torah by the handles, called the Atzei Chayim, the Trees of Life. Why? Because the Shulchan Aruch teaches us 500 years ago that we always take hold of the object over which a blessing is being recited (think about a tallit or the challah). Once upon a time we would keep the scroll open, but then we began closing the scroll, so it doesn’t look like the blessings are being read from Torah. Some will look away or close their eyes instead of closing the Torah.

The Oleh then begins with the Barchu, a call to the congregation. Before Ezra from the book of Nechemiah read from the Torah, he’d bless God and then the congregation would respond. When the Oleh says the Barchu, he/she should also bow and straighten. The Shulchan Aruch says that the Oleh must say the blessing loud enough for the congregation to hear, so they can respond. The blessing itself talks about our chosenness. What we are doing during an aliyah is recreating Mt Sinai, just as our service recreates the Temple service. So, when we recite the words Notein HaTorah, the Giving of the Torah, we raise the Torah, accepting this precious gift from God.

When we finish our first aliyah blessing, we move over to our right, but continue to hold the right handle, while the reader holds the left. When the reader finishes we touch and kiss the Torah on the spot where the reading finished, hold the handles again, close the Torah, recite our second blessing, and then move over to our right to make room for the next aliyah. Now, the only problem with this sermon was that afterwards people were afraid to take an aliyah for fear of "getting it wrong." The mitzvah, the commandment, is accepting the aliyah, the choreography is just tradition. Don't be afraid of a little bit of knowledge, we won't embarrass you (now that is against Jewish law). And, remember, our goal is a more knowledgeable and observant Beth El, not a scared one.

LeShanah Tova,

Rabbi Alex Greenbaum

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