READING OF THE TORAH
The Torah is read on Mondays and Thursdays, Rosh Ḥodesh, Ḥol ha-Mo'ed,
Ḥanukkah, Purim, and on fast days.
The ark is opened.
Reader and Congregation:
And it came to pass, whenever the ark started, Moses would say: “Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered; let those who hate thee flee before thee."[1] Truly, out of Zion shall come forth Torah, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem.[2]
Blessed be he who in his holiness gave the Torah to his people Israel.
Zohar, Wayyakhel
Blessed be the name of the Lord of the universe! Blessed be thy crown and thy dominion. May thy good will ever abide with thy people Israel. Reveal thy saving power to thy people in thy sanctuary; bestow on us the good gift of thy light, and accept our prayer in mercy. May it be thy will to prolong our life in happiness.
Let me also be counted among the righteous, so that thou mayest have compassion on me and shelter me and mine and all that belong to thy people Israel. Thou art he who nourishes and sustains all; thou art he who rules over all; thou art he who rules over kings, for dominion is thine. I am the servant of the Holy One, blessed be he, before whom and before whose glorious Torah I bow at all times. Not in man do I put my trust, nor do I rely on any angel but only in the God of heaven who is the God of truth, whose Torah is truth and whose Prophets are truth, and who performs many deeds of goodness and truth. In him I put my trust, and to his holy and glorious name I utter praises. May it be thy will to
קריאת התורה on Mondays and Thursdays was instituted by Ezra, according to tradition, in order not to let three days go by without the instruction of the Torah. Originally, the persons called to the Torah read the passages apportioned to them. This custom was abandoned in order not to embarrass those who lacked proper training.
בריך שמיה is taken from the Zohar, the fundamental book of Kabbalah, which was first made known in the thirteenth century and ascribed to Rabbi Simeon ben Yoḥai of the second century. The Zohar introduces this inspiring and uplifting prayer as follows; "When the Torah is taken out to be read before the congregation, the heavenly gates of mercy are opened and the divine love is aroused; therefore one should recite; בריך הוא..." The term בר אלהין (“angel”) is found in Daniel 3:25.
