An aliyah (or aliyah, Hebrew Hebrew: עליה; pl. עליות, aliyot; "ascent" or "going up") is the calling of a member of a Jewish congregation up to the bimah for a segment of the formal Torah reading. A person receiving an aliyah is called an oleh (male) or olah (female).
The person who receives the aliyah goes up to the bimah before the reading and recites a blessing for reading of the Torah. After the portion of the Torah is read, the recipient recites another blessing.
Babylonian Jewry completed the reading of the Torah within one year. Palestinian Jewry adopted a triennial cycle (Megillah 29b). The reading of a selection from the Prophets originated in the time of the Mishnah (Megillah 24a). This practice probably began after the canonization of the Bible and the ensuing effort by Jews to highlight the Prophets.[1]
- ^ Bloch, Abraham P., The Biblical and Historical Background of Jewish Customs and Ceremonies, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1980, p. 134. ISBN 978-0870686580.