An aliyah is the calling of a member of a Jewish congregation to the bimah for a segment of reading from the Torah. 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 then recites another blessing. In many congregations, the recipient will also stand to the side of the bimah during the following reading.
Process
A synagogue official, called a gabbai, then calls up several people, in turn, to be honored with an aliyah, wherein the honoree recites a blessing over the Torah, between each verse. Each reads a section of the day's Torah portion. There are always at least three olim unless a Kohen is present and no Levite is present, in which case the Kohen is called for the first and second reading:
Initially, the Torah was read on the Sabbath or special occasions by the king, a prophet, or a kohen. In time, distinguished people were called to read portions of the Torah. The Torah was on a platform to which the reader ascended, hence the Hebrew term aliyah. Eventually, the rabbis ordained that a professional reader do the reading to avoid embarrassing those who were unable to read the Torah script. There are seven aliyot on a Sabbath. Bet Yoseph quotes a geonic source in explanation of this number. In the event that someone missed an entire week's services and as a result had not responded to the reader's daily invocation of Barechu, he may make up for it by responding to the Barechu of the seven blessings of the aliyot. A more acceptable reason is the midrashic explanation for the seven benedictions on the Sabbath. The seven benedictions correspond to the seven voices of God mentioned in the Twenty-ninth Psalm and again in connection with the giving of the Torah. This explanation is equally applicable to the seven aliyot. The first aliyah is assigned to a kohen and the second to a levi. This order was ordained to avoid public competition for the honor of being first. Babylonian Jewry completed the reading of the Torah within one year. Palestinian Jewry adopted a triennial cycle. The reading of a selection from the Prophets originated in the time of the Mishnah. This practice probably began after the canonization of the Bible and the ensuing effort to highlight the Prophets.
Number of aliyot per day
On Saturday mornings, there are seven olim, the maximum of any day, but more may be added if desired, by subdividing these seven aliyot or repeating passages. When a festival or Yom Kippur coincides with Shabbat the readings are divided into seven aliyot instead of five or six. In most congregations, the oleh does not himself read the Torah aloud. Rather, he stands near it while a practiced expert, called a ba'al k'ri'ah, reads the Torah, with cantillation, for the congregation. In some congregations the oleh follows along with the expert, reading in a whisper. In Yemenite communities, the oleh reads the portion himself, while another person, usually a young boy, recites the Targum after each verse.
The first aliyah
According to Orthodox Judaism, the first oleh is a kohen and the second a levi; the remaining olim are yisr'elim — Jews who are neither kohen nor levi. The first two aliyot are referred to as "Kohen" and "Levi," while the rest are known by their number. This practice is also followed in some but not all Conservative synagogues. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism have abolished special ritual roles for the descendants of the Biblical priestly and levitical castes. Each oleh, after being called to the Torah, approaches it, recites a benediction, a portion is read, and the 'oleh' concludes with another benediction. Then the next oleh is called. The gabbai recites a Hebrew verse upon calling the first person to the Torah. After that, men are called with: "Ya'amod, ben ." In synagogues where women may receive aliyot, women are called with "Ta'amod, bat ." These aliyot are followed by half-kaddish. When the Torah is read in the afternoon, kaddish is not recited at this point, but rather after the Torah has been returned to the Ark.
On Simchat Torah, the tradition is that all members of the congregation are called for an aliyah during the Shacharit service. There are various ways in which this is accomplished. In some congregations, this is done by repeating the first five readings of V'Zot HaBerachah until everyone receives an aliyah. In others, this is done by reading each section only once while calling groups for each aliyah. The final regular aliyah is known as Kol HaNe'arim, in which minor children are called for a joint aliyah.
In order to practice social distancing to limit the number of individuals on the bimah during the reopening stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orthodox Union guidelines suggest that the person reading the Torah take all three aliyot.
