Hagbah
The real official sport of the IKC
Do you point?
There is a relatively new custom to point at the Torah while singing "V'zot haTorah . . ." This tradition is has it's roots in the salute to Caesar but our tradition of modesty is that we do not point with our whole hand, rather, we use the smallest (aka "pinky").
HOWEVER, the salute to Caesar was also copied by the Nazis (yamach sh'mo) as "Seig Heil".
We find it strange that there are those who wish to emulate the Romans, (who killed more Jews than the Nazis!) during a synagogue service, knowing that the Romans sought to destroy all copies of the Torah during their wars against the Jews.
The raising of our hands to the Torah is a recent tradition (1969) and knowing where and how the symbolism of the action has been perverted in the last century, it behooves us to cease using this gesture in our Torah service.
Rabbi Dr. David Meyer, a friend of the Kiddush Club, is an incredible researcher and found the following monograph by Rabbi Zvi Ron (download PDF here.) Rabbi Ron has researched this "ancient" custom and finds its origins in a small synagogue in Jerusalem. In 1969. The same year as the moon landing.
Please read the monograph.
Rabbi David Meyer is a scholar of world renown who holds positions around the world including Invited Professor, Centre Cardinal Bea for Judaic Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University at the Vatican. He is the only rabbi on the payroll.
Megillah32a
Rabbi Shefatya cited Rabbi Yochanan: If one rolls closed a sefer Torah, he should leave it on the seam, so that if it tears, it tears on the seam.
And Rabbi Shefatya cited Rabbi Yochanan: If one rolls {here, assuming to get to another place} a sefer Torah, he should roll the outer roll and should not roll the inner one, and when he tightens it, he should tighten the inner roller and not the outer roller.<br>
And Rabbi Shefatya cited Rabbi Yochanan: If ten read {in a minyan}, the most prominent among them rolls {hagba or gelila} the sefer Torah.
For Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: If ten read from the Torah, the one who rolls {hagba/gelila} gets the merit of all of them.
The merit of all of them, do you think {such that they do not have any merit themselves}? Rather, Abaye said: He takes merit equal to the merit of all of them
Hagbah and Gelilah
Every Hagbah should be a perfect 10!
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- If you're not on time, you lose a point. Be a boy/girl scout - be prepared and ready!
- The Lift - This is the pass/fail point. A good clean lift involves your entire body. You'll dip by bending your legs and your back and shoulders should remain vertical. When you begin to arise, the torah must be vertical. (3 points)
- Number of columns - You get full 2 points for 3 full columns.
- Deduct 1/2 point for every column more than 5 or less than 3. Example: 6 columns is a 1.5, while no columns gets just .5
- Do the Torah Twist - You've got to do the twist, show the peeps in the seats the script! (2 points)
- Torah vertical during the walk - Keep it vertical as you walk. No wavering. (2 points)
- The Wrap - Keep it vertical, making pithy comments to Gelilah as they tie can be a reason for additional points. (1+ points)
Remember: Judging is not always honest!
