Hagbah and Gelila: Difference between revisions
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'''Hagba''' is the ritual lifting of the Sefer Torah to show it to the community. Gelilah is the ritual rolling and dressing of the Sefer Torah and is an accompanying ritual to Hagba. | |||
*<p class="indent">After the Torah is read,<ref>Most congregations perform hagba after the Torah has been read. In some congregations it is done before the Torah is read. There are also congregations that perform hagba both before and after the Torah reading. See Rivevot V’yovlot 3:2:1, 2.</ref> it is lifted for everyone in the congregation to see, a ritual known as hagba. When the Torah is lifted one should make an effort to see the letters of the scroll, to bow slightly, and to say the verse v’zot haTorah.”<ref>OC 134:2.</ref> It is said that a great light shines upon a person who makes an effort to read some of the words from the Torah scroll when hagba is performed.<ref>Mishna Berura 134:11. For much more on hagba see my Amot shel Halacha: Halachich Insights (Jerusalem: Urim, 2009).</ref> </p> | *<p class="indent">After the Torah is read,<ref>Most congregations perform hagba after the Torah has been read. In some congregations it is done before the Torah is read. There are also congregations that perform hagba both before and after the Torah reading. See Rivevot V’yovlot 3:2:1, 2.</ref> it is lifted for everyone in the congregation to see, a ritual known as hagba. When the Torah is lifted one should make an effort to see the letters of the scroll, to bow slightly, and to say the verse v’zot haTorah.”<ref>OC 134:2.</ref> It is said that a great light shines upon a person who makes an effort to read some of the words from the Torah scroll when hagba is performed.<ref>Mishna Berura 134:11. For much more on hagba see my Amot shel Halacha: Halachich Insights (Jerusalem: Urim, 2009).</ref> </p> | ||
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==History & Background== | |||
The ritual of Hagba is thought to have either developed in the Babylonian period or during the time of Judges. The early practice of Hagba was often practiced in the marketplace of towns and villages where the showing of the Sefer Torah was an important display of authenticity after the reading of the Sefer Torah. | |||
===Literary Source/s=== | |||
Nehemiah 8.5 is the primary source for Hagba reference: | |||
וַיִּפְתַּ֨ח עֶזְרָ֤א הַסֵּ֙פֶר֙ לְעֵינֵ֣י כָל־הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־מֵעַ֥ל כָּל־הָעָ֖ם הָיָ֑ה וּכְפִתְח֖וֹ עָֽמְד֥וּ כָל־הָעָֽם׃ | |||
Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; as he opened it, all the people stood up. | |||
=== Hagba & Gelilah Terminology === | === Hagba & Gelilah Terminology === | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
