Advanced Search

Reading Torah Scroll


Question:

If Hebrew is read from right to left, then when reading from a scroll, does it begin at the right end of the scroll? Say you have the Torah on a scroll. Do you roll it all the way out to the right to start at the beginning of Genesis? And, do you start at the top of the page or the bottom? Thank you.



AskTheRabbi.org answered:

The beginning of the scroll is on the right - that means that Genesis and the Creation begin on the right and the left end of the scroll has the last paragraphs of the Torah in it. The Torah is written in vertical columns and they are read from the top, horizontal line by horizontal line until the bottom.


Similar Questions
Torah > Public Reading
The Ark and Freedom
Public Torah Reading
Weeky Torah Portion
Parsha Division for Synagogue Reading - Aliya
This Land is God’s Land, This Land is Our Land
Torah > Written Torah
Humility
An Eye for an Eye
The Ark and Freedom
"Silver Lining"
Love Thy Neighbor
The Need for Torah
Ark in the Synagogue
Two Torahs?
Vowels in the Torah
What are the Nephilim?
Tanach
Hebrew Alphabet Riddle
Moses - Most Humble Man
Individual's History in the Torah
The Jewish War
What is the Tanach?
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Chicken and Turkey
The “Weigh-in” is the Way In
Hammurabi’s i-Code
Who Wrote the Torah Ending?
How Do We Know What They Said?
Healthy Hypocrisy
The Ten Tenets
Verse Explanation Amos
Haftarah and the Torah
Long Lives
This Land is God’s Land, This Land is Our Land
First Torah Scroll
Importance of Torah Scroll
Ecclesiastes
Meaning of “Selah”
Words from the Heart
Anger in the Bosom of Fools
Oral Torah and Rabbinic Mitzvot
Why So Many Commandments?
Bible Disposal
What Would America Do?
The Secret Road to Jerusalem
Hebrew Alphabet Changes?
Common Sayings
Branches of a Jewish Government
When I Wish Upon a Planet
Chapters and Verses in the Torah
A Time of Comfort
Jonah and Suicide
Moses' Sons
The Ten Commandments
Twinkle, Twinkle, Like the Stars
Best Translation
Chapter Divisions in the Torah
The Mystery of the Missing Vowels
Have a question?
 
Gateways - Your Key to Jewish Continuity

AskTheRabbi.org is a service of the Gateways Organization © 2024
Technical problems? Please contact the AskTheRabbi Support team