Editing Torah reading (section)

===Hagbah===
[[File:Tefillin hagba.png|thumb|1657 depiction of Hagbah (right)]]
In the [[Sephardi Jews|Sefardic]] tradition, the Torah is lifted before the reading, and this is called "Levantar", [[Judaeo-Spanish|Spanish]] for "to lift up". In the [[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite]] tradition, the Torah remains in a resting position while just the parchment is raised.

In [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazic]] tradition, lifting is called "Hagbah" and is usually done after the reading, although some [[Nusach Sefard]] communities, especially in Israel, have adopted the Sephardic custom of doing it before the reading. The order was a matter of medieval dispute but the position of the [[Kol Bo]], lifting before, eventually lost to that of [[Moses Isserles]] and is followed in only a few Ashkenazic communities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Ron|first=Tzvi|title=Pointing to the Torah and other Hagbaha Customs|url=https://hakirah.org/Vol15Ron.pdf|journal=Hakira|pages=289ff}}</ref> Two honorees are called: the ''Magbiah'' ("lifter") performs ''Hagbah'' ("lifting [of the Torah]") and displays the Torah's Hebrew text for all to see,<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hagbah-gelilah/ | title = Hagbah & Gelilah: Raising and dressing the Torah | author = Ronald L. Eisenberg | publisher = My Jewish Learning}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = http://scheinerman.net/judaism/Synagogue/ | publisher = Scheinerman | contribution = The Synagogue | title = Glossary of Hebrew and English Terms}}.</ref> after which the ''Golel'' ("roller") performs ''Gelila'' ("rolling" [of the Torah]") and puts on the cover, belt, crown, and/or other ornaments (this role, originally distinguished, is now often given to minors). In Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and some [[Open Orthodox]] congregations, these roles may also be performed by a woman. The respective titles for women are "Magbihah" and "Golelet". Rashi says on Megillah 32a that these roles were originally performed by the same honoree.

As the Hagbah is performed, the congregation points toward the Torah scroll with their pinky fingers and recites Deut. 4:44, "And this is the Law which Moses set before the people of Israel", adding, "on the word of the LORD, by hand of Moses." The custom of pointing has no clear origin. The medieval Ashkenazic custom (according to [[Moses Isserles]]) was to bow toward the scroll during Hagbaha; pointing is mentioned by [[Mordechai Krispin|Mordecai Crispin]] of Rhodes ({{Circa|1730-1790}}) in a work published by his grandson in 1836;<ref>{{Cite web |title=HebrewBooks.org Sefer Detail: דברי מרדכי -- קריספין, מרדכי |url=https://hebrewbooks.org/9300 |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=hebrewbooks.org}}</ref> pointing with the pinky, first recorded as a "Russian" custom by the 1912 Jewish Encyclopedia, was codified by the [[Me'am Lo'ez|Me'am Loez]] in 1969.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KJUhPf1EE4sC&pg=PA516|title=The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day|date=1912|publisher=Funk and Wagnalls|language=en}}</ref> Twentieth-century additions to the Me'am Loez were written by an Ashkenazi, Shmuel Kroizer, but the Sephardic prestige of the work has helped the custom become near-universal among both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews.<ref name=":0"/>

In Ashkenazic congregations, the Magbiah will usually sit holding the scroll until after the Haftarah is performed and the chazzan takes it from him to return it to the ark. In some congregations, the scroll is instead placed on the [[Bema|bimah]] or handed to a different honoree (frequently a minor) to sit and hold.