Torah reading in the context of "Exodus 18"

A Torah scroll (Hebrew: סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, romanized: Sefer Torah, lit. 'Book of Torah'; pl. סִפְרֵי תוֹרָה, Sifrei Torah) is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish prayers. At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue, the Torah ark, which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem, the direction Jews face when praying.

The text of the Torah is also commonly printed and bound in book form for non-ritual functions, called a Chumash (plural Chumashim; "five-part", for the five books of Moses), and is often accompanied by commentaries or translations.

Reconstructionist Judaism is a Jewish movement based on the concepts developed by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983)—namely, that Judaism is a progressively evolving civilization rather than just a religion. The movement originated as a semi-organized stream within Conservative Judaism, developed between the late 1920s and the 1940s before seceding in 1955, and established a rabbinical college in 1967. Reconstructionist Judaism is recognized by many scholars as one of the five major streams of Judaism in America alongside Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Humanistic.

There is substantial theological diversity within the movement. Halakha (Jewish law) is not considered normative or binding, but rather serves as the basis for the ongoing evolution of meaningful Jewish practice. In contrast with the Reform movement's stance during the time he was writing, Kaplan believed that "Jewish life [is] meaningless without Jewish law." One of the planks he wrote for the proto-Reconstructionist Society for the Jewish Renaissance stated, "We accept the halakha, which is rooted in the Talmud, as the norm of Jewish life, availing ourselves, at the same time, of the method implicit therein to interpret and develop the body of Jewish Law by the actual conditions and spiritual needs of modern life." The movement also emphasizes positive views toward modernity. It has an approach to Jewish customs that aims toward communal decision-making through a process of education and distillation of values from traditional Jewish sources.

Shacharit [ʃaχaˈʁit] (Hebrew: שַחֲרִית šaḥăriṯ), or Shacharis in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning tefillah (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers.

Different traditions identify different primary components of Shacharit. Essentially all agree that pesukei dezimra, the Shema Yisrael and its blessings, and the Amidah are major sections. Some identify the preliminary blessings and readings, as a first, distinct section. Others say that Tachanun is a separate section, as well as the concluding blessings. On certain days, there are additional prayers and services added to shacharit, including Mussaf and a Torah reading.

Behaalotecha, Behaalotcha, Beha'alotecha, Beha'alotcha, Beha'alothekha, or Behaaloscha (בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ‎—Hebrew for "when you set up," the 11th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 36th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the Book of Numbers. The parashah tells of the Menorah in the Tabernacle, the consecration of the Levites, the Second Passover, how pillars of cloud and fire led the Israelites, the silver trumpets, how the Israelites set out on their journeys, the complaints of the Israelites, and how Miriam and Aaron questioned Moses. The parashah comprises Numbers 8:1–12:16. It is made up of 7,055 Hebrew letters, 1,840 Hebrew words, 136 verses, and 240 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה‎, Sefer Torah).

Jews generally read it in late May or in June. As the parashah sets out some of the laws of Passover, Jews also read part of the parashah, Numbers 9:1–14, as the initial Torah reading for the last intermediate day (חוֹל הַמּוֹעֵד‎, Chol HaMoed) of Passover.

The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, Parashat HaShavua (Hebrew: פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is popularly abbreviated to parashah (also parshah /pɑːrʃə/ or parsha), and is also known as a Sidra or Sedra /sɛdrə/. The parashah is a section of the Torah used in Jewish liturgy during a particular week. There are 54 parshas, or parashiyot in Hebrew, and the full cycle is read over the course of one Biblical year.

A bema is an elevated platform used as an orator's podium. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah.

Simchat Torah (Hebrew: שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה‎; Ashkenazi: Simchas Torah), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret ("Eighth Day of Assembly"), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (occurring in September or October on the Gregorian calendar).

Simchat Torah's main celebration occurs in the synagogue during evening services. In many Orthodox as well as many Conservative congregations, this is the only time of year at which the Torah scrolls are taken out of the ark at night and are also read at night. In the morning, the last parashah of Deuteronomy and the first parashah of Genesis are read in the synagogue. On each occasion, when the ark is opened, the worshippers leave their seats to dance and sing with the Torah scrolls in a joyous celebration that lasts several hours.

The Amidah (Hebrew: תְפִלָת הַעֲמִידָה, romanized: Tefilat HaAmidah, lit. 'the Standing Prayer'), also called the Shemoneh Esreh (שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה, 'Eighteen'), is an important prayer in Judaism. Religious Jews recite the Amidah during each of the three services prayed on weekdays: Morning (שַׁחֲרִית, Shacharit), afternoon (מִנחָה, Mincha), and evening (מַעֲרִיב, Ma'ariv; also called עַרבִית, Arvit). On Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh (ראש חודש, 'Head [of the] Month'), and Jewish holidays, after the morning Torah reading, a fourth Amidah is recited during Mussaf ( (מוּסָף). Once annually, a fifth Amidah is recited during the Ne'ila (נְעִילָה) service of Erev Yom Kippur. Due to the importance of the Amidah, in the Rabbinic literature it is referred to only as "ha-tefila" (הַתְּפִילָה, 'the prayer').

A precise dating of the Amidah's formalization is not possible. However, Rabban Gamaliel is recorded in tractate Berakhot 28b:12 of the Talmud saying, "Each and every day, a person recites the prayer of eighteen blessings" (i.e., the Shemoneh Esreh), suggesting that the Amidah likely had a fixed formula before the end of the Mishnaic period (c. 220 CE). Furthermore, in Berakhot 28b:23, the Talmud records the formalization of the contemporary nineteen-blessing Amidah by the tanna Shmuel ha-Katan during the same period. Given that the Amidah includes a petition for the reconstruction of the Temple, the Second of which was destroyed in 70 CE, the Amidah's fixing likely occurred between then and the end of the Tannaitic era. Accordingly, in Judaism, to recite the Amidah is a mitzvah d'rabbanan (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: מִצְוָה דְּרַבָּנָן, lit. 'commandment of [the] Rabbis'), or a commandment of Rabbinic origin.