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Torah reading (; Yiddish: ''Kriyas HaToire'') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll (or scrolls) from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll(s) to the ark. Regular public reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles from the Babylonian captivity (c. 537 BCE), as described in the Book of Nehemiah.〔.〕 In the modern era, adherents of Orthodox Judaism practice Torah reading according to a set procedure they believe has remained unchanged in the two thousand years since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE). In the 19th and 20th centuries CE, Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism have made adaptations to the practice of Torah reading, but the basic pattern of Torah reading has usually remained the same: As a part of the morning or afternoon prayer services on certain days of the week or holidays, a section of the Pentateuch is read from a Torah scroll. On Shabbat (Saturday) mornings, a weekly section (known as a ''Sedra'' or ''parashah'') is read, selected so that the entire Pentateuch is read consecutively each year.〔The division of ''parashot'' found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities (Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite) is based on the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, ''Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls'', chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of the ''parashot'' for the Torah on the Aleppo Codex. Though initially doubted by Umberto Cassuto, this has become the established position in modern scholarship (see the Aleppo Codex article for more information.)〕〔Conservative and Reform synagogues may read ''parashot'' on a triennial rather than annual schedule.〕〔.〕〔.〕 On Saturday afternoons, Mondays, and Thursdays, the beginning of the following Saturday's portion is read. On Jewish holidays, Rosh Chodesh, and fast days, special sections connected to the day are read. Religious Jews observe an annual holiday, Simchat Torah, to celebrate the completion of the year's cycle of readings. ==Origins and history of the practice== The introduction of public reading of the Torah by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles is described in Nehemiah (Chapter 8 ). Prior to Ezra, the ''mitzvah'' of Torah reading was based on the Biblical commandment of ''Hakhel'' (Deuteronomy (31:10–13 )), by which once every 7 years the entire people was to be gathered, "men, women and children,"〔''Deuteronomy'' (31:12 )〕 and hear much of Deuteronomy, the final volume of the Pentateuch, read to them (see the closing chapters of the Talmudic Tractate Sotah). Traditionally, the ''mitzvah'' of gathering the people and reading them the Torah under ''Hakhel'' was to be performed by the King. Under Ezra, Torah reading became more frequent and the congregation themselves substituted for the King's role. Ezra is traditionally credited with initiating the modern custom of reading thrice weekly in the synagogue. This reading is an obligation incumbent on the congregation, not an individual, and did not replace the ''Hakhel'' reading by the king. The reading of the Law in the synagogue can be traced to at least about the 2nd century BCE, when the grandson of Sirach refers to it in his preface as an Egyptian practice. Torah reading is discussed in the Mishna and Talmud, primarily in Tractate Megilla. It has been suggested that the reading of the Law was due to a desire to controvert the views of the Samaritans with regard to the various festivals, for which reason arrangements were made to have the passages of the Pentateuch relating to those festivals read and expounded on the feast-days themselves. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Torah reading」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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