Delivered by Hacham Abraham Yosef, Shelit"a, Chief Rabbi of Holon
Moshe Rabbenu instituted the practice of reading the Torah every Shabbat and every Yom Tob. The Talmud Yerushalmi comments that G-d gave us Shabbat and Yom Tob as opportunities for Torah learning, and so Moshe enacted that the Torah should be read on these occasions. In this enactment, however, he did not require any particular number of Pesukim to be read, or a specific number of Aliyot; he simply established a requirement to read some words of Torah. It became customary for congregations to read just a single verse, and then the Rabbi would explain and elaborate on that verse in depth and detail.
This was the practice until the time of Ezra and Nehemia, who instituted that the Torah be read on numerous occasions, and that specific numbers of Aliyot be read according to the stature of each occasion. The lowest stature is that of Monday and Thursday mornings, Minha on Shabbat, and fast days, when only three Aliyot are read. (On these occasions, we read at least ten verses, corresponding to the Ten Commandments.) The next level is that of Hol Ha’mo’ed and Rosh Hodesh, when we read four Aliyot. It should be noted that on these occasions, the one who receives the fourth Aliya, not the third, recites the Kaddish. And thus on Rosh Hodesh Tebet, which falls during Hanukah, when three Aliyot are read from the section of Rosh Hodesh and then a fourth Aliya for Hanukah, the one who receives the fourth Aliya recites the Kaddish. The next level is Yom Tob, when we are forbidden from performing the activities forbidden on Shabbat, with the exception of food preparation, which is allowed. As Yom Tob is on a higher level than Rosh Hodesh and Hol Ha’mo’ed, five Aliyot are read. The next level is that of Yom Kippur, when even food preparation is forbidden, and six Aliyot are read. The highest level is that of Shabbat, as Shabbat desecration is punishable by capital punishment (Sekila), whereas one who violates Yom Kippur is punished by G-d, and not by the human Bet Din. As Shabbat represents the highest level, seven Aliyot are read, with at least three verses in each, for a total of at least 21 verses.
This practice is alluded to by the Torah at the beginning of Parashat Teruma (Shemot 25:3), where G-d commands Beneh Yisrael to donate "Zahab Va’kesef U’nehoshet" (gold, silver and copper). The first letter of this phrase, "Zayin," has the numerical value of 7, and thus represents Shabbat. The letters "Heh" (5) and "Bet" (2) represent the fifth and second days of the week – Monday and Thursday. The "Kaf" of "Kesef" represents Kippur, the "Samech" represents Sukkot, and the "Peh" represents Purim and Pesah. The first two letters of "Nehoshet" – "Nun" and "Het" – allude to the words "Ner Hanukah" ("Hanukah candle"). The "Shin" represents Shavuot, and the "Tav" represents "Ta’anit" (fast day). Thus, this phrase alludes to all the occasions on which the Torah is read.
During the period of the Mishna, congregations followed a Torah reading schedule whereby the entire Torah was completed once every three years. Only later did the practice developed to divide the Torah into 54 Parashiyot and read one each week, such that the Torah is completed every year, on Simhat Torah. (Incidentally, it should be noted that in Halachic jargon, the term "Parasha" means a paragraph, and not the weekly Torah portion.) Since many people today do not understand the text of the Torah, it became customary for the Rabbi to address the congregation every Shabbat, conveying words of inspiration, instruction and Halachic guidance, in order to capitalize on the special sanctity of Shabbat. As mentioned, Shabbat was instituted specifically as a time for Torah learning, and thus we should be using our time on Shabbat for this purpose.
My father used to say in Arabic that many Jews, unfortunately, begin Shabbat by going into pajamas and then get out of pajamas when Shabbat ends. But the Torah commands "La’asot Et Ha’Shabbat" – that we are to "make" Shabbat, filling the day and our hearts with meaning and inspiration. We must ensure to not only "observe" Shabbat by fulfilling our basic requirements and refraining from forbidden activity, but also "make" Shabbat by using it as a time for learning and spiritual growth.
