Torah Scroll Navigation (TSN)

Torah Scroll Navigation (TSN) is the ability to quickly and accurately locate your place within the Torah Scroll. This is a skill that can be mastered by students who have basic Hebrew reading skills, such as Bar/ Bat Mitzvahs, and by lay individuals preparing for the Torah Service.

Experienced Torah Readers and Gabbais (individuals who assist in planning the ritual aspects of Synagogue services) can instinctively locate desired readings, due to their deep familiarity with the text of the Torah Scroll. Anchor Columns, columns with very distinctive formatting, assist them.

The resources on this website use a systematic / process-driven approach to TSN, as Hebrew students of all ages and from diverse backgrounds work towards gaining intuitive skills. Students locate a specific Anchor Column and then follow rolling directions to locate the Column containing their Aliyah. Next, students locate the Line containing the Beginning Text for their Aliyah. Building confidence, skill, and joy.

Students practice TSN using a Tikkun Korim (245 Column / 42 Line Layout)

which is a book that follows the layout of the Torah Scroll. Ideally, each student will have their own Tikkun, which they will personalize. Recommended: Tikkun Korim Hamefoar: Tikun for Reading the Torah with Instructions and Laws in Hebrew and English – By Abraham B. Walzer.

Torah Scroll contains the first five books of the Hebrew Bible

Genesis / Bereshit בראשית , Exodus / Shemot שמות , Leviticus / Vayikra ויקרא , Numbers במדבר / Bamidbar and Deuteronomy / Devarim דברים .

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Your Parasha and the Reading Cycles

There are 54 Portions / Parashiyot that are read either over the course of one year (Annual Reading Cycle) or over the course of three years (Modern Triennial Reading Cycle). Each Parashah is further divided into eight sections, each section called an Aliyah.

Torah Scrolls 5 Books divided into 54 Portions / Parashiyot

Deuteronomy / Devarim

דברים

Devarim
Va’etchanan ואתחנן
Eikev עקב
Re’eh ראה
Shoftim שופטים
Ki Tetzei כי תצא
Ki Tavo כי תבא
Nitzavim נצבים
Vayeilech וילך
Haazinu האזינו
V’zot Haberach וזאת הברכה

Numbers / Bamidbar

במדבר

Bamidbar במדבר
Naso נשא
Behaalotecha בהעלתך
Shelach שלך
Korach קרח
Chukat חקת
Balak בלק
Pinchas פינחס
Matot מטות
Ma’sei מסעי

Leviticus / Vayikra

ויקרא

Vayikra ויקרא
Tzav צו
Shemini שמיני
Tazria תזריע
Metzora מצורע
Acharei Mot אחרי מות
Kedoshim קדושים
Emor אמור
Behar בהר
Bechukotai בחקתי

Exodus / Shemot

שמות

Shemot שמות
Va’eira וארא
Bo בא
Beshalach בשלח
Yitro יתרו
Mishpatim משפטים
Terumah תרומה
Tetzaveh תצוה
Ki Tisa כי תשא
Vayakhel ויקהל
Pekudei פקודי

Genesis / Bereshit

בראשית

Bereshit בראשית
No’ach נח
Lech Lecha לך לך
Vayeira וירא
Chayei Sarah חיי שרה
Toldot תולדות
Vayeitzei ויצא
Vayishlach וישלח
Vayeishev וישב
Mikeitz מקץ
Vayigash ויגש
Vayechi ויחי

Each Parasha is further divided into Aliyot.

An Aliyah is a portion of text that is read as a unit. For public readings, blessings are said before and after each Aliyah is read.

• First Aliyah is reserved for a Cohen כהן
• Second Aliyah שני is reserved for a Levi לוי
• Third Aliyah שלישי
• Fourth Aliyah רביעי
• Fifth Aliyah חמישי
• Sixth Aliyah ששי ,
• Seventh Aliyah שביעי , and
• Maftir מפטיר is a re-reading of the ending verses in the seventh Aliyah and is usually read by the person who will be reading the Haftarah portion for the Parashah. The Haftarah portion is text from the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible.

Using the Layout of the Torah Scroll to locate your reading

Locate the Column containing your Aliyah, then
Locate the beginning text for your Aliyah within that Column

Many aspects of the layout of the Torah Scroll are mandated by Jewish Law / Halachah; examples include having 4 empty lines between each Book/Sefer, and the placement of each Open Space and each Closed Space.

These binding requirements have resulted in layout standards that Scribes have adhered to across the Diaspora and across the Centuries. Many modern Torah Scrolls use the convention of a 245 Column / 42 Line format, with a pagination convention that standardizes the text on Line 1 of each Column.

Each Aliyah has a specific Address within a specific Torah Scroll

The Column Number and the Line Number where its Beginning Text is located. For 245 Column / 42 Line Layouts, based on a standard Tikkun:

Column	Line	Text
Column # 1, Line # 1	- Beginning text for Parashat Bereshit
Column # 61, Line # 6	- Beginning text for Parashat Shemot
Column # 111, Line # 40	- Beginning text for Parashat Vayikra
Column # 148, Line # 27	- Beginning text for Parashat Bamidbar
Column # 200, Line #39	- Beginning text for Parashat Devarim

Answering the 3 Torah Scroll Navigation Questions

Where is my Parashah?
- Locate the Column containing your Parashah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Parashah (within its Column)

Where is my Aliyah?
- Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah (within its Column)

Where am I?
- Identify the Column Number containing your Parashah or Aliyah
- Identify the Column Number for the “Unknown Column” the Torah Scroll is currently rolled to
- Roll the Torah Scroll in the appropriate direction for the appropriate number of Columnn
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah (within its Column)