Quickstart
Torah Scroll Navigation (TSN)
is the ability to quickly and accurately locate your place within the Torah Scroll. Students practice using a Tikkun Kor’im. Review the information on the HOME Page to prepare for QUICKSTART Activities. This section enables Teachers and Students to rapidly become familiar with using a systematic / process-driven approach to TSN.
Become familiar with Key Terms
- Sefer – One of the five books contained within the Torah Scroll (Bereshit/Genesis; Shemot/Exodus; Vayikra/Leviticus; Bamidbar/Numbers; Devarim/Deuteronomy). These are also referred to as the Five Books of Moses, and as the Pentateuch. These are the first five books of both the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the King James Bible.
- Parashah – The reading of the Torah Scroll is divided into 54 Portions, or Parashiot.
- Bereshit/Genesis – 12 Parashiot
- Shemot / Exodus – 11 Parashiot
- Vayikra / Leviticus – 10 Parashiot
- Bamidbar / Numbers – 10 Parashiot
- Devarim / Deuteronomy – 11 Parashiot
- Aliyah – A portion of text, within a Parashah, that is read as a unit. For public readings, blessings are said before and after each Aliyah is read. Aliyot are: 1st (Cohen), 2nd (Levi), 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and then Maftir.
- Column # - In a 245 Column Torah Scroll, the Beginning of Bereshit/Genesis is located in Column # 1 and the concluding text of Devarim/Deuteronomy is located in Column # 245. (A Column Number in a Scroll is the equivalent of a Page Number in a Book).
- Line # - In a 42 Line per Column Torah Scroll, the first line at the top of the Column is Line # 1 and the last line at the bottom of the Column is Line # 42. Each Column contains 42 Lines.
- Aliyah Address – The Column # and the Line # where the beginning text for a specific Aliyah is located in a specific Tikkun or a specific Torah Scroll.
- Anchor Column – A Column with formatting that is so distinctive, that even an individual who does not read Hebrew could recognize the Column. For this website, the designated Anchor Columns are: Column # 1 – Beginning of Sefer Bereshit/Genesis; Column # 61 – Beginning of Sefer Shemot/Exodus; Column # 111 – Beginning of Sefer Vayikra/Leviticus; Column # 148 – Beginning of Sefer Bamidbar/Numbers; Column # 200 - Beginning of Sefer Devaim/Deuteronomy; Column # 245 – Conclusion of Sefer Devarim/Deuteronomy. Four blank lines, indicating the end of one Sefer and the beginning of a new Sefer, are found on Columns # 61, 111, 148, and 200.
- Open Space – Space the width of at least 9 characters, and in most scrolls, it extends to the end of the line.
- Closed Space – Space the width of at least 9 characters, and in most scrolls, it is in the middle of the line.
- Reference Tables – Charts that assist an individual to locate a specific Parashah and a specific Aliyah within a Tikkun or a Torah Scroll. This website focuses on Torah Scroll layouts employing 245 Columns and 42 Lines per Column. Locating your desired text in two steps:
- Locate the Column containing your Text
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah within its Column
- Line 1 Column Text – Modern Torah Scrolls, following a 245 Column / 42 Line per Column layout, generally follow the Pagination represented in the Recommend Tikkun – Tikkun Korim Hamefoar: Tikun for Reading the Torah with Instructions and Laws in Hebrew and English by Abraham Walzer. The Torah Scroll Column Reference Guide contains Line 1 of each Column, sorted alphabetically. When you are standing in front of an Unknown Column, simply read the text on Line 1 and then look it up Alphabetically in the Reference Guide to Identify its Column # and Contents (Sefer; Parashah; Aliyot).
- Reading Cycles – See example for Parashat Bereshit
- Annual – The text of the entire Torah is read over the course of one year, in sequence. Used in Orthodox Jewish communities worldwide, and in Israel.
- Modern Triennial – The text of the entire Torah is read over the course of three years. One third of the weekly Parashah is read (first third read first year of the cycle, second third read the second year, and third portion of each Parashah is read in the third year). Many Conservative and Reform Diaspora Synagogues follow the Modern Triennial reading cycle.
- Rolling Directions - How to Count Column when rolling the Torah Scroll
- Select Motivated Teachers and Students
- To ideally work in pairs,
- Or work individually and then compare notes
Acquire a Tikkun that uses the 245 Column / 42 Line Layout standard –
Recommended: Tikkun Korim Hamefoar: Tikun for Reading the Torah with Instructions and Laws in Hebrew and English – By Abraham B. Walzer.
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- Familiarize yourself with the layout of each page in the Tikkun
- One page in the Tikkun represents one Column in the Torah Scroll, on the right side of the page with vowels, and on the left side of the page without vowels
- Top of each page: Sefer Name, Parashah Name, Column # (in Hebrew Letters and in Arabic Numerals)
- Middle of each page: Chapter, Verse and Aliyah information
- Beginning with Column # 1, look at each page in the Tikkun until you reach Column # 245 (concluding Column in the Torah Scroll)
- Notice the Columns that have 4 Blank Lines, indicating the conclusion of one Sefer and the beginning of a new Sefer
- Familiarize yourself with the layout of each page in the Tikkun
- Locate one or more Cohen Aliyahs for each Sefer within the Torah Scroll, using the following QUICKSTART Scenarios
QUICKSTART Scenario #1 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Bereshit (Sefer Bereshit/Genesis)
Aliyah Address: Column #1, Line #1 Beginning Text: בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים
- Open your Tikkun to Column #1 (Locating the Column containing your Aliyah)
- Locate Line # 1 (Locating the Line where your Aliyah may begin)
- Locate the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
QUICKSTART Scenario #2 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Shemot (Sefer Shemot/Exodus)
Aliyah Address: Column #61, Line #6 Beginning Text: וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַבָּאִים מִצְרָיְמָה
- Open your Tikkun to Column #61 (Locating the Column containing your Aliyah)
- Notice the 4 Blank Lines
- Locate Line #6 (Locating the Line where your Aliyah may begin)
- Locate the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
QUICKSTART Scenario #3 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Vayikra (Sefer Vayikra/Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #111, Line #40 Beginning Text: וַיִּקְרָא אֶל-מֹשֶׁה
- Open your Tikkun to Column #111 (Locating the Column containing your Aliyah)
- Notice the 4 Blank Lines
- Locate Line #40 (Locating the Line where your Aliyah may begin)
- Locate the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
QUICKSTART Scenario #4 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Bamidbar
(Sefer Bamidbar/Numbers)
Aliyah Address: Column #148, Line #27 Beginning Text: וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי
- Open your Tikkun to Column #148 (Locating the Column containing your Aliyah)
- Notice the 4 Blank Lines
- Locate Line #27 (Locating the Line where your Aliyah may begin)
- Locate the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
QUICKSTART Scenario #5 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Devarim
(Sefer Devarim/Deuteronomy)
Aliyah Address: Column #200, Line #39 Beginning Text: אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל
- Open your Tikkun to Column # 200 (Locating the Column containing your Aliyah)
- Notice the 4 Blank Lines
- Locate Line #39 (Locating the Line where your Aliyah may begin)
- Locate the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Activities Personalize your Tikkun and Locate Aliyot using Reference Tables
- Purchase a set of quality, erasable coloring pencils
- Acquire Reference Tables (Identifying the Specific Address – Column # and Line # for each Aliyah within the Tikkun Kor’im)
- Download Reference Tables from this website.
- or obtain a copy of the “Torah Scroll Column Locator Handbook"
NOTE – The Activities in this section contain extracts from the Reference Tables.
- Locate the Cohen Aliyah for each Parashah in Sefer Vayikra/Leviticus, using the following DEEPER DIVE Scenarios
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #1 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Vayikra (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #111, Line #40 Beginning Text: וַיִּקְרָא אֶל-מֹשֶׁה
- Open your Tikkun to Column #111 (Locating the Column containing your Aliyah)
- Notice the 4 Blank Lines
- Locate Line #40 (Locating the Line where your Aliyah may begin)
- Locate the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #2 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Tzav (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #117, Line #3 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Vayikra
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliya
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, User your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #3 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Shemini (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #121, Line #4 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Vayikra
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, User your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #4 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Tazria (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #124, Line #36 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Vayikra
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, User your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #5 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Metzora (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #127, Line #38 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Vayikra
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, use your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #6 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Acharei Mot (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #131, Line #29 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Bamidbar
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, use your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #7 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Kedoshim (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #135, Line #15 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Bamidbar
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, use your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #8 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Emor (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #137, Line #40 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Bamidbar
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, use your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #9 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Behar (Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #143, Line #3 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Bamidbar
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, use your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
DEEPER DIVE Scenario #10 Locate the Cohen Aliyah for Parashat Bechukotai
(Sefer Vayikra/ Leviticus)
Aliyah Address: Column #145, Line #18 Nearest Anchor Column: Beginning Sefer Bamidbar
- In your Tikkun, Locate the designated Anchor Column
- Follow Rolling directions (turn pages) and Locate the Column containing your Aliyah
- Locate the Beginning Text for your Aliyah, within its Column
- In your Tikkun, use your coloring pencils to highlight the Beginning Text for this Aliyah
View Online Tikkun in Hebcal.com
ADVANCED ACTIVITIES Locating Parashiot and Aliyot without Printed Column Numbers
- Purchase removable white tape (¼ inch wide)
- Acquire a second Tikkun (Tikkun Korim Hamefoar by A. Walzer), and
- Use the white tape to mask the Column Numbers, and Sefer/Parashah Names at the top of each page,
- And Mask the Verse and Aliyah information in the middle of each page (for each of the 245 Columns in the Torah Scroll)
- Obtain a copy of the “Torah Scroll Column Reference Guide”
- Line 1 Index to each Column in a 245 Column / 42 Line Layout Torah Scroll
- Memorize the Column Numbers for each of the Anchor Columns, and why each is important
- Column Numbers: 1, 61, 111, 148, 200, 245
- Become familiar with the Beginning Text for each Sefer in the Torah Scroll, so you can recognize which Sefer it belongs to
ADVANCED – Repeat each of the QUICKSTART Scenarios
- You will use your memory
- Use the second Tikkun, which has information related to the contents of each Column masked (with white removable tape)
- Repeat each QUICKSTART Scenario several times, until you are very comfortable, then
- Repeat each QUICKSTART Scenario, and time yourself
ADVANCED – Repeat each of the DEEPER DIVE Scenarios
- You will use “Reference Tables”
- Use the second Tikkun, which has information related to the contents of each Column masked (with white removable tape)
- Repeat each DEEPER DIVE Scenario several times, until you are very comfortable, then
- Repeat each DEEPER DIVE Scenario, and time yourself
ADVANCED – Recover from an Unknown Column, then Locate your Aliyah “Where am I?” and “Where is my Parashah?” Activities
- You will use the “Torah Scroll Column Reference Guide”
- Use the second Tikkun, which has information related to the contents of each Column masked (with white removable tape)
- Use the “Where is my Parashah?” Section of the Reference Guide to identify the Address for your Aliyah (its Column # and Line #). Example: Parashat Toldot – 1st Aliyah – Column 27, Line 14 (on page 59)
- Randomly, open to any of the 245 Torah Scroll Columns, within the masked Tikkun
- Look at the first few words on Line 1 (the first line of text for your Unknown Column)
- Use the “Where am I?” Section in the Reference Guide (begins on page 11)
- Just as you would look up a word in a Dictionary, look up the first two or three words on Line 1 until you find an exact match for the highlighted words (Use the Quick Glance information, and the Index on pages 101-102 to help)
- Once you locate an exact match, check the Column Contents information in the Reference Guide to confirm where you are
- The diagram below provides an illustration of the process
- Line 1 of the Unknown Column begins with the words וקך לך
- Page 51 in the Reference Guide has an entry, where the highlighted words are וקך לך
- The Column is in Sefer Bereshit, and contains the 6th, 7th and Maftir Aliyot for Parashat Vayeitzei
- Mentally calculate where you are and where you need to be:
- Current Column # is 36 and Column containing your desired Aliyah is Column # 27
- Roll Right (turn Tikkun pages) 9 Columns to arrive at column # 27
- Look for the beginning text for the Cohen Aliyah of Parashat Toldot near/within Line 14
Using the Torah Scroll Column Reference Guide to Identify the Column # for an Unknown Column
