Welcome

Welcome to the home page for the Torah Reading Program (TRoPe) at Beth El! After a very successful first year with many people signing up to read, it made more sense to increase accessibility to the list of open Torah readings for congregants and their post-B’nei Mitzvah children. The list has also been expanded to allow for more chances for people to sign up. Details on how to sign up for readings and to receive credit follow below.

The List

The list of open Torah readings will be made available to the congregation in the form of an Excel spreadsheet containing information on the date, portion, the number of verses in each aliyah to be read that day, and whether the aliyah is open, being held but not reserved, or currently reserved. The available readings will include Shabbatot, holidays, Rosh Chodesh, fast days, and weekdays. Special events will be noted as well such as B’nei Mitzvah and those Shabbatot where synagogue groups may read Torah (e.g. Men’s Club Shabbat, Women’s Shabbat, Chazak Shabbat, and Youth/Grandparent Shabbat). The status of an aliyah may change over time, so please check this page often to ensure you look at the most up-to-date version of the list.

Click here to get the latest list of open Torah Readings.

Earning Credit

The TRoPe program assigns credit for each aliyah read by an individual. The level of credit varies depending on how many cumulative credits a person has received. Credits will carry over from year to year. There are three categories of total credits.

Category 1: Less than 10 Credits
Category 2: 10-19 Credits
Category 3: 20+ Credits

Once someone has achieved 10 credits worth of Torah readings (Category 2), he/she will receive a yad. Once someone has achieved 20 credits (Category 3), he/she will receive a gift certificate to the Beth El Gift Shop, and while having reached the highest level, is still encouraged to enjoy the many personal and spiritual benefits in continuing to read Torah.

The credit values for aliyot by category are as follows:

1.0 credits – Full Shabbat aliyot, High Holy Day aliyot, chapters from Megillat Esther and Megillat Eicha.

0.5 credits – Shabbat Maftir, Shabbat Mincha (where applicable), Festival aliyot (including Maftir), Weekday readings.

These values apply to those who have credit values within Category 1. For those in Categories 2 and 3, one must read a minimum of 5 verses to earn 0.5 credits and 9 verses to earn 1.0 credits. This is to allow for the more occasional readers to sign up for shorter aliyot.

Eligibility

Anyone over Bar/Bat Mitzvah is eligible to sign up for an open or unreserved reading. If one has not read in more than two years, or has not read since their Bar/Bat Mitzvah, he/she must contact Cantor Brandspiegel for a “check-up”. Sign-ups are allowed on B’nei Mitzvah Shabbatot no sooner than three months prior to the date, as the family retains “Reserved” status on all aliyot until that time, unless the family makes a specific request of someone to read. Any readings not reserved by the family then become “Open” subject to the following criteria:

3 months prior – Open to those in Category 1 ONLY
1 month prior – Open to all readers

This is again to allow for the more occasional readers to have more chances to sign up for readings. When you sign up, you will be informed of your credit status as to whether you can be assigned the particular reading.

Unless specifically requested by a Bar/Bat Mitzvah family, a post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah may not read on another Bar/Bat Mitzvah date until one calendar year after their Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

How to Sign Up

Please send an e-mail to Jonathan Steinberg (JHS7977@hotmail.com) with your name, e-mail address, date requested, and the aliyah number(s). If you would like to read in honor of a special occasion, please include this in your message, and we will try to accommodate you. Thank you for your participation and support for this wonderful program!