Resource Chart
Youth Minyan Laining Chart
One of the exciting aspects of participating in a Youth Minyan (prayer group) was the opportunity to lain (read/sing) from the Torah. The great benefit of the Youth Minyan was the possibility of being able to read just one Aliyah (section) (as opposed to the entire Parsha (weekly portion) — which has become the rule in most adult congregations). For those Bar-Mitzvah boys and teenagers that read their own Parsha, most individual Aliyot are manageable, some are long and hard and many are short and easy. Almost all are possible to read with a few days preparation.
However, I always wished there would be some type of quick guide to indicate length of Aliyot so when the Gabbai (the guy responsible for organizing the running of the congregation) asked or offered Aliyot, I would know which ones to go for or not. As I became more active in the laining of the Youth Minyan I made a crude chart to keep track of the Aliyot that I did lain over time (with hopes of completing more and more over time).
Below is a link to a chart that is meant to do both things:
1. Quick list of length of Aliyot according to number of verses.
2. Handy check-list for those that want to keep track of Aliyot they have read.
There are a few other goodies thrown in for good measure.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions at bentzispitz@gmail.com
The above link will download a pdf file. The file has an A3 page that is designed to then be cut into three and provide 3 charts for each copy. For best results get printed on 300gm paper (often same cost as regular paper).
The numbers are self-explanatory. The blue boxes represent parts of the weekly laining that are read at other times of the year with notation as to when on the margin. The small purple numbers and lines represent the weekly readings that are often combined.
