ISBHPK ABQ Sabbath Torah RTeading!

The introduction of public reading of the Torah by Ezra the Scribe after the return of the Judean exiles is described in Nehemiah Chapter 8. Prior to Ezra, the mitzvah of Torah reading was based on the Biblical commandment of Hakhel (Deuteronomy 31:10–13), by which once every 7 years the entire people was to be gathered, "men, women and children,"[7] and hear much of Deuteronomy, the final volume of the Pentateuch, read to them (see the closing chapters of the Talmudic tractate Sotah). Traditionally, the mitzvah of gathering the people and reading them the Torah under Hakhel was to be performed by the King. Under Ezra, Torah reading became more frequent and the congregation themselves substituted for the King's role. Ezra is traditionally credited with initiating the modern custom of reading thrice weekly in the synagogue. This reading is an obligation incumbent on the congregation, not an individual, and did not replace the Hakhel reading by the king.