Study and Insights on the Synagogue

What is the function of a rabbi? What is his purpose and mission? What is he there to accomplish? I would imagine that if you would ask three different rabbis you would probably get three unique responses.

I have always understood that the word aliyah refers to being called up to the Torah reading at the synagogue. But yesterday, a friend told me that he is making aliyah. He explained that “making aliyah” meant moving to Israel. Could you enlighten me on what the true meaning of the word is?

As a regular attendee of Shabbat services, I know that the weekly Parsha is not read from the Torah scroll in one go, but is divided into seven portions, with seven different people called up to the Torah for an aliyah. I am wondering when the aliyah portions were divided and by whom?

The word chumash is derived from the Hebrew word chomesh, which means a fifth.

Ever wondered why the ark in your synagogue has two coverings – a door and a curtain?

It was never clear to me why some call the weekly Torah reading parshah and others call it sidra.  Are these two words synonymous?

Is it true that there is no mention of the synagogue in the Torah? It’s hard to imagine “Judaism”—at least as we know it today—without synagogues!

Is there a specific reason why we lift the Torah up in the air in the synagogue after each reading?