![]() ![]() The length of the reading, however, seems not to have been fixed by that time. there were regular Torah readings on Mondays, on Thursdays, and on Sabbaths special readings for the Sabbaths during the period from before the month of Adar to before Passover and special readings for the festivals, including those of Ḥanukkah and Purim, and for fast days (Meg. The Mishnah shows that by the end of the second century c.e. If this is correct, the original Torah reading was didactic rather than liturgical. Elbogen is of the opinion that originally the Torah was read only on the festivals and on certain Sabbath days before the festivals the reading was to instruct the people as to the significance of these days. This contention is supported by evidence in the New Testament: "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogue every Sabbath day" (Acts 15:21). 127) refer to public Torah readings as an ancient practice. ![]() Josephus (Apion, 2:175) and Philo (ii Som. It may be assumed that the custom dates from about the first half of the third century b.c.e., since the Septuagint was apparently compiled for the purpose of public reading in the synagogue. 4:1, 75a bk 82a) are not historical statements in themselves they point, however, to an early date for the introduction of regular readings. Moses' command that the Israelites should read the Torah on the Sabbath, on festivals, and on new moons, and Ezra's that it should be read on Mondays, on Thursdays, and on Sabbath afternoons (tj, Meg. These two occasions are isolated instances, and do not help to establish when the custom of regular Torah readings arose. A second mention is made in the time of *Ezra when he read the Torah to all the people, both men and women, from early morning until midday, on the first day of the seventh month (Neh. 31:10–13) is the earliest reference to a public Torah reading. The command to assemble the people at the end of every seven years to read the law "in their hearing" (Deut. The sources, however, do not permit the definite tracing of the historical development of the custom. The practice of reading the Pentateuch (Torah) in public is undoubtedly ancient. ![]()
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