344. Not Talking During Krias HaTorah

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 12:9

Once the reading of the Torah has begun, it is forbidden for anyone to talk, even in matters of Torah. Everyone must remain silent and pay attention to the reading, as we see in Nehemiah 8:3, “The ears of all the people were to the book of the Torah.” One may not leave the shul while the Torah is being read, though one may leave in-between aliyos. If a person is constantly studying Torah and Torah-study is his occupation, he may also do so while the Torah is being read.

Tefillah u’Birkas Kohanim 12:10

The practice from the time of Ezra was for a translator to translate the verses being read from the Torah so that the congregation would understand what was being said. The reader would read one verse and then remain silent while the translator translated it, then the reader would read the next verse. The reader was not permitted to read more than one verse at a time.