147. Lifting the Torah

23:25 After the Torah is read, half-Kaddish is recited and the Torah is raised. The one lifting the Torah should open it so that three columns of text are visible. (Some feel this means specifically three columns but the Mishnah Brurah says that if one is strong enough, he should display more – MB 134:8.) He shows the inside of the Torah to the people on his right, those on his left, those in front of him and those behind him because it is a mitzvah for everyone to see the writing. (It is preferable to be able to read the writing – MB 134:11.) They recite “v’zos HaTorah” (“this is the Torah...”), then the Torah is rolled shut. It must be rolled so that the seam lies between the two rolls, so the Torah should be rolled until the closest seam is in the middle, whether that means rolling forward or back.

23:26 Whenever the Torah is read, it is followed by half-Kaddish, except on Shabbos afternoons and fast day afternoons. In those cases, we rely on the Kaddish that is said before Shemoneh Esrei.