136. Brachos before Reading the Torah

23:3 Before saying the blessing on reading the Torah, a person opens the Torah scroll in order to see the place from which the Torah will be read. He then holds the scroll open with both hands, closes his eyes, and says “Barchu.” (Some turn their faces away so as not to look as if they’re reading the brachos from the Torah, though practices vary – Mishnah Brurah 139:19.) Barchu is recited aloud so that the congregation can hear and respond “Baruch Hashem Hamevorach...” (At least ten people should be able to hear and respond – see MB 139:24.) If the congregation does not hear the one receiving the aliyah, even if they hear the baal korei respond to the blessing, they do not reply together with him. Instead, they should answer “Amen” after the baal korei's response. (Biur Halacha 57:1 speaks very harshly of those who say Barchu too quietly and cause the congregation to err in this matter.) After the congregation has responded with “Baruch Hashem Hamevorach...,” the one receiving the aliyah says it as well. He then says the blessing “asher bachar banu” and the congregation responds with “Amen.” The oleh (that is, the one receiving the aliyah) then takes his left hand off the Torah; he holds it only with his right hand for the duration of his aliyah. The baal korei reads aloud and the oleh reads along quietly. The baal korei does not begin reading until the congregation has responded “Amen.” (If some people stretch out their “Amen,” he must wait for them – MB141:17.) The congregation should pay careful attention to the reading of the Torah. After the Torah has been read, the oleh takes the Torah with both hands and says the concluding bracha. 23:4 One may not handle the parchment of a Torah scroll with bare hands (except when necessary, such as for repairs – MB 147:1). Instead, he should use a tallis or hold the Torah by its handles. Some are stringent not even to hold the handles without using a tallis.