If you've been told you're "getting an aliyah" at someone's bar mitzvah, your first question is probably: what do I actually do? The answer is shorter than it sounds, but it has weight. An aliyah is the single oldest honor in Jewish ritual life. Being given one means the family is asking you to participate in the central moment of the morning — the public reading of the Torah.
Here's what it is, what you'll do, what you'll say, and what happens if you stumble.
The literal meaning: going up
Aliyah (עליה) means "going up." Same root as the word for Jewish immigration to Israel ("making aliyah"). In the context of a Torah service, it means being called up to the bima — the raised platform where the Torah is read — to recite blessings before and after a section of the Torah portion is chanted.
You don't read the Torah yourself. The bar mitzvah kid (or a Torah reader) chants the actual Hebrew. You stand next to them, bless the Torah before they begin, watch them chant, then bless it again when they finish.
The whole thing takes about 4–7 minutes per aliyah, and you stand on the bima the whole time.
Why it's an honor
The Torah is the central religious object of Jewish life. Being called to bless it publicly — by name, in front of the community — is a public recognition. In most Shabbat morning services, there are seven aliyot total, plus the maftir (a short final section that the bar mitzvah typically reads). For the bar mitzvah specifically, the seven aliyot are often distributed by family closeness — grandparents, aunts and uncles, close family friends.
If the family asked you, they're saying: we want you on the bima at the central moment. Decline only if you genuinely can't — health, mobility, or strong religious objection. Otherwise, accept and prepare.
What you'll actually do, step by step
The gabbai (synagogue official running the Torah service) will call you up by your Hebrew name. It sounds like: "Ya'amod, [Hebrew name] ben/bat [parents' Hebrew names], shlishi" (the third aliyah). Listen for your English name as a backup — the gabbai usually says both.
- Walk up to the bima. Take the most direct path. Don't dawdle.
- Approach the Torah. It's open on the reading table. Find your place to stand — usually to the right of the reader.
- Touch the Torah. Use the tzitzit (corner fringe) of your tallit (or borrow the cantor's), touch the spot in the Torah scroll where the reading begins, and kiss the tzitzit. Don't touch the parchment directly with your fingers.
- Recite the blessing before the reading (text below). Most synagogues have a card on the table with phonetic transliteration. You can read from it.
- The bar mitzvah chants the section. Stand quietly. Follow along in the chumash or the printed sheet the synagogue provides. Don't talk.
- Recite the blessing after the reading.
- Step to the side and wait until the next person is called up. Don't leave the bima yet — you stay through the next aliyah's first blessing as a sign of honor.
- Walk back to your seat the long way (not the same path you came up). Tradition says you took the direct path to honor the Torah; you take the longer path back to show reluctance to leave it.
People will shake your hand or say "yasher koach" ("may your strength be firm" — the Jewish equivalent of "well done") as you return.
The blessings, in English and transliteration
Before the reading:
Barchu et Adonai ham'vorach. (Praise the Lord, to whom our praise is due.)
Congregation responds: Baruch Adonai ham'vorach l'olam va'ed.
You then repeat: Baruch Adonai ham'vorach l'olam va'ed.
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam, asher bachar banu mikol ha'amim, v'natan lanu et Torato. Baruch atah Adonai, notein haTorah.
(Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who chose us from among the nations and gave us His Torah. Blessed are You, Lord, giver of the Torah.)
After the reading:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha'olam, asher natan lanu Torat emet, v'chayei olam nata b'tocheinu. Baruch atah Adonai, notein haTorah.
(Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who gave us a Torah of truth, and planted within us eternal life. Blessed are You, Lord, giver of the Torah.)
The synagogue will provide these on a card. You will not be expected to memorize them. Read the transliteration confidently. No one is grading your Hebrew.
What if you don't have a Hebrew name?
If you're Jewish but were never given a Hebrew name, the family or the synagogue can give you one for the aliyah. Common defaults are biblical figures the gabbai will know. The most common interim form is "[Your name] ben/bat Avraham v'Sarah" (son or daughter of Abraham and Sarah) — the names used for converts and those without a known Hebrew lineage. It's not a downgrade; it's the standard form.
If you're not Jewish, a traditional aliyah is generally not offered. Some Reform congregations have begun offering modified honors to non-Jewish family members — opening the ark, dressing the Torah after the reading, an English reading. For more on non-Jewish guest participation, see non-Jewish guest etiquette.
What if you stumble on the blessing?
You won't be the first. The Hebrew is in front of you on a card with English transliteration. The cantor or rabbi will quietly help you if you freeze — that's their job. Take a breath, find your place, keep going. The community will say amen at the end regardless of how the reading sounded.
The room is rooting for you. Nobody is annotating your performance.
Who typically gets aliyot at a bar mitzvah
The honor distribution is one of the most politically delicate parts of bar mitzvah planning. For the family, the rough convention is:
- First aliyah (Kohen): A Kohen — descendant of the priestly line. Often a relative or family friend.
- Second aliyah (Levi): A Levite — descendant of the tribe of Levi. Same logic.
- Third through sixth: Distributed to close family — grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings if of age.
- Seventh: Often a parent.
- Maftir: The bar mitzvah kid themselves, who also chants the haftarah.
If you've been given the first or second, the family is signaling you're a Kohen or Levi (or they've discussed it with you in advance — both are real). If you've been given the third through sixth, you're in the close-family or close-friend tier. If you've been given the seventh, you're a parent or you're functioning as one in the family's eyes.
For more on how the aliyot get distributed politically, including interfaith handling and divorced-parent logistics, browse the ceremony preparation category.
A small bit of etiquette
- Wear a tallit if you're a Jewish man and you have one. The synagogue will provide one if you don't.
- Bring or borrow a kippah before going up. The synagogue provides them.
- Silence your phone before standing up — see phone etiquette on Shabbat. Definitely don't film yourself on the bima.
- Don't applaud after. Applause isn't customary in a traditional service; people will say yasher koach instead.
- If you're shaky on the Hebrew, ask the cantor for a 10-minute walk-through the week before. They will say yes. It's part of the job.
What's next
- Non-Jewish guest etiquette
- What time does a bar mitzvah start?
- What to wear to a Saturday morning bar mitzvah
- Browse ceremony preparation resources
- See the 12-month planning timeline if you're a family distributing aliyot
Last updated: May 2026.