Know which Aliyah you are going to have. There are usually seven of them, although that varies again by the synagogue and degree of observance, as well as on holidays and weekdays. You should know so you’re ready and not out to the bathroom or something.

Wear a tallit and a kippah. This is not a hard and fast rule, and you can check out what is happening at the particular synagogue, but as we said, it’s an honor to have an Aliyah and if you are going to be up on the bimah, you should have the proper accouterments. It’s all about accessorizing! You may also need the tallit, because you are not supposed to touch the Torah with your bare finger, so lots of people use the edge of their tallit.

Let’s stick with our example of Rachel as the one being honored with an Aliyah. When the rabbi calls her name, up she goes. Once Rachel is up on the bimah, she stands to the right of the Torah reader. The gabbai is also up on the stage. This is the person who follows along and makes sure the Torah reader gets it right. It is pretty hard to read the Torah, so that’s why all the fuss. But back to Rachel. The Torah reader points to the spot in the Torah that she is about to read. Rachel then takes her tallit, touches it to that spot, kisses it, and chants or says the first part of the Aliyah. We have never been to a synagogue that does not have a copy of the Aliyah on the bimah, but bring your prayer book up with you if it makes you more comfortable.

Then, after the first part of the Aliyah is chanted, Rachel remains there while the Torah reader chants a section in Hebrew. When the Torah reader finishes the section (usually about three minutes tops), he or she will point to the spot where they finished. Rachel then touches the spot where the Torah reader just ended with her tallit, and sings the second part of the Aliyah. Then, phew, she’s done with the hard part.

Rachel will then want to rush away, nerves frayed, but job done. But not just yet. At this point, unless Rachel had the final Aliyah (which she probably won’t, because usually the Bar/Bat Mitzvah kid does that one themselves), she should move over to the left side of the Torah reader and just stay up on the bimah. Forever? No, not forever. Just until the next Torah reader finishes his or her part, and then they take Rachel’s spot and she can sit back down.

There’s a lot of shaking hands. It’s good manners to congratulate the person who had an Aliyah by shaking their hand. Even when Rachel goes back to her seat, there are people who will shake her hand in congratulations. They might also say “yasher koach,” which means, basically, “way to go!”