baal koreh

Alternative Spellings

ba'al koreh, bal koreh, baal-kore, baal korei

Definitions

• The individual who chants Torah from the scroll at a synagogue. Sometimes used to refer specifically to a person capable of learning and chanting an entire parsha, or to a professional/paid reader as opposed to an amateur. (Literally, "master of reading" or "one who reads")

Example Sentences

• Our baal koreh will be reading the first five aliyot, but the bar mitzvah boy will handle the last two.

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew

Etymology

בעל קורא

Who Uses This

Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001)

Notes

Also baal keriah / ba'al k'riyah / bal kriya (Heb בעל קריאה)