בְּרָאשֵׁי חֳדָשִׁים וּבְחֻלּוֹ שֶׁל מוֹעֵד, קוֹרִין אַרְבָּעָה, אֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מֵהֶן וְאֵין מוֹסִיפִין עֲלֵיהֶן, וְאֵין מַפְטִירִין בַּנָּבִיא. הַפּוֹתֵחַ וְהַחוֹתֵם בַּתּוֹרָה, מְבָרֵךְ לְפָנֶיהָ וּלְאַחֲרֶיהָ. זֶה הַכְּלָל, כָּל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ מוּסָף וְאֵינוֹ יוֹם טוֹב, קוֹרִין אַרְבָּעָה. בְּיוֹם טוֹב, חֲמִשָּׁה. בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, שִׁשָּׁה. בְּשַׁבָּת, שִׁבְעָה. אֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מֵהֶן, אֲבָל מוֹסִיפִין עֲלֵיהֶן, וּמַפְטִירִין בַּנָּבִיא. הַפּוֹתֵחַ וְהַחוֹתֵם בַּתּוֹרָה, מְבָרֵךְ לְפָנֶיהָ וּלְאַחֲרֶיהָ:
On New Moon and Chol Hamoed four men read, no less and no more. And there is no haftarah reading in Prophets, [For on New Moon and Chol Hamoed there is, likewise, (the factor of) keeping people from work, essential labor being permitted.] The opener and the concluder in the Torah (reading) recite the opening and the concluding blessing, respectively. This is the rule: Wherever there is mussaf and no yom tov, there are four (readers); on yom tov, there are five; on Yom Kippur, six; on Shabbath, seven. [For whatever occasion has more features than its neighbor has more readers. Therefore, on Rosh Chodesh and Chol Hamoed, where there is a mussaf offering, there are four readers; on yom tov, where work is interdicted, there are five; on Yom Kippur, where there is a punishment of kareth (cutting-off), six; on Shabbath, where there is a punishment of skilah (stoning), seven.] There may be no fewer, but there may be more. And there is a haftarah reading in Prophets. The opener and the concluder in the Torah (reading) recite the opening and the concluding blessing, respectively.
Devarim Rabbah
For this mitzvah (Deuteronomy 30:11) - Halacha: a person in Israel that stands to read from the Torah, how does that person bless? This is what the sages taught: the one who begins and the one who ends say a blessing before and after the Torah (Mishnah Megillah 4:2). And from where do we know that [reading the Torah] needs a blessing before and after? As it is written " Blessed are You, Ad-nai; train me in Your laws. " (Psalms 119:12) - here is the blessing before. And from where do we know that [reading the Torah] needs a blessing after? Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: it is written after the song (Deuteronomy 33:1) "and this is the blessing - [so too] one who taught Torah to them and afterwards blessed: here is the blessing afterwards. Another explanation: the Holy Blessed One said "if you merited to bless the Torah, I too will bless you, as it is written "in every place you call My name, I will come to you and bless you" (Exodus 20:21). The rabbis said another explanation: the Holy Blessed One said: if you bless the Torah, you bless your own self. From where [do they know this?] "For through me your days will increase, and years be added to your life" (Proverbs 9:11). And if you say that I gave the Torah to you for your detriment, that is not true, I only gave Torah to you for your benefit since the ministering angels desired Torah and it was hidden from them, as it says, "She has been hidden from the eyes of all living," (Job 28:21) these are the animals, "and from the birds of the sky it has been hidden," these are the angels. How do we know this? As it says, "One of the serafim (type of angel) flew to me," (Isaiah 6:6) God said to Israel: My children! From the ministering angels this thing is out of reach, but from you it is not. From where do we know this? From what is written regarding this issue: "this mitzvah which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach" (Deuteronomy 30:11).
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