Ask the Expert: Mother's Name Or Father's Name?

Ask the Expert: Mother's Name Or Father's Name?

Question: Why is someone called to the Torah for an aliyah by their father’s name, but when praying for them, i.e. during healing, the mother’s name is used?Although in many contemporary Jewish communities people are called to the Torah (and otherwise identified) using both parents’ names, you are right to ask why, in more traditional circles, a person is referred to by their father’s name at some times and by their mother’s at others. When is o…