Lit. Ascension. 1) Reading from the Torah (or reciting a blessing over the reading) during services, which is considered an honor (generally referred to in English as having or getting an aliyah and pronounced uh-LEE-uh). 2) Immigrating to Israel (generally referred to in English as making aliyah and pronounced ah-lee-AH). See Torah Readings; Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation; The Land of Israel - Israel Today.