And in the book Teshuat Yisrael by Rabbi Menasheh ben Yisrael, may his memory be blessed, it is written as follows: I have been prompted to inform about the customs of honor and reverence with which the Jews honor the Torah scroll, for our adversaries who are unaware of this provoke us by saying that we are idolaters and that we prostrate ourselves before the wooden Ark and the parchment scrolls within it.
Therefore, I will present my response in an orderly fashion, with the help of the good hand of the Lord, and every Israelite should see himself obligated to rise and stand when the Torah scroll is taken out of the Holy Ark until it is placed on the lectern to be shown to all the people and to be read from. We find that this was done in the time of Nehemiah, as it is written: 'And when he opened it, all the people stood up.'
And they should do this out of fear and honor for the living words of God written within it. For the same reason, they should support their heads as they carry it from the Ark to the lectern, and not for any other reasons that we will mention.