Quoting Commentary for I Kings 8:54

בפרשת מועדות שבתורת כהנים – “When an ox or sheep or a goat [is born…]” (Leviticus 22:27 – it begins the verse before and extends to Leviticus 23:44). It is dealing with the first day. But nowadays, it is the general practice that on the first day [of Passover] we read: “Go, pick out [lambs for your families…]” (Exodus 12:21 through verse 51), and we recite the Haftarah concerning the Passover in Gilgal (Joshua 3:5-7 and Joshua 5:2-16 and 6:1, 27); on the Second Day [of Passover” we read [in the Torah]: “When an ox or sheep or a goat [is born…]” (Leviticus 22:26-23:44). And we recite the Haftarah of the Passover of [King] Josiah (II Kings 23:1-9; 21-25 – though Bartenura errantly lists chapter 22). On the third day, [we read]: “Consecrate to Me every first-born” (Exodus 13:1-16). On the fourth day, [we read]: “If you lend money to My people…” (Exodus 22:24-23:19); on the fifth day [we read]: “Carve [two tablets of stone like the first…” (Exodus 34:1 – though today, the Torah reading, if it is Shabbat Hol HaMoed/the Intermediate Sabbath, begins with Exodus 33:12 and extends to Exodus 34:26); on the sixth day, [we read]: “Let the Israelite people offer the Passover sacrifice at its set time” (Numbers 9:2 – but the reading begins at Numbers 9:1 as pointed out in the Bartenura commentary – and extends to Numbers 9:14); on the seventh day, the Song at the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 13:17 – which extends to Exodus 15:26); and we recite the Haftarah: “And David spoke” (II Samuel 22:1-51). On the eighth day, which is the last day of Yom Tov in the Diaspora, we read [from the Torah]: “All male firstlings” (Deuteronomy 15:17 through Deuteronomy 16:17) and recite from the Haftarah: “This same day at Nob He will stand [and wave his hand]…” (Isaiah 10:32 through verse 34, Isaiah 11:1-16 and Isaiah 12:1-6). On Shavuot/Atzeret, on the first day of Yom Tov,[we read in the Torah]: “In the third month…” (Exodus 19:1 through Exodus 20:23) and recite the Haftarah of the Chariot of Ezekiel (Ezekiel, 1:1-28 and 3:12; on the Second Day of the Diaspora, [we read in the Torah}: “All male firstlings” (Deuteronomy 15:17 through Deuteronomy 16:17] and recite from the Haftarah Habbakuk (Chapter 3, verses 1-19; there is a Sephardic practice to extend the reading from Habbukuk 2:20-3:19). On Rosh Hashanah [we read in the Torah]: “And God took note of Sarah” (Genesis 21:1 through verse 24) for on Rosh Hashanah, Sarah was remembered, and we recite from the Haftarah of Hannah (I Samuel 1:1 through chapter 2, verse 10) as she too was remembered on Rosh Hashanah. On the Second Day of Rosh Hashanah, [we read in the Torah] the Akedah/the Binding [of Isaac] (Genesis, chapter 22, verses 1 through 24) and we recite the Haftarah portion: “Truly, Ephraim is a dear son to Me…” (verse 20 is the verse quoted at the conclusion of the Haftarah – of chapter 31 of Jeremiah – the Haftarah begins at verse 2). On Yom Kippur morning [we read in the Torah]: “After the death” (Leviticus 16:1 – the reading extends to the end of the chapter, verse 34) and we recite the Haftarah portion: “[For thus said] He who high aloft forever dwells” (verse 15 of the Haftarah from Isaiah that begins with chapter 57 verse 14 and concludes in Isaiah chapter 58 verse 14). At Minhah/Afternoon Service, [we read from the Torah]: the [laws of] incest (Leviticus chapter 18, verses 1-30) and recite the Haftarah [of the book of] Jonah. On [both] of the first two days of Yom Tov of “the holiday” (i.e., Sukkot), [we read from the Torah]: “When an ox or sheep or goat [is born]…” (Leviticus 22:26-23:44) and on the first day, we recite the Haftarah: “Lo, the day of the LORD is coming…” (Zechariah 14:1 and continuing to verse 21), and on the Second Day [of the Holiday], we recite the Haftarah: “All the men of Israel gathered [before King Solomon at the Feast…]” (I Kings, chapter 8, verses 2-21). And all the rest of the days of the Holiday (i.e., Sukkot), we read the sacrifices of the Holiday. How so? On the third day, which is the first day of Hol HaMoed, the Kohen reads, “And on the second day” (Numbers 29:17 and onwards to 19), the Levite reads: “And on the third day” (Numbers 29:20-22) and the Israelite reads: “On the fourth day” (Numbers 29:23-25), and the fourth Aliyah returns and reads: “On the second day” (Numbers 29:17-19) and “On the third day” (Numbers 29:20-22). On the fourth day (which is the second day of Hol HaMoed), the Kohen reads: “On the third day” (Numbers 29:20-22); the Levite reads “On the fourth day” (Numbers 29:23-25); the Israelite reads: “On the fifth day” (Numbers 29:26-28), and the fourth Aliyah reads: “On the third day” (Numbers 29:20-22) and “On the fourth day” (Numbers 29:23-25) and similarly for all of them. On the concluding day of the Holiday (i.e., Shemini Atzeret, as we know it today), [we read from the Torah]: “All male firstlings” (Deuteronomy 15:17 through Deuteronomy 16:17 – but today, if Shemini Atzeret occurs on Shabbat, we begin the Torah reading at Deuteronomy 14:22). And we recite the Haftarah: “When Solomon finished [offering to the LORD]…” (I Kings 8, 54-66), and on the morrow, we read [from the Torah]: “And this is the blessing” (Deuteronomy 33:1-through the conclusion of the Torah, Deuteronomy 34:12. The Bartenura does NOT mention the reading of the first chapter of Genesis as well). And we recite the Haftarah: “And it came to pass after the death of Moses” (Joshua, 1:1-18). And on the Shabbat that falls on Hol HaMoed/the Intermediate Days, whether for Passover or Sukkot, we read [from the Torah]: “See, You say to me…” (Exodus 33:12-34:26), and recite for the Haftarah: On Passover – The Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14) and for Sukkot: “When Gog sets foot [on the soil of Israel]…” (Ezekiel 38:18-39:16), for the tradition is in our hands that the Resurrection of the Dead will someday occur during Passover, and the War of Gog and Magog on Sukkot.

וישא אהרן את ידיו אל העם ויברכם, “Aaron raised his hands in the direction of the people and he blessed them.” The meaning of the words אל העם, normally translated as “in the direction of the people,” should here be translated as: “for the sake of the people, i.e. to meet their needs.” The commentators who disagree with us and dress themselves up in fancy garments to lend weight to their words, are wrong when they said that the meaning of these words is that Aaron lifted his hand in order to indicate to the people that they should raise their right hand as affirmation. These commentators [Christian theologians, compare St. James version of the Bible, Ed.] quote a Midrash (see gloss of Maimoniot on Maimonides Hilchot Tefillah 14,3) that the word ידו with the vowels of the plural, is spelled without the letter י indicating that it is really a singular, i.e. “his hand.” Our answer to them is simply that traditionally we read the word as if it had been spelled with the letter י, i.e. that Aaron raised both his hands. Their argument that Aaron only raised his right hand is null and void. The reason that we encounter this unusual spelling is to indicate that the right hand is more important than the left hand concerning mystical matters which are revealed only to select individuals. This is why the Kabbalists have said that the word is spelled ידו in the singular to allude to the select individuals who are recipients of deeper insights from the “right” side of G’d. In this way justice is done both to the spelling and the traditional reading. When you compare the prayer Moses uttered when he prayed for the victory of the Israelites against the attack by Amalek in Exodus 17,11 you will also find this dual spelling of the word ידו, i.e. והיה כאשר ירים משה ידו וגבר ישראל. “Whenever Moses raised his hand (s) Israel would prevail.” In the following two verses the word is spelled as ידיו in the normal way. Had Moses used only one hand at a time, it is hard to understand why he needed two men to support his hands as is evident from verses 12 and 13 in that chapter.
If the people who understood our verse as Aaron raising his hands towards the people (instead of towards G’d) would be correct, the Torah should have written instead of וישא אהרן את ידיו אל העם, the formula וישלח אהרן את ידיו אל העם. It is the custom for a father who prepares to bless his son to put his hand on his head, just as Yaakov did when he prepared to bless the two sons of Joseph. In that instance the Torah wrote וישלח ישראל את ימינו, “Israel extended his right hand.” In our verse the Torah employs the verb וישא to show that Aaron’s hands were stretched upwards (towards heaven). We have a parallel example in Kings I 8, 54-55 ויהי ככלות שלמה להתפלל אל ה' את כל התפלה והתחנה הזאת וכפיו פרושות השמים ויעמוד ויברך את כל קהל ישראל, “it was when Solomon had completed this entire prayer and entreaty with his palms outstretched heavenwards, he stood and blessed the entire congregation of Israel.” It is clear that the meaning of the verse is that Solomon’s hands were in an upright position aimed towards heaven.