Parsha

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Parsha

This article is about the divisions of the Torah into weekly readings. For this week's Torah portion, see Torah portion The weekly Torah portion (popularly just parashah or parshah and also known as a Sidra
Sidra

Sidra is a village in Poland.Sidra may also refer to:* Gulf of Sidra, a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya...
) is a section of the Torah

Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
(Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
) read in Jewish services

Jewish services

Jewish services are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
.

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Encyclopedia

This article is about the divisions of the Torah into weekly readings. For this week's Torah portion, see Torah portion

The weekly Torah portion (popularly just parashah or parshah and also known as a Sidra
Sidra

Sidra is a village in Poland.Sidra may also refer to:* Gulf of Sidra, a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya...
) is a section of the Torah

Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
(Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
) read in Jewish services

Jewish services

Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
, the Torah

Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
is read publicly

Torah reading

Torah reading is a Judaism religion ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark , chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to the ark....
over the course of a year, with one major portion read each week in the Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat or Shabbos , is the weekly day of rest in Judaism, symbolizing the seventh day in Genesis, after the six days of creation. Though it is commonly said to be the Saturday of each week, it is observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night....
morning service.

Each weekly Torah portion adopts its name from one of the first unique word or words

Incipit

The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is its first few words or opening line. In music it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition....
in the Hebrew text. Dating back to the time of the Babylonian captivity

Babylonian captivity

The Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon in 586 BCE....
(6th Century BCE), public Torah reading mostly followed an annual cycle beginning and ending on the Jewish holiday

Jewish holiday

A Jewish holiday or festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as a holy or secular commemoration of an important event in Jewish history....
of Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Bible Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret , which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei ....
, with the Torah divided into 54 weekly portions to correspond to the lunisolar

Lunisolar calendar

A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will predict the constellation near which the full moo...
Hebrew calendar

Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar or Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar used by Jews, now predominantly for religious purposes. It is used to reckon the Jewish New Year and dates for Jewish holidays, and also to determine appropriate Torah reading of Torah portions, Yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses....
, which contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between leap years and regular years.

There was also an ancient triennial cycle

Triennial cycle

The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to the historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three year period, or to the practice adopted by many Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism and Jewish Renewal congregations starting in the 19th and 20th Century, in...
of readings practiced in some parts of the world. In the 19th and 20th Centuries, many congregations in the Reform

Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
and Conservative

Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism is a modern Jewish denominations of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s....
Jewish movements have implemented an alternative triennial cycle in which only one-third of the weekly parasha is read in a given year; the parashot read is still consistent with the annual cycle but the entire Torah is completed over three years.

Division into weekly parashot

The division of parashot found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite

Yemenite Jews

Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen , on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Virtually the entire Jewish population emigrated from Yemen between June 1949 and September 1950 in what was deemed Operation Magic Carpet ....
communities is based upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides

Maimonides

Moses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Maimon , the Rambam, and Musa ibn Maymun , was born in C?rdoba, Spain, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204.....
in Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah

The Mishneh Torah , subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Chazaka , is a Legal code of Judaism religious law by one of the important Jewish authority Maimonides ....
, , . Maimonides based his division of the parashot for the Torah on the Masoretic text

Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the Hebrew language text of the Jewish Bible . It defines not just the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their niqqud and cantillation for both public reading and private study....
of the Aleppo Codex

Aleppo Codex

The Aleppo Codex is the most complete extant version of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the 10th century CE. It is considered the most authoritative document in the masorah , the tradition by which the Hebrew Scriptures have been preserved from generation to generation....
.

Table of Weekly readings

In the table, a portion which may be combined with the following portion, to compensate for the changing number of weeks in the lunisolar year, are marked with an asterisk.

Book	Parsha Name	Parsha Portion
Bereishit Genesis Genesis or Breishit is the first book of the Bible used by Judaism and Christianity, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah.... (Genesis)	Bereishit Bereishit (parsha) Bereishit, Bereshit, Bereishis, B'reshith, Beresheet, or Bereshees is the first weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading.... , ???????????	Gen. 1:1-6:8
	Noach Noach (parsha) Noach or Noah is the second weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes -. Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the second Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in October or November.... , ????	6:9-11:32
	Lech-Lecha Lech-Lecha Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha is the third weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes -.... , ????-????	12:1-17:27
	Vayeira Vayeira Vayeira, Vayera, or Va-yera is the fourth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the fourth Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in October or November.... , ????????	18:1-22:24
	Chayei Sarah Chayei Sarah Chayei Sarah, Chaye Sarah, or Hayye Sarah is the fifth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes - .... , ?????? ??????	23:1-25:18
	Toledot Toledot Toledot, Toldot, or Tol'doth is the sixth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes - . Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the sixth Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in November or early December.... , ?????????	25:19-28:9
	Vayetze Vayetze Vayetze, Vayeitzei, or Vayetzei is the seventh weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the seventh Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in November or December.... , ????????	28:10-32:3
	Vayishlach Vayishlach Vayishlach or Vayishlah is the eighth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the eighth Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in late November or December.... , ???????????	32:4-36:43
	Vayeshev Vayeshev Vayeshev, Vayeishev, or Vayesheb is the ninth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the ninth Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in December.... , ?????????	37:1-40:23
	Miketz Miketz Miketz or Mikeitz is the tenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the tenth Shabbat after Simchat Torah.... , ??????	41:1-44:17
	Vayigash Vayigash Vayigash or Vaigash is the eleventh weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the eleventh Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in December or January.... , ??????????	44:18-47:27
	Vayechi Vayechi Vayechi, Vayehi, or Vayhi is the twelfth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the last in the book of Genesis.... , ???????	47:28-50:26
Shemot Exodus Exodus is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. It tells how Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Mountain of God Sinai.... (Exodus)	Shemot Shemot (parsha) Shemot, Shemoth, or Shemos is the thirteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the first in the book of Exodus.... , ???????	Ex. 1:1-6:1
	Va'eira Va'eira Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera is the fourteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the second in the book of Exodus.... , ???????	6:2-9:35
	Bo Bo (parsha) Bo is the fifteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the third in the book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the fifteenth Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in January or early February.... , ????	10:1-13:16
	Beshalach Beshalach Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Exodus.... , ??????????	13:17-17:16
	Yitro Yitro (parsha) Yitro, Yithro, or Yisro is the seventeenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the book of Exodus.... , ???????	18:1-20:23
	Mishpatim Mishpatim Mishpatim is the eighteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Exodus. It constitutes Jews in the Jewish diaspora read it the eighteenth Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in February.... , ?????????????	21:1-24:18
	Terumah Terumah (parsha) Terumah or Trumah is the nineteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Exodus.... , ?????????	25:1-27:19
	Tetzaveh Tetzaveh Tetzaveh, Tetsaveh, T'tzaveh, or T'tzavveh is the 20th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the book of Exodus.... , ?????????	27:20-30:10
	Ki Tisa Ki Tisa Ki Tisa, Ki Tissa, Ki Thissa, or Ki Sisa is the 21st weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the book of Exodus.... , ???? ???????	30:11-34:35
	Vayakhel Vayakhel Vayakhel, VaYakhel, Va-Yakhel, Vayak?hel, Vayak?heil, or Vayaqhel* is the 22nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the 10th in the book of Exodus.... , ??????????	35:1-38:20
	Pekudei Pekudei Pekudei, Pekude, Pekudey, P?kude, or P?qude is the 23rd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the 11th and last in the book of Exodus.... , ????????	38:21-40:38
Vayikra Leviticus Leviticus is third book of the Torah , the name given in Judaism to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible .Leviticus contains laws and priestly rituals, but in a wider sense is about the working out of Covenant set out in Genesis and Exodus - what is seen in the Torah as the consequences of entering into a special relationship with God... (Leviticus)	Vayikra Vayikra (parsha) Vayikra, VaYikra, Va-yikra, or Vayyiqra is the 24th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the first in the book of Leviticus.... , ??????????	Lev. 1:1-5:26
	Tzav Tzav Tzav, Tsav, Zav, or Sav is the 25th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the second in the book of Leviticus.... , ???	6:1-8:36
	Shemini Shemini Shemini, Sh?mini, or Shmini is the 26th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the third in the book of Leviticus.... , ??????????	9:1-11:47
	Tazria Tazria Tazria, Thazria, Thazri?a, Sazria, or Ki Tazria?* is the 27th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Leviticus.... , ?????????	12:1-13:59
	Metzora Metzora (parsha) Metzora, Metzorah, M?tzora, Mezora, Metsora, or M?tsora is the 28th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the book of Leviticus.... , ????????	14:1-15:33
	Acharei Acharei Acharei, Achrei Mos, Aharei Mot, or Ahare Moth* is the 29th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Leviticus.... , ??????? ????	16:1-18:30
	Kedoshim Kedoshim (parsha) Kedoshim, K?doshim, or Qedoshim is the 30th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Leviticus.... , ?????????	19:1-20:27
	Emor Emor Emor is the 31st weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Jews in the Jewish diaspora generally read it in late April or early May.... , ?????	21:1-24:23
	Behar Behar Behar, BeHar, Be-har, or B?har* is the 32nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the book of Leviticus.... , ??????	25:1-26:2
	Bechukotai Bechukotai Bechukotai is the 33rd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the 10th and last in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Jews in the Jewish diaspora generally read it in May.... , ???????????	26:3-27:34
Bamidbar Book of Numbers The Book of Numbers, , is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. In the Greek language Septuagint it is called Arithmoi, or Numbers.... (Numbers)	Bamidbar Bamidbar (parsha) Bamidbar, Bemidbar, BeMidbar, or B'midbar is the 34th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the first in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ???????????	Num. 1:1-4:20
	Naso Naso (parsha) Naso or Nasso is the 35th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the second in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ??????	4:21-7:89
	Behaalotecha Behaalotecha Behaalotecha, Beha?alotecha, Beha?alothekha, or Behaaloscha is the 36th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the third in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ?????????????	8:1-12:16
	Shlach Shlach Shlach, Shelach, Sh'lah, Shlach Lecha, or Sh?lah L?kha is the 37th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ??????-????	13:1-15:41
	Korach Korach (parsha) Korach or Korah is the 38th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ?????	16:1-18:32
	Chukat Chukat Chukat, Hukath, or Chukkas* is the 39th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ??????	19:1-22:1
	Balak Balak (parsha) Balak is the 40th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Book of Numbers. It constitutes Jews in the Jewish diaspora generally read it in late June or July.... , ??????	22:2-25:9
	Pinchas Pinchas (parsha) Pinchas, Pinhas, or Pin?has is the 41st weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ?????????	25:10-30:1
	Matot Matot Matot, Mattot, Mattoth, or Matos* is the 42nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ????????	30:2-32:42
	Masei Masei Masei, Mas?ei, or Masse is the 43rd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the 10th and last in the book of Book of Numbers.... , ???????	33:1-36:13
Devarim Deuteronomy Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. In form it is a set of three sermons delivered by Moses reviewing the previous forty years of wandering in the wilderness; its central element is a detailed law-code by which the Children of Israel are to live in the Promised Land.... (Deuteronomy)	Devarim Devarim (parsha) Devarim, D?varim, or Debarim is the 44th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the first in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ?????????	Deut. 1:1-3:22
	Va'etchanan Va'etchanan Va'etchanan is the 45th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the second in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Jews in the Jewish diaspora generally read it in late July or August.... , ????????????	3:23-7:11
	Eikev Eikev Eikev, Ekev, Ekeb, or Eqeb is the 46th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the third in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ?????	7:12-11:25
	Re'eh Re'eh Re'eh, Reeh, R'eih, or Ree is the 47th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ?????	11:26-16:17
	Shoftim Shoftim (parsha) Shoftim, Shof'tim, or Shofetim is the 48th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ?????????	16:18-21:9
	Ki Teitzei Ki Teitzei Ki Teitzei, Ki Tetzei, Ki Tetse, Ki Thetze, Ki Tese, Ki Tetzey, or Ki Seitzei is the 49th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ????-?????	21:10-25:19
	Ki Tavo Ki Tavo Ki Tavo, Ki Thavo, Ki Tabo, Ki Thabo, or Ki Savo is the 50th weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ????-??????	26:1-29:8
	Nitzavim Nitzavim Nitzavim, Nitsavim, Nitzabim, Netzavim, or Nesabim* is the 51st weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ?????????	29:9-30:20
	Vayelech Vayelech Vayelech, Vayeilech, VaYelech, Va-yelech, Vayelekh, Va-yelekh, or Vayeleh is the 52nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ?????????	31:1-31:30
	Haazinu Haazinu Haazinu, Ha'azinu, or Ha'Azinu is the 53rd weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the 10th in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ??????????	32:1-32:52
	V'Zot HaBerachah V'Zot HaBerachah V'Zot HaBerachah, VeZot Haberakha, or Zos Habrocho is the 54th and last weekly Torah portion in the annual Judaism cycle of Torah reading and the 11th in the book of Deuteronomy.... , ?????? ??????????	33:1-34:12

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Texts and translation

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Summaries

Aliyot

Parsha web portals

American Jewish University

Individual classes and shiurim

- Weekly Parsha commentaries in English

Parsha

Division into weekly parashot

Table of Weekly readings

See also

External links