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Home , Behaalotecha, Bereshit (parashah), Beshalach, Chayei Sarah, Eikev, Haazinu

What Is the Portion? How the Five Books of are divided up into weekly portions. BY MJL ADMIN

The , parshat hashavuah, serves as the focal point for much Jewish learning, from individual study to informal discussion groups to ’ sermons. The Torah, also known as the Five Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, is divided into 54 separate portions, each one named for the first word or words of the passage — and each linked to a specific . The weekly portion is read aloud, or chanted, from the as part of the Torah service in on (Saturday) morning. The weekly reading is pre- empted by a special reading on major religious holidays. The Saturday morning and holiday readings are followed by an often similarly themed reading () from the Book of (Nevi'im).

The Torah is part of the Tanach, or Hebrew , known in Christianity as the Old Testament. Tanach is an acronym for Torah, Nevi’im (Prophets) and (Writings).

Below are the of the Torah’s five books (each portion is a section within a book) and a brief summary of each:

Genesis (“Origins”)/Bereishit (“In the Beginning”) tells the story of creation, and the flood, and the selection of and and their family as the bearers of ’s . Stories of sibling conflict and the long narratives of and his favorite conclude with the family dwelling in .

Exodus (“The Road Out”)/ (“Names”) tells of how the family of Jacob grew and then was enslaved in Egypt. The baby Moses, born of but adopted by , becomes God’s who, after bringing 10 plagues down upon Egypt, leads the Israelites through the Red to freedom and to the revelation at . The story of the Israelites worshipping the , which follows soon after the revelation at Mount Sinai, is almost obscured by lengthy materials on the building of a sanctuary () in the wilderness.

Leviticus (“ of the ”)/ (“And God Called”) deals mostly with laws of Israelite sacrificial . Related rules include the basis for Jewish dietary laws () and issues of purity and impurity. The , which describes a sanctified communal , is a highlight of the book.

Numbers (“The ”)/Bamidbar (“In the Wilderness”) begins with a census of the Israelites and the tribe of . A group of Israelites spy out the land of ; their discouraging report sends them back into the for an additional 38 years, during

~ 55 ~ which the Israelites continue to behave badly, rebelling against the authority of Moses and his brother , and having illicit relations with Moabite women.

Deuteronomy (“Second ”)/ (“Words”) is Moses’ final message to the people of before they cross over the into Israel. Moses reminds the people of how God has redeemed the people from Egypt and of the details of the covenant between Israel and God. In stark language, Moses describes the rewards for observance of the laws of the covenant and the for disobedience. Finally, Moses passes along his authority to who will lead the people into the land.

Book Parsha English Equivalent Parsha Portion In the beginning Gen. 1:1-6:8 ְבּ ֵרא ִשׁית , (Genesis) Bereshit Noah (rest) 6:9-11:32 ֹנ ַח , Go forth, yourself! 12:1-17:27 ֶל- ְל ,Lech-Lecha And He appeared 18:1-22:24 ַו ֵיּ ָרא , Life of Sarah 23:1-25:18 ַח ֵיּי ָשׂ ָרה , Generations 25:19-28:9 תּוֹ ְל ֹדת , And he went out 28:10-32:3 ַו ֵיּ ֵצא , And he sent 32:4-36:43 ַו ִיּ ְשׁ ַלח , And he settled 37:1-40:23 ַו ֵיּ ֶשׁב , At the end of 41:1-44:17 ִמ ֵקּץ , And he drew near 44:18-47:27 ַו ִיּ ַגּשׁ , And he lived 47:28-50:26 ַו ְי ִחי ,Vayechi Names Ex. 1:1-6:1 ְשׁמוֹת ,Shemot (Exodus) Shemot Appeared 6:2-9:35 ָו ֵא ָרא ,Va'eira Go! 10:1-13:16 בֹּא , When he sent out 13:17-17:16 ְבּ ַשׁ ַלּח , 18:1-20:23 ִי ְתרוֹ , Laws 21:1-24:18 ִמּ ְשׁ ָפּ ִטי ם , Offering 25:1-27:19 ְתּרוּ ָמה , You shall command 27:20-30:10 ְתּ ַצ ֶוּה , When you elevate 30:11-34:35 ִכּי ִת ָשּׂא ,Ki Tisa And he assembled 35:1-38:20 ַו ַיּ ְק ֵהל ,* Accountings 38:21-40:38 ְפקוּ ֵדי ,

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And he called Lev. 1:1-5:26 ַו ִיּ ְק ָרא ,Vayikra (Leviticus) Vayikra Command! 6:1-8:36 ַצו , Eighth 9:1-11:47 ְשּׁ ִמי ִני , She bears 12:1-13:59 ַת ְז ִרי ַﬠ ,* Infected one 14:1-15:33 ְמּ ֹצ ָרע , After the death 16:1-18:30 ַא ֲח ֵרי מוֹת ,* Holy ones 19:1-20:27 ְק ֹד ִשׁים , Say gently 21:1-24:23 ֱא ֹמר , On the Mount 25:1-26:2 ְבּ ַהר ,* In My laws 26:3-27:34 ְבּ ֻח ֹקּ ַתי , In the wilderness Num. 1:1-4:20 ְבּ ִמ ְד ַבּר , (Numbers) Bamidbar Elevate! 4:21-7:89 ָנשֹׂ א , In your uplifting 8:1-12:16 ְבּ ַה ֲﬠ ְת , Send for yourself 13:1-15:41 ְשׁ ַלח- ְל , 16:1-18:32 ֹק ַרח ,Korach Law 19:1-22:1 ֻח ַקּת ,* 22:2-25:9 ָבּ ָלק ,Balak 25:10-30:1 ִפּי ְנ ָחס ,Pinchas Tribes 30:2-32:42 ַמּטּוֹת ,* Journeys of 33:1-36:13 ַמ ְס ֵﬠי , Words Deut. 1:1-3:22 ְדּ ָב ִרים ,Devarim (Deuteronomy) Devarim Pleaded 3:23-7:11 ָו ֶא ְת ַח ַנּן ,Va'etchanan As a result 7:12-11:25 ֵﬠ ֶקב , See! 11:26-16:17 ְר ֵאה ,Re'eh Judges 16:18-21:9 ֹשׁ ְפ ִטים ,Shoftim When you go out 21:10-25:19 ִכּי- ֵת ֵצא , When you enter in 26:1-29:8 ִכּי- ָתבוֹא , Standing (Witnessing) 29:9-30:20 ִנ ָצּ ִבים ,* And he went 31:1-31:30 ַו ֵיּ ֶל , Listen! 32:1-32:52 ַה ֲא ִזינוּ , And this is the 33:1-34:12 ְוזֹאת ַה ְבּ ָר ָכה ,V'Zot HaBerachah

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