What Is the Weekly Torah Portion? The Parashah Explained

If you have ever sat in a synagogue service or opened a prayer book and seen a heading like "Parashat Bereshit," you may have wondered: what exactly is everyone reading, and who decided this was the week for it?

The short answer is that Jewish communities around the world read the Torah together, on the same schedule, one portion at a time. That weekly portion is called the parashah.

What the word parashah means

Parashah is a Hebrew word meaning a portion or section. Its plural is parashiyot, and you will also hear a portion called a sidra. When people say "this week's parashah," they mean the specific section of the Torah — the first five books of the Hebrew Bible — assigned to be read aloud in synagogue that week.

It is not a private selection made by a rabbi or cantor. It follows a shared calendar stretching back centuries, so congregations worldwide read the same words in the same week.

The annual cycle, from Genesis to Deuteronomy

In most communities today, the Torah is divided into 54 portions, read one per week over the course of a year. The cycle begins in the autumn, just after the festival of Simchat Torah, and it runs in order from the first words of Genesis to the final words of Deuteronomy.

On Simchat Torah, the last portion is read, and the first portion is read again almost immediately. Ending and beginning sit side by side, which is part of the point: the Torah is a text you finish only to start over, finding something new in it each year.

Named by their opening words

Each portion takes its name from a distinctive word near its beginning, usually within the first verse or two. That is why the names sound like small story titles.

The first portion is Bereshit, "in the beginning," after the opening words of Genesis:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:1 (JPS 1917)

The second is Noach, named for Noah. The third is Lekh Lekha, "go forth," from God's call to Abram to leave his home and journey to a new land. Later come names like Vayera, "and he appeared," and Chayei Sarah, "the life of Sarah."

Because the name comes from the text itself, hearing one in conversation — "it's Lekh Lekha this week" — tells a regular reader which story is on the table.

Seven aliyot: how a portion is divided

A weekly portion can be long, sometimes several chapters. For the public reading on Shabbat morning, it is divided into seven sections called aliyot. The singular is aliyah, a word that means "going up."

An aliyah is both a section of text and an honor. For each section, a member of the congregation is called up to the Torah, recites blessings before and after the reading, and stands alongside as that section is chanted. After the seven aliyot, an additional reading called the maftir, drawn from the end of the portion, is often added. Smaller parts of the upcoming portion are also read on Monday and Thursday mornings in many communities, so the Shabbat reading is the fullest version of a rhythm that runs all week.

The haftarah: a companion reading from the Prophets

The Torah portion does not stand alone in the service. It is paired with a second reading called the haftarah, selected from the Nevi'im, the Prophets — books such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

The haftarah is chosen because it connects, in theme, language, or story, to that week's Torah portion. If the portion tells of a promise, the haftarah might echo it; if the portion is stern, the haftarah might offer comfort. Reading the two together trains you to hear conversations inside the Hebrew Bible itself, where later voices answer and deepen earlier ones.

The specific haftarah can vary slightly between traditions, and special readings replace the usual pairing on festivals. The principle stays the same: Torah first, then a prophetic companion.

Why some weeks have a double portion

Some weeks, two portions are read together as a double portion, with names joined by a hyphen. The reason is the calendar. A Jewish leap year adds a whole extra month, which means more weeks in the year. In a non-leap year there are fewer Shabbatot available for readings not displaced by festivals, so certain portions are combined. Pairing them up keeps the whole Torah on schedule, so the cycle still finishes and restarts at the right time in the autumn. A double portion is a small piece of calendar craftsmanship: a fixed, beloved text fitted into a living, shifting year.

A note on the triennial cycle

The one-year cycle is the most widespread pattern today, but it is not the only one. In ancient times, some communities in the Land of Israel read the Torah over roughly three years instead: the triennial cycle.

Today, some communities — including a number of Conservative and Reform congregations — follow a triennial approach, reading about a third of each portion in a given year and completing it over three years. If you visit different synagogues and notice one reading a shorter section than another, this may be why. Both approaches share one goal: a community moving through the Torah together, in order, without rushing.

The bar and bat mitzvah connection

For many families, the parashah becomes personal at a bar or bat mitzvah. A young person coming of age traditionally reads from the Torah — often the portion assigned to that week — and may also chant the haftarah and offer a short teaching, a d'var Torah, on it.

That is why people sometimes speak of "my portion" years later. Preparing it can take months of study: learning the Hebrew, the chant, and the meaning.

How to follow along during the week

You do not need to wait for Shabbat to meet the portion. The seven aliyot make a natural plan: read one section a day, starting on Sunday, and you will arrive at Shabbat having read the whole portion slowly.

A few simple habits help: read the portion itself first, before commentary; note one question it raises and carry it through the week; read the haftarah alongside it and look for the connection yourself; and, if you can, study with a partner — a practice called chevruta — reading aloud and discussing together.

If you would like the current reading in front of you, the Judaism track in Faith Map shows this week's parashah with the reading, and reading in Faith Map is free.

Your faith is beautiful, and the parashah is one of Judaism's loveliest ideas for honoring it: nobody reads alone, and nobody ever quite finishes. There is always next year, and always more to notice.