Annual Torah Cycle

In the observance of the annual cycle of Torah Reading, each week is assigned its own portion of Scripture, or what we refer to as a Parashah.  This year, 5780,  began on 1 Tishrei or October 1, 2019. There are 54 Parshiyot (Parashah plural), one for each week of a leap year, so that in the course of one year, we complete the entire Torah from B'resheet to D'varim (Genesis to Deuteronomy). A leap-year adds an additional 4 weeks (one month) to the usual 12 months, and we refer to this month as: ADAR II. During non-leap years (regular), there are 50 weeks, as a result some of the shorter Parshiyot are doubled up.

The weeks of Pesach (Passover) and Sukkot have different Torah portions assigned to them, so on leap years that leaves 52 weeks to accomplish 54 Parshiyot. This is achieved by doubling up 2 portions, and for non-leap years there remain 48 weeks to accomplish 54 Parshiyot and this is achieved by having 6 double Parshiyot.

This Week's Parashah

13

Torah: Shemot(Exodus) 35:1-38:20

Haftara: 1 Kings 7:40-50

Brit Chadashah: Matthew 12:1-13

 

Portion Summary

The twenty-second reading from the Torah and the second-to-last reading from the book of Exodus is called Vayakhel (ויקהל), which means "and he assembled." The name comes from the first words of the first verse of the reading, which could be literally translated to read, "And Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel ..." (Exodus 35:1). This portion from the Torah describes how the assembly of Israel worked together to build the Tabernacle. In most years, synagogues read Vayakhel together with the following portion, Pekudei.

 

Portion Outline

  • Torah
    • Exodus 35:1 | Sabbath Regulations
    • Exodus 35:4 | Preparations for Making the Tabernacle
    • Exodus 35:20 | Offerings for the Tabernacle
    • Exodus 35:30 | Bezalel and Oholiab
    • Exodus 36:8 | Construction of the Tabernacle
    • Exodus 37:1 | Making the Ark of the Covenant
    • Exodus 37:10 | Making the Table for the Bread of the Presence
    • Exodus 37:17 | Making the Lampstand
    • Exodus 37:25 | Making the Altar of Incense
    • Exodus 37:29 | Making the Anointing Oil and the Incense
    • Exodus 38:1 | Making the Altar of Burnt Offering
    • Exodus 38:9 | Making the Court of the Tabernacle
  • Prophets
    • 1Ki 7:13 | Products of Hiram the Bronzeworker
Actions: E-mail | Permalink |