The Parshah Cycle

The Torah is divided into 54 parshiyot; one is read each Shabbat, completing the cycle annually on Simchat Torah.

By The Editors

Calendar · 3 minute read

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Summary. The Torah is divided into 54 parshiyot, read in synagogue on a one-year cycle. The cycle begins on the Shabbat after Simchat Torah with Parshat Bereshit and ends on Simchat Torah with V'zot HaBracha; the same Simchat Torah immediately re-begins the cycle with the first verses of Bereshit, in a deliberate gesture that the Torah has no end. In some years two parshiyot are combined to fit the calendar (Vayakhel-Pekudei, Tazria-Metzora, Acharei-Kedoshim, Behar-Bechukotai, Chukat-Balak, Matot-Masei, Nitzavim-Vayelech). See Calendar.xlsx for the full list.

How the Cycle Works

The Torah's 54 parshiyot are read in synagogue on consecutive Shabbatot. A standard 12-month year has 50–52 Shabbatot; a leap year has 54–55. To make 54 parshiyot fit a 50-Shabbat year, certain parshiyot are paired together and read on the same Shabbat. The combinations are fixed by long-standing custom: Vayakhel-Pekudei (the close of Shemot), Tazria-Metzora and Acharei-Kedoshim (Vayikra), Behar-Bechukotai (the close of Vayikra), Chukat-Balak and Matot-Masei (Bamidbar), and Nitzavim-Vayelech (toward the close of Devarim). The combinations vary by year.

The Reading at Shul

On Shabbat morning, the parshah is divided into seven (sometimes eight) aliyot, each of which is recited by a different congregant (the oleh — one called up). The Torah scroll is opened, the oleh recites the blessing before reading, the reader chants the aliyah, and the oleh recites the blessing after reading. The maftir (the closing aliyah on Shabbat) is followed by the haftarah, the prophetic reading. After the haftarah, the Torah is rolled up, dressed, and returned to the Ark.

Studying the Parshah

Many observant Jews read the parshah at home in advance of Shabbat — often with Rashi's commentary alongside. The standard practice is to study the parshah twice (the Hebrew text alone, twice) and once with Targum Onkelos (the Aramaic translation/paraphrase) — a practice traced to the Talmud (Berachot 8a) and codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 285). Many use the Steinsaltz or Koren Chumash. Online, Sefaria, Aleph Beta (for video commentary), and Chabad.org (for Hasidic readings) are excellent. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks's Covenant & Conversation series provides the best contemporary parshah essay each week (available free online or in book form).

Simchat Torah

The annual completion of the Torah cycle is celebrated on Simchat Torah (the 22nd of Tishrei in Israel; the 23rd in the diaspora). The last verses of Devarim are read; then the Torah is rolled all the way back to the beginning, and the first verses of Bereshit are read immediately — a graphic affirmation that the Torah has no end. All members of the congregation dance with the Torah scrolls in hakafot (circuits). It is one of the most joyful days of the Jewish year. See the Holidays chapter for the full treatment.

The Triennial Cycle

An older system, known from the ancient Land of Israel and revived in the Reform and Conservative movements in modern times, reads only one-third of each parshah each year, completing the entire Torah over three years. Most Reform congregations follow a triennial cycle; some Conservative and Reconstructionist do too. Orthodox shuls universally follow the annual cycle.

Where Denominations Diverge

Orthodox: annual cycle universally. Conservative: most synagogues follow the annual cycle; some smaller communities use the triennial. Reform: most use the triennial cycle. Sephardic and Ashkenazi follow the same cycle. The full list of parshiyot and their estimated calendar dates for the next several years is in Calendar.xlsx.

Sources

Talmud Bavli, Megillah 31a; Berachot 8a.

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefillah 13.

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 282–285.

Tractate Soferim.