Parsha of the week · Shabbat Sat, Oct 10
This week's parsha: Bereshit
Creation in six days and Shabbat on the seventh, Adam and Eve in the Garden, Cain and Abel, and the ten generations to Noach.
Genesis 1:1-6:8
בראשית
One aliyah a day
- Sunday · 1Genesis 1:1-2:3
- Monday · 2Genesis 2:4-2:19
- Tuesday · 3Genesis 2:20-3:21
- Wednesday · 4Genesis 3:22-4:18
- Thursday · 5Genesis 4:19-4:22
- Friday · 6Genesis 4:23-5:24
- Shabbat · 7Genesis 5:25-6:8
- MaftirGenesis 6:5-6:8
Haftarah: I Samuel 20:18-42
Coming up
The next few weeks
- Sat, Oct 17נח
Noach
The Flood and the ark, the rainbow covenant, the Tower of Babel, and the line leading to Avram.
Genesis 6:9-11:32 - Sat, Oct 24לך לך
Lech-Lecha
Avram leaves his father's house for the land God will show him, the covenant between the pieces, and the promise of a son.
Genesis 12:1-17:27 - Sat, Oct 31וירא
Vayera
Three guests at Avraham's tent, the plea for Sodom, the birth of Yitzchak, and the binding of Isaac.
Genesis 18:1-22:24 - Sat, Nov 7חיי שרה
Chayei Sara
Sarah's death and the Cave of Machpelah, and Avraham's servant finding Rivka at the well.
Genesis 23:1-25:18 - Sat, Nov 14תולדות
Toldot
The twins Yaakov and Esav, the sold birthright, and the blessing Yaakov receives in his brother's clothes.
Genesis 25:19-28:9 - Sat, Nov 21ויצא
Vayetzei
Yaakov's ladder dream, twenty years with Lavan, marriage to Leah and Rachel, and the births of the tribes.
Genesis 28:10-32:3 - Sat, Nov 28וישלח
Vayishlach
Yaakov wrestles the angel and becomes Yisrael, reconciles with Esav, and mourns Rachel on the road to Beit Lechem.
Genesis 32:4-36:43
How it works
A year of Torah, 54 portions
Every Shabbat the next portion is read aloud from a Torah scroll, and the whole Torah is completed each year on Simchat Torah. Schedule from Sefaria (Diaspora). New to the weekly reading? Start with what the parsha is and what the Torah is.
What is the parsha of the week?
This Shabbat (Saturday, October 10) the reading is Bereshit, Genesis 1:1-6:8. The Torah is divided into 54 weekly portions, read in order each Shabbat so the whole Torah is finished every year on Simchat Torah.
What is an aliyah?
Each weekly portion is divided into seven sections, called aliyot, plus a short closing section, the maftir. In synagogue a different person is called up for each one. Reading one aliyah a day, Sunday to Shabbat, covers the whole portion in a week.
What is the haftarah?
The haftarah is a reading from the Prophets that follows the Torah reading on Shabbat and festivals, usually echoing a theme of the week's portion or the season.
Why are two portions sometimes read together?
There are 54 portions but not always 54 available Shabbatot, since some fall on festivals. In shorter years, pairs such as Vayakhel-Pekudei or Matot-Masei are read on the same Shabbat so the cycle still ends on Simchat Torah.
Is the parsha the same in Israel and outside Israel?
Usually, but not always. When the last day of Pesach or Shavuot falls on Shabbat outside Israel, Israel reads the next portion that week, and for a few weeks the two are one portion apart. This page follows the Diaspora schedule.