Weekly Torah Portions
The weekly Torah portion (Hebrew: פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ Parashat ha-Shavua), popularly just parashah and also is a section of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) read in Jewish and Hebrew Roots/Messianic fellowships each week. The Sabbath readings are followed by a reading from the Haftarah from the Book of Prophets and for Hebrew Roots congregations, they also read a portion from the Brit Chadashah (New Testament).
There are 54 weekly parashiyot (plural) or parshahs and the full cycle is read over the course of one year.
Each weekly Torah portion takes its name from the first distinctive word in the Hebrew text of the portion in question, often from the first verse. Dating back to the time of the Babylonian captivity (6th century BCE), public Torah reading mostly followed an annual cycle beginning and ending on the holiday of Simchat Torah. However, during the 1st and 2nd centuries, the Torah readings were read over the course of three years. This is called the triennial cycle in reading the Torah portions.
