Vayeshev

Vayeshev, Vayeishev, or Vayesheb (וַיֵּשֶׁב — Hebrew for "and he lived," the first word of the parashah) is the ninth weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 37:1–40:23. The parashah is made up of 5,972 Hebrew letters, 1,558 Hebrew words, and 112 verses, and can occupy about 190 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah).Jews read it the ninth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in late November or December.

The parashah tells the stories of how Jacob's other sons sold Joseph into captivity in Egypt, of how Judah wronged his daughter-in-law Tamar and discovered his transgression, and how Joseph served Potiphar and was imprisoned when falsely accused of assaulting Potiphar's wife.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashah Vayeshev has three "open portion" (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ (peh)). Parashah Vayeshev has one further subdivision, called a "closed portion" (סתומה, setumah) division (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס (samekh)) within the second open portion (פתוחה, petuchah). The first open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) spans the first three readings (עליות, aliyot). The second open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) spans the fourth through sixth readings (עליות, aliyot). And the third open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) coincides with the seventh reading (עליה, aliyah). The single closed portion (סתומה, setumah) division sets off the fourth reading (עליה, aliyah) from the fifth reading (עליה, aliyah).