Vayigash

Vayigash or Vaigash (וַיִּגַּשׁ — Hebrew for "and he drew near" or "then he drew near," the first word of the parashah) is the eleventh weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 44:18–47:27. The parashah is made up of 5,680 Hebrew letters, 1,480 Hebrew words, and 106 verses, and can occupy about 178 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah).Jews read it the eleventh Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December or early January.

In the parashah, Judah pleads on behalf of his brother Benjamin, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, Jacob comes down to Egypt, and Joseph's administration of Egypt saves lives but transforms all the Egyptians into bondmen.

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 Vayigash has no "open portion" (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ (peh)). Parashah Vayigash has a three, lesser "closed portion" (סתומה, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס (samekh)). The first closed portion (סתומה, setumah) includes the first four readings (עליות, aliyot) and part of the fifth reading (עליה, aliyah). The second closed portion (סתומה, setumah) includes the rest of the fifth reading (עליה, aliyah). And the third closed portion (סתומה, setumah) includes the sixth and seventh readings (עליות, aliyot).