Torah Portions

Every week, the same Torah is being read around the world.

In homes and congregations from Jerusalem to Indiana, believers are working through the same passages, wrestling with the same texts, asking the same questions. That is not an accident. It is one of the most quietly remarkable things happening in the body of Messiah right now - a growing community of Torah observant believers reconnecting to the rhythm Yehovah built into His word from the beginning.

The Torah - the five books of Moses - is divided into 54 portions called parashot. Each portion has a name drawn from its opening words. Bereshit. Noach. Lech Lecha. These names are ancient, and they are the same names the first century believers would have known. Walking through them in order, year after year, is not a Jewish tradition imposed on Gentile believers. It is a covenant rhythm - a way of staying in the Word, staying in community, and staying oriented to the story Yehovah is telling.

At Vigilant Faith we follow the annual Torah portion cycle not because a religious institution requires it but because it works. It keeps us moving through the whole counsel of Scripture. It connects us to a global community of believers walking the same road. And it gives us a framework for teaching that builds over time - the same portions revisited year after year, with new depth each time through.

How This Page Works

Each of the 54 portions is listed below by its Hebrew name with the English meaning and Scripture reference alongside it. As teachings are published for a given portion the name becomes a live link to everything written on that portion at Vigilant Faith. Portions without teachings yet are listed as plain text - the library is being built and grows with each passing year.

You do not need to start at the beginning. Jump in wherever you are in the reading cycle. If you are not sure where that is, Parashat Bereshit - Genesis 1 through 6 - is always a good place to start.

If you want to follow along week by week with your own reading, pick up the portion that fits the current season and read the chapters through before Shabbat. The text itself will do most of the work. The teachings here are meant to go deeper into what you have already read - not to replace reading it yourself.

GENESIS — BERESHIT

1. Bereshit — In the beginning — Genesis 1:1–6:8
2. Noach — Rest / Noah — Genesis 6:9–11:32
3. Lech Lecha — Go forth — Genesis 12:1–17:27
4. Vayera — And He appeared — Genesis 18:1–22:24
5. Chayei Sarah — Life of Sarah — Genesis 23:1–25:18
6. Toldot — Generations — Genesis 25:19–28:9
7. Vayetzei — And he went out — Genesis 28:10–32:3
8. Vayishlach — And he sent — Genesis 32:4–36:43
9. Vayeshev — And he settled — Genesis 37:1–40:23
10. Miketz — At the end of — Genesis 41:1–44:17
11. Vayigash — And he drew near — Genesis 44:18–47:27
12. Vayechi — And he lived — Genesis 47:28–50:26

EXODUS — SHEMOT

13. Shemot — Names — Exodus 1:1–6:1
14. Vaera — And I appeared — Exodus 6:2–9:35
15. Bo — Come / Go — Exodus 10:1–13:16
16. Beshalach — When he sent out — Exodus 13:17–17:16
17. Yitro — Jethro — Exodus 18:1–20:23
18. Mishpatim — Laws / Judgments — Exodus 21:1–24:18
19. Terumah — Offering / Contribution — Exodus 25:1–27:19
20. Tetzaveh — You shall command — Exodus 27:20–30:10
21. Ki Tisa — When you take / lift — Exodus 30:11–34:35
22. Vayakhel — And he assembled — Exodus 35:1–38:20
23. Pekudei — Accounts / Counting — Exodus 38:21–40:38

LEVITICUS — VAYIKRA

24. Vayikra — And He called — Leviticus 1:1–5:26
25. Tzav — Command — Leviticus 6:1–8:36
26. Shemini — Eighth — Leviticus 9:1–11:47
27. Tazria — She conceives / bears seed — Leviticus 12:1–13:59
28. Metzora — Diseased one / leper — Leviticus 14:1–15:33
29. Acharei Mot — After the death — Leviticus 16:1–18:30
30. Kedoshim — Holy ones / Be holy — Leviticus 19:1–20:27
31. Emor — Say / Speak — Leviticus 21:1–24:23
32. Behar — On the mountain — Leviticus 25:1–26:2
33. Bechukotai — In My statutes — Leviticus 26:3–27:34

NUMBERS — BAMIDBAR

34. Bamidbar — In the wilderness — Numbers 1:1–4:20
35. Nasso — Take a census / Lift up — Numbers 4:21–7:89
36. Behaalotecha — When you set up — Numbers 8:1–12:16
37. Shelach — Send out — Numbers 13:1–15:41
38. Korach — Korach — Numbers 16:1–18:32
39. Chukat — Statute / Ordinance — Numbers 19:1–22:1
40. Balak — Balak — Numbers 22:2–25:9
41. Pinchas — Pinchas — Numbers 25:10–30:1
42. Matot — Tribes — Numbers 30:2–32:42
43. Masei — Journeys / Stages — Numbers 33:1–36:13

DEUTERONOMY — DEVARIM

44. Devarim — Words / Things — Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22
45. Vaetchanan — And I pleaded — Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11
46. Eikev — Because / Therefore — Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25
47. Reeh — See / Behold — Deuteronomy 11:26–16:17
48. Shoftim — Judges — Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9
49. Ki Tetze — When you go out — Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19
50. Ki Tavo — When you come in — Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8
51. Nitzavim — You are standing — Deuteronomy 29:9–30:20
52. Vayelech — And he went — Deuteronomy 31:1–31:30
53. Haazinu — Give ear / Listen — Deuteronomy 32:1–32:52
54. Vezot Habracha — And this is the blessing — Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12

A Note on the Reading Cycle

The annual Torah portion cycle has been followed by communities of believers for well over two thousand years. It begins in the fall after Sukkot and moves through all five books over the course of the year. In years with fewer Sabbaths some portions are read together as doubles - Vayakhel with Pekudei, Tazria with Metzora, and so on. Each of those has separate teachings here so you have the option to go deeper into either one regardless of how they fall in a given year.

At Vigilant Faith we follow the portion by name rather than by date because dates shift year to year and community to community. The text does not change. The portion name is the anchor.