A parashah (Hebrew: "portion," plural: parashot or parashiyyot) is a section of a biblical book in the masoretic text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). Such sections are designated by various types of spacing between them, as found in:
The division of the text into parashot for the biblical books is independent of chapter and verse numbers, which are not part of the masoretic tradition. Parashot are not numbered, but some have special titles.
The division of parashot found in the modern-day Torah scrolls of all Jewish communities (Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Yemenite) is based upon the systematic list provided by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls, chapter 8. Maimonides based his division of the parashot for the Torah on the Aleppo Codex.[1] The division of parashot for the books of Nevi'im and Ketuvim was never completely standardized in printed Hebrew bibles and handwritten scrolls, though important attempts were made to document it and create fixed rules.
Incorrect division of the text into parashot, either by indicating a parashah in the wrong place or by using the wrong spacing technique, halakhically invalidates a Torah scroll according to Maimonides.[2]
Purpose of the section divisions
A parashah break creates a textual pause, roughly analogous to a modern paragraph break. Such a pause usually has one of the following purposes:
In most cases, a new parashah begins where a new topic or a new thought is clearly indicated in the biblical text.
In many places, however, the parashah divisions are used even in places where it is clear that no new topic begins, in order to highlight a special verse by creating a textual pause before it or after it (or both).
A special example of #2 is for lists: The individual elements in many biblical lists are separated by parashah spacing of one type or another.
To decide exactly where a new topic or thought begins within a biblical text involves a degree of subjectivity on the part of the reader. This subjective element may help explain differences amongst the various masoretic codices in some details of the section divisions (though it should be emphasized that their degree of conformity is high). It may also sometimes explain why certain verses that might seem like introductions to a new topic lack a section division, or why such divisions appear in places where no new topic is indicated.
For this reason, at times the parashah divisions may contribute to biblical exegesis.
History of the section divisions
The idea of spacing between portions is mentioned in midrashic literature, and the idea of "open" and "closed" portions is mentioned in the Talmud. Early masoretic lists detailing the Babylonian tradition include systematic and detailed discussion of exactly where portions begin and which type they are.
Tiberian masoretic codices have similar but not identical parashah divisions throughout the Bible. Unlike the Babylonian mesorah, however, Tiberian masoretic notes never mention the parashah divisions or attempt to systematize them. This is related to the fact that the Babylonian lists are independent compositions, while the Tiberian notes are in the margins of the biblical text itself, which shows the parashot in a highly visible way.
In the centuries following the Tiberian mesorah, there were ever-increasing efforts to document and standardize the details of the parashah divisions, especially for the Torah, and even for Nevi'im and Ketuvim as time went on.
Spacing techniques
Illustration of a closed section followed by an open section in a modern Torah scroll (closed at Numbers 10:35 and open at 11:1). Note the rare occurrence of "inverted Nun" at these two points.
A page from the Aleppo Codex, Deuteronomy 32:50-33:29. Parashah breaks visible on this page are as follows: {P} 33:1-6 (right column blank line 8th from top) {S} 33:7 (right column indentation line 23) {P} 33:8-11 (right column blank line 2nd from bottom) {S} 33:12 (middle column 1st indentation) {S} 33:13-17 (middle column 2nd indentation) {S} 33:18-19 (left column indentation at top) {S} 33:20-21 (left column space in middle of 6th line) {S} 33:22 (left column 13th line indentation) {S} 33:24-39 (left column 17th line indentation).
In most modern Torah scrolls and Jewish editions of the Bible, there are two types of parashot: An "open portion" (parashah petuhah) and a "closed portion" (parashah setumah). An "open portion" is roughly similar to a modern paragraph: The text of the previous portion ends before the end of the column (leaving a space at the end of the line), and the new "open" portion starts at the beginning of the next line (but with no indentation). A "closed portion", on the other hand, leaves a space in the middle of the line of text, where the previous portion ends before the space, and the next portion starts after it, towards the end of the line of text.
An "open portion" (petuhah) is often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter "?" (peh), and a "closed portion" (setumah) with the Hebrew letter "?" (samekh).[3] Rough English equivalents are "P" and "S" respectively.[4]
In masoretic codices and in medieval scrolls, these two spacing techniques allowed for a larger range of options:
An "open portion" always started at the beginning of a new line. This could happen the way described above, but also by leaving a blank line between the two portions, thus allowing the previous portion to sometimes entirely fill its last line of text.
A "closed portion" never began at the beginning of a line. This could happen as in modern scrolls (a space in the middle of a line), but also by the previous portion ending before the end of the line, and the new portion beginning on the next line after an indentation.
Most printed Hebrew bibles today represent the parashot using the more limited techniques found in typical modern Torah scrolls: A space in the middle of a line for a closed portion, and beginning at the start of the next line for an open portion (not a blank line). A notable exception is The Jerusalem Crown (The Bible of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2000), whose typography and layout is fashioned after the Aleppo codex, and follows the medieval spacing techniques for parashah divisions by leaving an empty line for {P} and starts {S} on a new line with an indentation.
Medieval Ashkenazic sources beginning with the Mahzor Vitry also refer to a third spacing technique called a parashah sedurah. This involved starting a new parashah at the same point in the line where the previous parashah ended on the line above.
Halakhic significance
Validity of Scrolls
According to the ruling of Maimonides (Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls 10:1), any error regarding a parashah completely invalidates a Torah scroll. This includes a parashah in the wrong place, of the wrong type, or a missing parashah.
However, there is also a responsum by Maimonides[5] in which he ruled that one may recite a blessing over reading from an invalid scroll, based on the reasoning that the commandment is in the reading itself, not in the text being read from.
Maimonides' strict ruling that any error in the parashot completely invalidates a Torah scroll led to a major halakhic debate that continues to this day.[6] Among those who ruled against Maimonides' stricture in practice were his son, Rabbi Abraham,[7] Rabbi Menachem ha-Meiri,[8] Maharam Halava,[9] Mahari Mintz[10], and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.[11]
All of the above authorities rule that a scroll containing parashot based on alternative scribal traditions that disagree with Maimonides' list of parashot (Laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Torah Scrolls, chapter 8) is nevertheless a valid scroll. However, even according to the lenient opinion, a blatant error with no source in any scribal tradition invalidates a Torah scroll.
Rules and customs for public reading
When a section of the Torah is read in public from a scroll as part of the synagogue service, the sections are often divided in ways that take the parashah divisions into account, but there is no hard and fast rule for this.
One basic halakhic rule for public reading is that no less than three verses at a time be read. As a corollary to this, there is a specific rule regarding parashot: One may not leave off reading less than three verses before the end of a parashah, nor may one end off reading by starting a new parashah but leaving off less than three verses from its beginning.[12]
The sections from nevi'im that are read as haftarot are based on custom. At times, some of these customs choose the exact beginning or end of a haftarah because it coincides with a parashah division.
Parashot in the Torah
Due to the influence of Maimonides, the parashah divisions in the Torah have become highly standardized, and there is close to exact agreement amongst Torah scrolls, printed Jewish bibles, and similar online texts.[13] The following list thus presents the parashah divisions as found in (a) modern Torah scrolls, (b) Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, and (c) the Aleppo Codex (based on several witnesses besides Maimonides to the parashot in its missing parts). Rare inconsistencies between these three sources are explained in footnotes.
The list is constructed as follows:
Only breaks between two sections are listed: Any open or closed parashah break, {P} or {S}, must always appear between two biblical sections. The symbols {P} and {S} always indicate the status of the following section. In Genesis, for instance, {S} 5:32-6:4 {P} indicates a closed section (setumah) because it begins with {S}. Therefore, no section break is indicated before the first portion of a biblical book, or after its last portion.
Special series of parashot used for special types of text (such as chronologies, lists, step-by-step sequences, repeating formulas) are indicated.
When a parashah ignores a chapter break, this is indicated for convenience by spelling out the exact verses from each chapter found in that parashah; for instance: {P} 32:4-33;33:1-17 {S}. This system allows for immediate calculation of the number verses in the parashah and also for easier comparison between the parashot and the chapter divisions.
Variations found in alternative masoretic traditions (such as in the Leningrad Codex) are provided separately at the end of each book.
Unusual data (such as an unusually lengthy parashah) is underlined to draw special attention, followed by a parenthetical note identifying the contents of the parashah at hand.
The first words of a parashah are sometimes provided in Hebrew for clarity, especially for parashot that appear within a verse. A prominent example is for the Ten Commandments. The titles of prominent parashot mentioned rabbinic literature are also sometimes given.
Symbols:
{P} = parashah petuhah ("open portion"), typically resembles a new paragraph
{S} = parashah setumah ("closed portion"), typically represented as a blank space in the middle of a line
{-} = no parashah break indicated
{SONG} = Special format for songs; details of the special layout will be described in separate sections.
Genesis
A page of the Aleppo Codex was photographed in 1887 by William Wickes, containing Genesis 26:35 (????) to 27:30 (???? ??). It shows a single open parashah break {S} at 27:1 (???? ?? ??? ????); that parashah is in bold within the list below for Parashat Toledot.
Two consecutive pages of the Aleppo Codex from the now-missing part of Deuteronomy were photographed in 1910 by Joseph Segall, containing the Ten Commandments. The image shows Deuteronomy 4:38 (?????) to 6:3 (????), including the following parashah breaks: {P} 4:41 ?? ????? {P} 5:1 ????? ??? {S} 5:6 ???? {S} 5:10 ?? ??? {S} 5:11 ???? {S} 5:15 ??? {S} 5:16a ?? ???? {S} 5:16b ??? ???? {S} 5:16c ??? ???? {S} 5:16d ??? ???? {S} 5:17a ??? ???? {S} 5:21b ??? ????? {S} ?? ?????? 5:22. These parashot are shown in bold within the list below for Parashat Va'etchannan.
The Aleppo Codex is intact starting at Deuteronomy 28:17 (??????). Parashot from the extant parts are in bold, as are the parashot shown in the Segall photograph (image at right).
Parashot in Nevi'im are listed here according to the Aleppo codex, with variants from other masoretic traditions noted at the end of each book's section.
The Aleppo codex is intact for the bulk of Nevi'im. The few parashot noted here from its missing parts are listed according to the notes taken by Joshua Kimhi, who recorded the parashot of the Aleppo codex in the nineteenth century in the bible of Rabbi Shalom Shachna Yellin. These are indicated by an asterisk.
The Aleppo codex is missing three folios from II Kings that included 14:21 (?? ?????) to 18:13 (???). Parashot listed from the missing section are based upon Kimhi's notes on the codex[22] and marked with an asterisk (*).
The Aleppo codex is missing two folios from Jeremiah, and the folio preceding them is also partly torn. The missing text included parts of chapters 29-32.[25]Parashot listed from the missing parts are based upon Kimhi's notes on the codex[26] and marked with an asterisk (*).
The Aleppo Codex is missing two sections of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Parashot listed from the missing sections are based upon Kimhi's notes on the codex[28] and marked with an asterisk (*). The two sections are:
Three missing folios that included Amos 8:13 to the end, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah until 5:1 (????).
Four missing folios that included Zephaniah 3:10 (????) to the end, Haggai, Zechariah until 9:17 (???).
Parashot within the twelve individual books are as follows:
Parashot in Ketuvim are listed here according to the Aleppo codex, with variants from other masoretic traditions noted at the end of each book's section. The books of Ketuvim are presented in the order they appear in most printed Hebrew bibles. In Tiberian and early Sephardic masoretic codices (such as the Aleppo Codex) the order is as follows: Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah.
The Aleppo codex is largely intact until the word ???? ("Zion") in Song of Songs 3:11. It is missing the rest of Song of Songs, as well as the final books of Ketuvim in their entirety: Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah. It is also missing two folios which included about 10 psalms (15:1-25:1). Parashot listed here from its missing parts are according to the notes taken by Joshua Kimhi, who recorded the parashot of the Aleppo codex for Rabbi Shalom Shachna Yellin in the nineteenth century. These are indicated by an asterisk. For some of the books that are largely or completely missing, charts have been provided below to allow for easy comparison of the parallel data found in the masoretic manuscripts.
Y = Cambridge University Library Add. Ms. 1753 (Yemenite). Yeivin regards this manuscript of Ketuvim as "a second or third hand copy" of a Tiberian manuscript "no less accurate and reliable than the Aleppo Codex."[29]
S1 = Sassoon 1053 (10th century). Yeivin judges this manuscript to be carelessly prepared by comparison with other accurate Tiberian codices.[30]
L34 = EBP. II B 34 of the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, a carefully prepared manuscript of Ketuvim but with many gaps.[31]
F = Finfer, Pesah. Masoret ha-Torah veha-Nevi'im.
Ff = Finfer, "few books" (??? ?????). If a "few books" say one thing and a "few books" another, these are indicated by Ff1 & Ff2.
Fo = Finfer, "other books" (??? ?????).
C="Cairo"
D="Damascus"
Finfer also sometimes notes a tiqqun.
{-} Finfer notes that there is no parashah break at this verse.
(-) Finfer doesn't list this verse at all.
Layout of Psalms, Proverbs, Job
The three poetic books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Job are collectively knows as Sifrei Emet (see the article on Ketuvim). These three books share a unique system of cantillation unlike that of the other 21 books in Tanakh, a system designed to highlight the parallelisms in their verses.
In the Tiberian masoretic codices, the unique system of cantillation for Sifrei Emet is complemented by a scribal layout unlike the rest of the Bible: Instead of the three narrow columns per page typical of these codices, Sifrei Emet are written in two wide columns per page. In each line of these wide columns text begins on the right, followed by a gap, and then continued by further text until the left margin. Although there is ample evidence that the scribes attempted to place the gaps in the middle of the lines at the points where the cantillation divides the verses, they often did not succeed in doing so because of space limitations. Modern editions based upon the Aleppo Codex have implemented the idea fully by allowing wide full-page columns for Psalms, Proverbs, and Job.[32]
In poetic layout, parashah divisions are typically indicated by a blank line for an open parashah. The gaps in the middle of lines are not considered parashah divisions, and each scribe formatted the verses as he saw fit for aesthetic and practical reasons. An exception to this rule, however, is for the introductory titles of many individual psalms which are followed by formal parashah breaks, often by continuing the text at the beginning of the next line. These formal breaks will be indicated in the list of parashot for Psalms.
The special poetic cantillation and layout are not implemented for the narrative opening and conclusion of the book of Job (1:1-3:1 and 42:7-17).
Psalms
The Aleppo Codex leaves two empty lines between the five Books of Psalms (following psalms 41, 72, 89, 106). Otherwise there is one blank line between each two psalms, the standard way of indicating an open parashah break {P} in poetic layout.
There is no break at all, however, between psalms 114-115, which were apparently considered a single psalm by the scribes. Psalm 119, which has sets of eight verses for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has an open parashah break (a blank line) between each set of eight verses.
The titles of individual Psalms have formal rules. Symbols for representing these rules are as follows, based on examples:
1 {-} = Psalm 1 has no formal title. The entire psalm is written in regular poetic layout.
3:1a {S/T} = Closedparashah within title verse of psalm. The title of psalm 3 is more than minimal, an entire verse containing more than one hemistich. There is a closedparashah division after the first hemistich. In masoretic manuscripts, this gap in the middle of the first title verse often closely resembles the poetic layout of the body of the psalm following the title verse.
4:1 {P} = The first full verse of psalm 4 is a title followed by an open parashah break (text of the body of the psalm starts at the beginning of the next line).
11:1a {P} = The beginning of the first verse of psalm 11 is a title, followed by an open parashah break in the middle of the verse (text of the body of the psalm starts at the beginning of the next line). Besides formal titles, this form is also found after the word "halleluyah" at the beginning of a number of psalms (e.g. 106).
15a {S} = A closed parashah division following a title at the beginning of the first verse of the psalm. This is also occasionally found for a full-verse title, e.g. psalm 108:1 {P}.
26 {-/T} The beginning of the first verse is a title, but there is no parashah division.
Centered title: "The Proverbs of Solomon" 10:1a (10:1b-19:9). There are no parashah divisions following the centered title until 19:10, an unusually large amount of unbroken text (278 verses).
Common layout and regular cantillation: 1:1-5 {P} 1:6-22 {P} 2:1-10 {P} 2:11-13;3:1.
II. Poetic Disputations: The disputations, which constitute the bulk of the book of Job, employ the special poetic layout in common with Psalms and Proverbs, along its associated poetic cantillation. In Tiberian masoretic codices, the formal title of each individual speech appears in the center of its line, while the body of the reply appears in poetic form (as in Psalms and Proverbs). The break between the title and the body is considered an open parashah, and these titles appear in bold. Blank lines as open parashot are also used occasionally, and these are noted as {P}.
Speech: {P} 32:6-22;33:1-33 (Elihu I). Centered titles: 34:1 (Elihu II 34:2-37), 35:1 (Elihu III 35:2-16), 36:1 (Elihu IV 36:2-33;37:1-24).
God and Job (38:1-42:6):
God: {P} 38:1-41;39:1-18 {P} 39:19-30.
God and Job (centered titles): 40:1 (God 40:2), 40:3 (Job 40:4-5).
God: {P} 40:6-32;41:1-26 {P}.
Job (centered title): 42:1 (Job 42:2-6).
III. Narrative Conclusion (42:7-17):
Common layout and regular cantillation: {P} 42:7 {S} 42:8-17.
Song of Songs
The Aleppo codex is extant until the word ???? ("Zion") in Song of Songs 3:11. Bibles that show parashot in the Song of Songs based upon the Aleppo Codex (with reconstruction of its missing parts based on Kimhi's notes) include two editions following the Breuer method (Horev and The Jerusalem Crown). The flow of text in such bibles is as follows:
The Tiberian masoretic codices are nearly identical in the parts at which they show parashah breaks in the text. However, while A and L have {S} almost exclusively, Y (which is usually very close to A) shows {P} for the large majority of parashot,[33] as shown in the chart below:
There are no further parashah divisions at all in the rest of the book (3:9-12:14) according to Kimhi's notes on the Aleppo Codex, an unusually large amount of unbroken text (170 verses) that is confirmed by Y. The Leningrad codex has a solitary parashah break: {S} at 9:11. The following chart compares the meager parashah breaks for Lamentations as found in manuscripts:
The book of Esther is traditionally read by Jews on the holiday of Purim from a handwritten scroll on parchment that must be halakhically valid. This means that the rules of open and closed parashot are of more practical relevance for Esther than for any other book in Nevi'im or Ketuvim. Despite this?or perhaps because of the large numbers of scrolls of Esther that have been written, and the attention that has been paid to the problem by rabbis and scribes?manuscripts of Esther and opinions about how they should be written betray a relatively large number of discrepancies regarding the parashah divisions.
In the nineteenth century, Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried published a manual for scribes called Keset ha-Sofer, in which he follows the rule that all parashot in Esther are closed {S} (Keset ha-Sofer 28:5).[45] This is currently the dominant tradition for Ashkenazic and Sephardicmegillot (scrolls of Esther) today. But the Tiberian masoretic codices contain both open and closed portions. Also, Yemenite scribes did not entirely adopt the tradition of closed portions, leaving the divisions in many scrolls of Esther similar to what is found in the masoretic codices.
Ganzfried ruled that a scroll of Esther with open portions is invalid, but added that "some authorities validate" it (Keset ha-Sofer 28:5).[46] When discussing these authorities in his additional notes,[47] Ganzfried cites a list open parashot found in the book Orhot Hayyim, and concludes: "And even though our custom is that all of these are closed, it nevertheless seems that if some or all of these are open one may read from the scroll with a blessing." These have been listed in the chart below below under at "OH" under Keset ha-Sofer, and they are very similar to what is found in the Tiberian masoretic codices.[48]
Most printed Jewish bibles, even those based on manuscripts, show the flow of text in Esther according to the widespread tradition based on Keset ha-Sofer (only closed parashot). Such editions include the Koren edition (Jerusalem, 1962), Breuer's first edition (Jerusalem, 1982) and Dotan's editions (which are otherwise based upon the Leningrad Codex). The flow of text in such bibles is as follows:
Bibles that show the parashot in Esther based upon a reconstruction of the Aleppo Codex include two editions following the Breuer method (Horev and The Jerusalem Crown). The flow of text in such bibles is as follows:
Image of a modern Torah scroll open to the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1-19) with special layout visible.
In addition to the common "open" and "closed" parashot, the masoretic scribal layout employs spaces in an elaborate way for prominent songs found within narrative books, as well as for certain lists. Each such "song" is formatted in its own exact way, though there are similarities between them. These sections include:
Esther 9:7-9 lists Haman's ten sons in three consecutive verses (three names in 7, three in 8, and four in 9). Each name is preceded by the Hebrew particle ???. The {SONG} format for this list is as follows:
The last word of 9:6 (???) is written at the beginning of a new line at the right margin. This will be the first line of text in {SONG} format.
The first word of 9:7 (the Hebrew particle ???) is written at the end of the first line in {SONG} at the left margin. A gap is thus left between ??? and ??? which forms a closed parashah division {S}.
In the next ten lines of text, the ten names of the sons of Haman appear one after another in the beginning of each line at the right margin, under the word ???. There are thus a total of eleven lines of text in {SONG} format, the first beginning with ??? and the ten following lines with the names of Haman's sons.
The word ??? appears at the end of each line text (left margin), except for the 11th and final line in {SONG} format, which ends with the first word of 9:10 (????).
The {SONG} format described here originated in the typically narrow columns of the Tiberian masoretic codices, in which a line of text containing only two words at opposite margins with a gap between them appears similar to a standard closed parashah. However, in many later scrolls the columns are much wider, such that lines with single words at opposite margins create a huge gap in the middle. For this reason, in many scrolls these eleven lines are written in very large letters, so that the gap will not appear unreasonable.
Literature cited
Books and articles cited in the references to this article:
Ofer, Yosef. "The Aleppo Codex and the Bible of R. Shalom Shachna Yellin" in Rabbi Mordechai Breuer Festschrift: Collected Papers in Jewish Studies, ed. M. Bar-Asher, 1:295-353. Jerusalem, 1992 (Hebrew). Online text (PDF)
Penkower, Jordan S. "Maimonides and the Aleppo Codex." Textus 9 (1981):39-128.
Penkower, Jordan S. New Evidence for the Pentateuch Text in the Aleppo Codex. Bar-Ilan University Press: Ramat Gan, 1992 (Hebrew).
Yeivin, Israel. "The Division into Sections in the Book of Psalms." Textus 7 (1969):76-102.
Yeivin, Israel. Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah. Trans. and ed. E. G. Revell. Masoretic Studies 5. Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1980.
Bible editions consulted (based on the Aleppo Codex):
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