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A Jewish leap year contains 54 weeks, but a non leap year has only 50 weeks (a leap-year adds an additional month (called Adar II) to the usual 12).  On the week of Passover and the week of Sukkot, different Torah portions are read, so that leaves 52 weeks for the 54 readings (2 weeks have double portions), and on non leap years only 48 weeks for the 54 (6 weeks have double portions).  I hope that makes sense; if you are a bit muddled, always consult a good Jewish Calendar.

The Origin of the Weekly Torah Portion

Jewish tradition states that Ezra the Scribe (and the 120 elders of the Great Assembly [4th century before Mashiach]) was the originator of the weekly Torah reading schedule for klal Yisrael. The Great Assembly (which included Mordecai (of the Esther story), Daniel, Nehemiah, Zechariah, and Zerubabel, among other notables) is also said to have instituted other traditional practices such as the recitation of Kiddush (on Shabbat); the idea that prayer should occur three times a day; the structure of the Amidah prayer; the recitation of various blessings before eating, and so on.

The Triennial cycle of readings appears to be older than the yearly cycle (which developed during the Babylonian exile), and was probably used when Yeshua (B"H) was here. This plan reads through the Torah in three years, though the way the readings are arranged is a bit strange, since they skip 2/3 of the yearly portion through every cycle.

The Torah Blessings and Aliyot

The Torah portions themselves are divided into sections, called aliyot (literally, “ascent”), and it is customary to call up people from the congregation to recite a blessing before and after the section. For Shabbat services each parashah is divided in seven aliyot, with a concluding portion (called the Maftir) recited by the person who will also recite the Haftarah blessings. This means that on a given Shabbat, eight people will be called to recite blessings over the Torah.


The Procedure for Making Aliyah
The person assigned aliyah is called up to the bimah (Torah reading table) by his Hebrew name. The cantor will point to the first word in the scroll that begins the portion. The person then touches the margin area closest to that point with his tzitzit and then touches the tzitzit to his lips. Standing directly in front of the scroll with both hands on the handles (etz chayim), he recites the barekhu and the first Torah blessing. He then releases the etz chayim and moves to the right to allow the cantor to read the portion. When the cantor is finished, the person again holds both etz chayim and recites the second Torah blessing. After this, the next person is called up to the bimah and the process repeats until all seven aliyot and the concluding maftir are completed.

What are Haftarah Portions?

The weekly Torah portion is followed by an additional portion from the Nevi’im (Prophets) called Haftarah. It is thought that the Haftarah readings were derived when the Greek Hasmonean Dynasty (late Second Temple period, approx. 200 years B.C.E), ruled over the land of Israel.  These Hellenists forbade the public reading of Torah in order to dissipate Jewish solidarity, etc., under their rule. So, instead of the weekly Torah portion, the clever Jewish leadership instituted the weekly reading of a portion from the Nevi'im which contained ideas which were similar to the Torah reading of that week. 


The Maftir and Haftarah
The maftir (additional) is the last aliyah of the Torah reading service on Shabbat, which usually comprises the last few verses of the week's Torah portion (on festivals and certain special Sabbaths, the maftir is a different reading: see the table below). The person who receives the maftir also recites the Haftarah (a reading from the Prophets) and the Haftarah blessings that go with it. The Haftarah and maftir are connected to show that the books of the Prophets must be grounded in the study of the Torah.

The Torah Reading Ceremony

The Torah and Haftarah reading ceremonies are performed as follows: the Torah is taken from the Ark and paraded around the room before it is brought to rest on the bimah (torah reading podium). The weekly portion (parashat hashavuah) is divided up into portions (pasukim), and certain members of the congregation are called to recite the blessing over their assigned portion of the week’s reading. This honor is referred to as an aliyah (literally, ascension or calling up).

The first aliyah of any day's reading is reserved for a kohen (that is, someone descended from the priestly line of Aaron, the brother of Moses), the second is reserved for a Levite, and subsequent aliyot are normally given to people celebrating major life events, such as marriage or the birth of a child. Click here to learn the blessing over the Torah.

Traditional Parashah Table

The following table lists the 54 portions according to conventional transliterated name. Each portion usually takes its name from the first unique word(s) of the Hebrew text. To find the current week’s readings, you must consult a Jewish Calendar that lists the (Jewish) parashah for the (Gregorian) week. In the following table, you can click on the name of the Parashah to read its summary:

* Portions marked with an asterisk can be added to the following week’s readings.

There are 54 Torah portions, one for each week of a leap year, so that in the course of a year, beginning and ending on the Simchat Torah, we read the entire Torah in our services. During non-leap years, there are 50 weeks, so some of the shorter portions are doubled up (a leap-year adds an additional month (4 weeks) to the usual 12 (called Adar II); a Jewish calendar will indicate if a year is a leap year). 

On the week of Passover and the week of Sukkot, different Torah portions are read, so on leap years that leaves 52 weeks for the 54 readings (2 weeks have double portions), and on non leap years that leaves 48 weeks for the 54 (6 weeks have double portions).

Additional Parashiot for Holidays
Below are additional readings for holidays and special shabbats. Note that on holidays, the maftir (M) portion is different than the usual Torah reading: