Shemot means “the names,” and it is almost impossible to do justice in a few lines to such a majestic portion. We begin with the set-up of “the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph” and who therefore enslaves the Israelites (probably Ahmose I). Despite an edict to kill all Hebrew male infants, Moshe escapes and is adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter called “Bithia” by the rabbis, “Thermuthis” by Josephus or “Tarmuth” by the Talmud. Moshe is raised as a Prince of Egypt until he kills an overseer for beating a Hebrew slave. Then he flees to Midian and is given shelter by Jethro, priest of Midian, but it is in the wilderness outside of Midian that Moshe meets Abba YHWH for the first time as he climbs Mount Sinai. Abba YHWH reveals Himself and gives Moshe his true purpose—he is to return to Egypt and free the slaves. The portion though ends on a down note, with Pharaoh refusing and saying they must now make bricks without straw, so Abba YHWH warns a fearsome judgment is on the way.
Vayechi means “and he lived,” referring to the 17 years Ya’akov would spend in Egypt before dying. The portion begins with Jacob making final arrangements to be buried in Canaan once he dies. Ironically, the portion ends with Joseph making those same arrangements but deferring final relocation until the Exodus. It seems that Joseph’s final vision then was his foretelling the time of Moshe. In between these events, Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh are introduced to Jacob and in a very ironic twist Jacob does intentionally the same thing his father Isaac was deceived into doing by blessing the younger son Ephraim ahead of elder Manasseh. After this, all tribes are given prophecies and blessings and the family of seventy souls make final settlement in Egypt.
Vayigash means “and he approached,” referring to Judah approaching Joseph and pleading with him to return Benjamin. After this plea Joseph reveals his true identity and begins reconciling with his brothers. The portion ends with Joseph sending his brothers to fetch Jacob into Egypt and setting up the main foundation pieces for what will become the Exodus.
Mikkets means “at the end” as in at the end of two years since Joseph interpreted the dreams of the baker and wine taster, and about three and half years for the total time of Joseph’s confinement. When Pharaoh has bad dreams and can’t get any of his seers to interpret them, the wine taster remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh he can help. After Joseph correctly interprets the dream, he is quickly elevated to the second in command, given an Egyptian priestess for wife and moves forward with his plan for storing grain during the years of plenty. The rest of the portion details the intricate series of comical pranks Joseph plays on his brothers—but to those brothers it is a matter of life and death which, obviously, is the whole point. It’s time for Joseph to hold their lives in HIS hands.
Vayeshev means “and he dwelled.” This portion opens with the amazing story of Joseph, starting with his being sold into slavery to Midianite traders who in turn sell him in Egypt. The parsha then interrupts the Joseph story with the account of Judah and Tamar, but then resumes talking about Joseph first being tempted by his master’s wife only to have his abstinence backfire and land him in prison. Once there, Joseph’s intellect gets him noticed and he makes prophecies that come true for two prisoners, the baker and the wine taster. The baker is killed but the wine taster was prophesied to go free but reneged on his promise to put in a good word for Joseph immediately upon his release.
Vayetze means “and he departed” the “he” being Jacob heading towards Haran. At Haran Jacob has his famous vision of the heavenly ladder before proceeding to dwell with his uncle Laban. This of course sets up the struggle with Jacob wanting Rachel but being forced to marry Leah first and then Rachel as he toils for a total of twenty years. After finally escaping, Jacob finds himself trapped between a deceptive uncle he left behind and a brother who publicly swore to kill him coming towards him with hundreds of armed men.
Chayei Sarah means “life of Sarah” but ironically it begins with her death! The full meaning actually is “the Life of Sarah WAS.” In the wake of her death, Abraham must find an appropriate place to bury his wife. Ephron the Hittite first offers some land to Abraham for free, but Abraham insists on paying (actually OVERPAYING according to the rabbis) and signing a contract for the land to avoid future strife.
Chapter 24 then gives us the beautiful love story between Isaac and Rebecca. It becomes clear that while Isaac himself gets little attention in Torah compared to his ancestors and descendants, he certainly did very well in the marriage department—Rebecca is in a way his inheritance and treasure. The portion ends with Abraham’s death and a reunion at his funeral with Isaac and Ishmael.
Vayera means “and appeared,” referencing Abba YHWH, appearing to Abraham with two other messengers. The trio brings news that Abraham and Sarah will have a son. Sarah, not believing Abba YHWH, laughs at hearing the pronouncement and then denies she laughed. This is one reason they call their son Yitzchak, “laughter.” Notable here also is that Abraham serves Abba YHWH and His two messengers milk and meat! After this, we get the dark message of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family must leave immediately to avoid the coming disaster. Also, there is a remarkable “bargaining” session between Abraham and Abba YHWH, as they debate how many righteous souls will spare the entire city. An incident similar to the one where Pharaoh took Sarah happens again with another ruler, with comparable results. The portion ends with the most shocking story of them all, as Abraham is told to kill his son by Abba YHWH Himself!
Lech Lecha means “get yourself out.” It concerns the command Abba YHWH gives Abram to into Canaan and has a lot of great “action” surrounding that main theme. First, move Abram has a bit of an adventure in Egypt when his wife acquired by Pharaoh because Abram said she was his sister! Then Abram had to do some intricate planning to get ahead of a potential family dispute between himself and his nephew Lot. After that a whole bunch of kings go to war around Abram and closer to home Abram is given the second most difficult test of his life and I’m just scratching the surface here…there’s a ton of action I left out here.
Noach refers to Noah, a righteous man whose name means “comfort” or “peace.” Abba YHWH tells Noah He is about to flood all of humanity out of existence except for himself, his wife, their three sons and three daughters in law. After the Flood, humanity tries to start over but there is still great evil about as Nimrod becomes a great and powerful leader and those (perhaps) under his influence attempt to build a tower to rival heaven, forcing Abba YHWH to confuse human language ever since. The genealogy brings us to the time of Abraham, thus setting up the covenant that is about to happen in the next portion. I should also note here that Noach is the most calendar intensive portion in my opinion of the entire year. In order to manage that information and to keep things easy to understand and efficient, I have pooled the most important calendar aspects into one basic essay at the end of the Torah linguistics.
Bereshit means “in the beginning.” We start with the six days of creation with Abba YHWH resting on the Shabbat day and creating Adam and Eve. After their expulsion from paradise, Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel and the former kills the latter. Afterwards, Cain flees Abba YHWH’s presence, first to Nod and then he goes build a city. As the human race begins to spread throughout the earth, the first ten generations are recounted and the life of righteous Noah is introduced.
Ha’azinu means “give your ears” or “listen.” It is the opening stanza of Moshe’s last song that he spoke of at the end of the previous portion. Although the language is poetic, the graphic imagery is meant for easy remembrance and its warnings are definitely LITERAL. There is no other poetry done as well in Tanakh except perhaps Job 38-42.