Portion Summary Chukat is the thirty-ninth reading from the Torah. The word chukat means “statute.” The name is derived from the second verse of the reading: “This is the statute of the […]

Portion Summary Balak was the name of a Moabite king in the days of Moses. It is also the name of the fortieth reading from the Torah. It comes from […]

Portion Summary Pinchas is the Hebrew name translated in English Bibles as Phinehas. It is also the name of the forty-first reading from the Torah because of the second verse […]

Portion Summary Devarim is both the title for the last book from the scroll of the Torah and the title of the first Torah portion therein. Devarim means “words.” The English-speaking world […]

Portion Summary The forty-fifth reading from the Torah and the second reading from the book of Deuteronomy is named Va’etchanan, which means “and I besought.” The title comes from the […]

Portion Summary The forty-sixth reading from the Torah and the third reading from the book of Deuteronomy is named Ekev, a word from the first verse of the portion. Deuteronomy […]

Portion Summary The forty-seventh reading from the Torah and the fourth reading from the book of Deuteronomy is named Re’eh, an imperative form of the word “see.” It is the […]

Portion Summary The word shoftim means “judges.” It is also the name of the forty-eighth reading from the Torah, which begins with the words “You shall appoint for yourself judges ” (Deuteronomy […]

Portion Summary The forty-ninth reading from the Torah is called Ki Tetze, which means “when you go.” It is named after the first words of Deuteronomy 21:10, which are “When […]

Portion Summary Deuteronomy 26 begins the fiftieth reading from the Torah with the words, “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you […]