Parashah

A parashah ("portion") is one of the sections into which the Torah is divided to be read in public, week after week. The five books of Moses contain 54 parashiyot (plural of parashah), and the yearly reading cycle moves through them in order: the reading picks up where it stopped the previous Shabbat (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 135:2). Each one is named after its first word or one of its first words, for example Bereshit or Lekh Lekha.

The Mishnah (Megillah 4:1) provides that on Monday, Thursday and Shabbat afternoon, three people are called up, with no haftarah. On Shabbat morning, seven are called, and then one "concludes with the Prophets": that is the haftarah, chosen to relate to the subject of the parashah (Orach Chayim 284:1), at least twenty-one verses long unless the subject ends sooner. The text adds that on the following Monday and Thursday, the opening of the upcoming parashah is read (135:2).

1The bar or bat mitzvah parashah

At thirteen, a boy becomes subject to the commandments (Pirkei Avot 5:21). The Shulchan Arukh (Orach Chayim 55:9) sets majority at thirteen years and one day, together with the signs of maturity. A minor who understands whom the blessing is addressed to can count among the seven people called up on Shabbat (282:3). That is why a bar mitzvah is marked in the synagogue: an aliyah, sometimes reading the parashah or haftarah, and a speech.

The common custom is to take the parashah of the Shabbat of the Hebrew birthday (or the Shabbat that follows it), not the one for the civil-calendar birthday. This is a custom, not a rule written in the Shulchan Arukh: your rabbi or synagogue can confirm the date. The Rema (225:2) also records that, according to some, the father says a blessing ("Baruch shepetarani") that releases him from the penalty tied to his son, preferably without pronouncing the Name.

2How communities differ

• Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi: the reading melody and pronunciation vary with the synagogue's tradition, but the parashah of the week is the same for everyone.
• Bat mitzvah: the age, the form (a speech, a study session, reading the parashah, a party) and the venue vary a great deal by family and community: ask your rabbi how to mark it in your case.
• Secular Israelis: the bar mitzvah is often built around an aliyah to the Torah, depending on the family; the parashah of the week is still the one the synagogue reads.

3What it means for an invitation

The parashah gives the invitation meaning: it can appear under the date ("Parashat …") or be quoted in a verse. The exact name of the parashah depends on the date, on whether the synagogue is in Israel or the diaspora, and on the family's custom: confirm it before printing. Some parashiyot are tied to the calendar: for example, Bamidbar is read before Shavuot, Vaetchanan after the 9th of Av, and Nitzavim before Rosh Hashanah (Orach Chayim 428:4).

For a ceremony on a Monday or Thursday, the reading is the opening of the week's parashah, with no haftarah (135:1-2). In every case, a chosen verse should use "ה׳" and never the Name in full.