sidra

sidra, in Judaism, weekly readings from the Scriptures as part of the sabbath service. Each week a portion, or sidra, of the Pentateuch is read aloud in the synagogue; and it takes a full year to complete the reading.

The Pentateuch—consisting of the biblical books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and known as the Torah—is the basis of Jewish history and religious beliefs and spells out the laws of the Jewish people. At one time public reading of the Torah was limited to festival days but was extended to all sabbath services in the third century bce in order to make the laws of Jewish life accessible to all.

In early Palestine the complete reading of the Torah took three or three and a half years; but during the Babylonian Exile the time was shortened to one year, and this custom continues to be followed. Each week the sidra, or weekly portion, is divided into seven smaller sections, each dealing with a single topic. The name for each of these seven parts is parasha (plural parashot), the Hebrew word for “section.” A different person is called to the altar to read each of the parashot, and this is considered an honour for the reader.