Miketz

Miketz or Mikeitz (מִקֵּץ — Hebrew for "at the end," the second word — and first distinctive word — of the parashah) is the tenth weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 41:1–44:17. The parashah has the most letters (although not the most words or verses) of any of the weekly Torah portions in the book of Genesis, and is made up of 7,914 Hebrew letters, 2,022 Hebrew words, and 146 verses, and can occupy about 255 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah). (In the book of Genesis, Parashah Vayeira has the most words, and Parashiyot Noach and Vayishlach have the most verses.)Jews read Parashah Miketz on the tenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December, or rarely in late November, usually during Chanukah.

The parashah tells of Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, Joseph's rise to power in Egypt, and Joseph's testing of his brothers.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashah Miketz has no "open portion" (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ (peh)). Parashah Miketz has a single "closed portion" (סתומה, setumah) division (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס (samekh)) at the close of the parashah. The parashah is thus one continuous whole.