Chayei Sarah (parsha)

Chayei Sarah, Chaye Sarah, or Hayye Sarah (חַיֵּי שָׂרָה‎ – Hebrew for "life of Sarah," the first words in the parashah) is the fifth weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 23:1–25:18. The parashah is made up of 5,314 Hebrew letters, 1,402 Hebrew words, and 105 verses, and can occupy about 171 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה‎, Sefer Torah).

Jews read it on the fifth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in November, or on rare occasion in late October.

The parashah tells the stories of Abraham's negotiations to purchase a burial place for his wife Sarah and his servant's mission to find a wife for Abraham's son Isaac.

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 Chayei Sarah has three "open portion" (פתוחה‎, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ‎ (peh)). Parashah Chayei Sarah has one "closed portion" (סתומה‎, setumah) division (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס‎ (samekh)) within the "open portion" (פתוחה‎, petuchah) division of the second (עליה‎, aliyah). The long first open portion (פתוחה‎, petuchah) spans the first five readings (עליות‎, aliyot). The second open portion (פתוחה‎, petuchah) coincides with the sixth reading (עליה‎, aliyah). And the third open portion (פתוחה‎, petuchah) coincides with the seventh reading (עליה‎, aliyah).

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