Noach (parashah)
Noach, Noiach, Nauach, Nauah, or Noah (, Hebrew for the name "Noah", the third word, and first distinctive word, of the parashah) is the second weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes . The parashah tells the stories of the Flood and Noah's Ark, of Noah's subsequent drunkenness and cursing of Canaan, and of the Tower of Babel. The parashah has the most verses of any weekly Torah portion in the Book of Genesis (but not the most letters or words). It is made up of 6,907 Hebrew letters, 1,861 Hebrew words, 153 verses, and 230 lines in a Torah Scroll (, Sefer Torah). In the Book of Genesis, Parashat Miketz has the most letters, Parashat Vayeira has the most words, and Parashat Vayishlach has an equal number of verses as Parashat Noach. Jews read it on the second Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October or early November. In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , aliyot, and a shorter reading called the Maftir, or , which is usually made up of the last few verses of the last reading. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashat Noach has five "open portion" (, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (peh)). Parashat Noach has several further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (samekh)) within the open portion (, petuchah) divisions. The first open portion is from the first reading through the fifth readings. The second and third open portion divisions divide the sixth reading. And the fourth and fifth open portion divisions divide the seventh reading. Closed portion divisions divide the first reading, set off the third and fourth readings, and further divide the sixth and seventh readings. In the first reading, the Torah writes that Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his age, who walked with God (in one of many of His original translated names). Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
