Readings
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parshah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot. In the masoretic text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parshah Shoftim has four "open portion" (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ (peh), roughly equivalent to the English letter “P”). Parshah Shoftim has several further subdivisions, called "closed portions" (סתומה, setumah) (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס (samekh), roughly equivalent to the English letter "S") within the open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions. The short first open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) divides the first reading (עליה, aliyah). The long second open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) goes from the middle of the first reading (עליה, aliyah) to the middle of the fifth reading (עליה, aliyah). The third open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) goes from the middle of the fifth reading (עליה, aliyah) to the middle of the seventh reading (עליה, aliyah). The final, fourth open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) divides the seventh reading (עליה, aliyah). Closed portion (סתומה, setumah) divisions further divide the first, fifth, and sixth readings (עליות, aliyot), and each of the short second and third readings (עליות, aliyot) constitutes a closed portion (סתומה, setumah) of its own.
Read more about this topic: Shoftim (parsha)
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