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 Ki Teitzei has two "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 Ki Teitzei 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 first open portion (פתוחה, petuchah). The long first open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) spans nearly the entire parshah, except for the concluding maftir (מפטיר) reading. The short second open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) coincides with maftir (מפטיר) reading. Thus the parshah is nearly one complete whole. Closed portion (סתומה, setumah) divisions divide all of the readings (עליות, aliyot), often setting apart separate laws.
Read more about this topic: Ki Teitzei
Famous quotes containing the word readings:
“The eating of a MacDonald’s meal is like the reading of Reader’s Digest—small, easily digested, carefully processed, carefully cut down, abridged. Reader’s Digest gives us knowledge that is easily compartmentalized, simplified, ideologically sound.”
—Clive Bloom, British educator. “MacDonald’s Man Meets Reader’s Digest,” Readings in Popular Culture: Trivial Pursuits?, St. Martin’s Press (1990)