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Who Divided the Torah Into Weekly Readings, Chapters, and Verses?


Verses:

When G‑d taught Moses the Torah, He also taught him the proper pronunciation and punctuation of its words: vowels, grammar, and sentence set-up—i.e. verses (pesukim). Similarly, the authors of the respective (divinely inspired) books of Prophets and Holy Writings orally transmitted to their students the division of their books into verses.

Chapters:

The division of the Scriptures into chapters (perakim) was done by non-Jews in the thirteenth century. They did so to facilitate their bible study, to make it easier to recall the exact source for any given verse.1

Torah Readings:

Moses established the custom to publicly read from the Torah scroll every Shabbat—although the entire Torah was not necessarily completed in a yearly cycle.

The custom to complete the weekly public reading of the Torah every year (on the holiday of Simchat Torah) finds its root in Babylon of the Talmudic Era. The Torah was then divided into fifty-four sections (Parshiyot) to allow for the completion of a yearly cycle with the reading of one Parshah per week.2

(Incidentally, the word "parshah" can also refer to a grouping of words or verses in the Torah. These parshiyot – which the dividers of the Torah into chapters barely took into consideration – can be as brief as two words, or as long as an entire weekly Torah reading. These parshiyot are separated in the Torah Scroll by a blank space. There are a total of 669 such parshiyot in the Five Books of Moses.)

All the best,

Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson

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FOOTNOTES
1.

According to some, they also had sinister intentions, such as to assist them in their theological debates against the Jews, and, in certain instances, the chapters were divided in a manner that would allude to non-Jewish beliefs.

2.

Because of the fluctuations in the length of the Jewish calendar years, and due to the fact that the weekly Parshah can be "usurped" at times in favor of a holiday reading— a double Parshah is read on certain weeks.


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Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson is a member of the Chabad.org Ask the Rabbi team.

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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Jan 17, 2012
who divided the Torah into parshas??
i still dont know who divided the torah into the parshas?
Posted By shlomo, plano, tx

Posted: Feb 13, 2009
nice one!
You really know your stuff, giving exact citations and all that!
Posted By sammy ekol

Posted: Feb 21, 2008
Re: Chapter III
See for example: Likutei Sichot vol. 34 p. 221, footnote 40
Posted By Brian, Scottsbluff, NE
via ochabad.com

Posted: Feb 21, 2008
Proof Please
Please substantiate this claim Brian.
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Feb 21, 2008
chapters III
There are places in the Rebbe's writings where the number of the chapter and verse is mentioned as hinting to the idea being conveyed in that verse. Although this division was made by non-Jews, EVERYTHING is by Divine Providence.
Posted By Brian, Scottsbluff, NE
via ochabad.com

Posted: Feb 21, 2008
chapters ll
The Rebbe's comments were made in relation to the names of the Parshios as given by Jews. Unless you can support your point otherwise the Rebbe's words were limited to the Jewish names of the Parshios of which we are unsure of their origin. This does not include the non-jewish chapter order.
(correct me if i'm wrong)
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Jan 30, 2008
Names of the parshiyot
Although it is not known to us exactly who chose the names of the Parshiyot and at what point in history this naming took place, we do know that these names have been used for over one thousand years, as they are mentioned by name in the writings of Rav Saadya Gaon (882-942). Some point to the Talmud, in which some of these names are mentioned, but this has been contested by some who suggest that this was not necessarily referring to the division of the Parshiyot as we know them.
Posted By Anonymous

Posted: Jan 22, 2008
Chapters
I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that the Rebbe always said that the very fact that Divine Providence arranged for dividing parts of Torah or certain names to be given, etc., even by non-Jews - and that these actions then became widely accepted throughout Jewry - shows that they carry significance. Nothing is by chance, especially something as fundamental as G-d's Torah.
Posted By yaakov



 


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